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Hapstone Pro 1st impression
- Thread starter Bjorn1
- Start date
The main reason I got it was that it seemed like (which I confirmed with Hapstone) that I could use my full size japanese waterstones with it. I have other tools besides knives and I would prefer to stick with that system for knives as well, I don't fancy buying a lot of extra sharpening stones/sticks/papers etc specifically for knives.
So today I broke out some waterstones and some knives to try it out.
The spring assisted holding mechanism has sufficient hold to keep a full size waterstone suspended straight in the air, so it works. That said, a half size stone or another solution like a diamond pad would most likely be easier and have more clearance.
I tested first with an old crappy IKEA knife that I just went through some stones on, not really caring to take the edge down a lot with each grit.
The rod is long enough to clear the entire stone of the knife (not that I'd run it all the way past)
Tbc
So today I broke out some waterstones and some knives to try it out.
The spring assisted holding mechanism has sufficient hold to keep a full size waterstone suspended straight in the air, so it works. That said, a half size stone or another solution like a diamond pad would most likely be easier and have more clearance.
I tested first with an old crappy IKEA knife that I just went through some stones on, not really caring to take the edge down a lot with each grit.
The rod is long enough to clear the entire stone of the knife (not that I'd run it all the way past)
Tbc
The edge I got on the IKEA was uniform and fastly done
I moved on to a favorite knife, a Hiromoto petty that I had neglected:
I set the distance from the base to about 12-13 degrees (there is a chart in the manual, as well as markings at 15,18,20,25 and 30 degrees)
However, with a really low angle and a big waterstone (for Japanese chefs knives) there is clearance issues with very small blades when using the holders:
Even when using the slim holder (optional accessory I believe) I had to increase he angle to get clearance:
Fortunately, the base holding plate that the knife rests on is sufficiently magnetic (very magnetic) that I can just put the knife on it and it sticks hard enough to sharpen, without using the top holder at all...
I moved on to a favorite knife, a Hiromoto petty that I had neglected:
I set the distance from the base to about 12-13 degrees (there is a chart in the manual, as well as markings at 15,18,20,25 and 30 degrees)
However, with a really low angle and a big waterstone (for Japanese chefs knives) there is clearance issues with very small blades when using the holders:
Even when using the slim holder (optional accessory I believe) I had to increase he angle to get clearance:
Fortunately, the base holding plate that the knife rests on is sufficiently magnetic (very magnetic) that I can just put the knife on it and it sticks hard enough to sharpen, without using the top holder at all...
I did a very fast sharpening through higher grits to check that it worked:
I then went back and sharpened more thoroughly through grits 220, 1000, and 4000, using a rust eraser to take all the oxidation off first.
The petty has an interesting (?) steel composition : "The blades are made of Hitachi Aogami Super (AS Carbon steel), an ultimate Hagane refined from Yasugi sand-rons. High carbon steel (1.40 1.50) with Chromium (0.30 0.50) and Tungsten (2.00 2.50) added for extra durability and longer edge retention. This core carbon steel is clad with 420J1 stainless steel to prevent from rusting."
It came out pretty well, very sharp:
I think that the hapstone was very helpful in getting a uniform, very precise angle and edge. I've been free hand sharpening since 2008 or so, and I can tell that this will help keeping the edge uniform and sharp. Setting bevel angle makes sharpening 60/40 angles easier as well, I think.
Suspending a heavy waterstone above a smaller nicer blade is perhaps a questionable practice, and if I was just into knives I would perhaps (though not necessarily) choose a lighter sharpening medium to use with the jig. Perhaps something with more cutting power for hard tool steels than my Naniwa superstones as well
I found that keeping a finger of my off hand on the underside of the blade while sharpening enabled good feedback from how the stone was running on the blade. I rewet the stone manually from a small jar, just flipping it over.
The stones never came off the rod, the mechanism felt secure.
I then went back and sharpened more thoroughly through grits 220, 1000, and 4000, using a rust eraser to take all the oxidation off first.
The petty has an interesting (?) steel composition : "The blades are made of Hitachi Aogami Super (AS Carbon steel), an ultimate Hagane refined from Yasugi sand-rons. High carbon steel (1.40 1.50) with Chromium (0.30 0.50) and Tungsten (2.00 2.50) added for extra durability and longer edge retention. This core carbon steel is clad with 420J1 stainless steel to prevent from rusting."
It came out pretty well, very sharp:
I think that the hapstone was very helpful in getting a uniform, very precise angle and edge. I've been free hand sharpening since 2008 or so, and I can tell that this will help keeping the edge uniform and sharp. Setting bevel angle makes sharpening 60/40 angles easier as well, I think.
Suspending a heavy waterstone above a smaller nicer blade is perhaps a questionable practice, and if I was just into knives I would perhaps (though not necessarily) choose a lighter sharpening medium to use with the jig. Perhaps something with more cutting power for hard tool steels than my Naniwa superstones as well
I found that keeping a finger of my off hand on the underside of the blade while sharpening enabled good feedback from how the stone was running on the blade. I rewet the stone manually from a small jar, just flipping it over.
The stones never came off the rod, the mechanism felt secure.
Also sharpened a Misono UX10 chefs knife, worked beautifully to a sub 15 degree edge, using only the magnetic retention.
The tried sharpening my Benchmade 710 which failed due to me not being able to find a small enough torx driver for the thumb, nor really having stones that cut sufficiently into D2 steel
And I'd sharpened enough for one day anyway...
The tried sharpening my Benchmade 710 which failed due to me not being able to find a small enough torx driver for the thumb, nor really having stones that cut sufficiently into D2 steel
And I'd sharpened enough for one day anyway...
BluntCut MetalWorks
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
- Messages
- 3,462
Good review, thanks :thumbup:
Tall/heavy low grit bench stones probably work ok at high pressure (from gravity), probably not too well for 800+ grits stone.
Tall/heavy low grit bench stones probably work ok at high pressure (from gravity), probably not too well for 800+ grits stone.
Thanks!
Using a 4000 Naniwa Hayabusa and a 8000 Naniwa superstones worked very well though, I think polishing stones actually felt a little more natural working in this configuration, though i tried to control pressure. This was important when doing the very slim japanese petty at a low angle without using the top holder, since there is a lot of flex in that blade.
Feels like the weight is distributed between the gliding point and the handle. I would not go heavier than a full size waterstone though...
Reset and ground an axe using the Hapstone, worked well I thought:
Did not completely take all the little damages to the edge out, but that was because my soft 220 stone started dishing something fierce.
It was easy to maintain control over the sharpening angles, the large jig size helps.
Did not completely take all the little damages to the edge out, but that was because my soft 220 stone started dishing something fierce.
It was easy to maintain control over the sharpening angles, the large jig size helps.
Tis on the internet only for now, I believe...
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 1,312
I'll just post the measures from the v5 from their website assuming they will be similar.
machine dimension (ready to work) 64x16x21 cm
- package dimension 70x24x8 cm
- horizontal guide 64 cm
- machine weight 3,2 kg
machine dimension (ready to work) 64x16x21 cm
- package dimension 70x24x8 cm
- horizontal guide 64 cm
- machine weight 3,2 kg
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 1,312
Oh and btw I am highly interested in this. Finally a product of seemingly good quality which is easily obtainable in Europe / Germany without the horrendous price tag of other systems.
View attachment 535948
View attachment 535949
View attachment 535950
Are those the measurements you were looking for?
View attachment 535949
View attachment 535950
Are those the measurements you were looking for?
With the lower profile holder that was available as an add on when I bough mine (pictured above) it's possible to sharpen my Japanese knives (Hiromoto, Hattori) at the right angle, though I set it manually by feel since I use waterstones with (unfortunately) varying thickness.
