Help me choose the right items before buying (Hapstone R2 + What stones?)

[Murkr]

I've spent many hours researching how to achieve a mirror finish on my bugout in S90v steel (along with some cheaper knifes of mine).
I finally landed on a Hapstone R2 but need a little help on which stones or set to buy. Here are the top ones I've found so far:
VENEV SET "CENTAUR" SERIES DUAL SIDE DIAMOND
VENEV SET "CENTAUR HIGH" SERIES DUAL SIDE DIAMOND
JENDE RESIN BONDED DIAMOND
DIAMOND MATRIX STONE FOR EDGE PRO
I'm up for recommendations outside of this list above.

I also plan to buy 1 or 2 bottles of Gunny Juice (not sure which Micron yet) and apply them to some Hetinax strops.

Since I'm a newbie I'm afraid of making a wrong decision. Can someone help me pick which stones and gunny juices to buy?

Thanks guys! I'm so glad I found these forums.

EDIT: after the knowledgeable members here I decided to get the Venev Orion: F240, F400, and F1200 + Gunny Juice 1 micron

 

[nevertakeadayoff]

Everything you posted will yield a mirror finish.

Just go order some and go at it : )

 

[jeronimo]

I have and use both the Venev Centaur dual sided set, and, the EP Diamond Matrix set of stones.

Hands down, I prefer the Venev stones. To me, they give a better "feel", or "feedback", when in use.
However, if I could do it over again, I would have just bought the Venev Orion stones,
which are single sided stones, mounted on an EP form factor aluminum plate.
Much more secure when mounted in the stone holder.

Nothing at all wrong with the EP Diamond Matrix stones. I still use them, now and then.

I primarily use the 1 micron Gunny Juice on a basswood strop, mounted on an EP aluminum plate.
I also have the 3 micron and 0.5 micron, but seldom use them.

If you're in the United States, you should consider giving Gritomatic a look.

Hope that helps a little!

 

[Murkr]

I have and use both the Venev Centaur dual sided set, and, the EP Diamond Matrix set of stones.

Hands down, I prefer the Venev stones. To me, they give a better "feel", or "feedback", when in use.
However, if I could do it over again, I would have just bought the Venev Orion stones, which are single sided stones,
mounted on an EP form factor aluminum plate. Much more secure when mounted in the stone holder.

Nothing at all wrong with the EP Diamond Matrix stones, I still use them, now and then.

I primarily use the 1 micron Gunny Juice on a basswood strop, mounted on an EP aluminum plate.
I also have the 3 micron and 0.5 micron, but seldom use them.

If you're in the United States, you should consider giving Gritomatic a look.

Hope that helps a little!

Thank you for actually answering the question
Okay, Venev stones it is.

Hapstone just made a facebook post HERE which looks like they may have fixed the issue with the stone holder, the gen2 looks like it holds it better. Was this the issue you were talking about? Because if that problem is now fixed then it would be more cost effective to get the 2 sided stone. Also, which sharpener were you using to experience the poorly mounted 2-sided venev stones?

But, even after this update if you think i would get better results getting the Orion line with the backplate then what stone grits would you recommend? I would only want to buy 3 stones since it would be around the same price as the Centaur line.

From what I heard a lot of people who buy these kits never use 1 or 2 of them anyway.

My goal is to get the mirror edge as fast as possible and not spend an hour sharpening 1 knife.

 

[nevertakeadayoff]

Thank you for actually answering the question
Okay, Venev stones it is.

Hapstone just made a facebook post HERE which looks like they may have fixed the issue with the stone holder, the gen2 looks like it holds it better. Was this the issue you were talking about? Because if that problem is now fixed then it would be more cost effective to get the 2 sided stone. Also, which sharpener were you using to experience the poorly mounted 2-sided venev stones?

But, even after this update if you think i would get better results getting the Orion line with the backplate then what stone grits would you recommend? I would only want to buy 3 stones since it would be around the same price as the Centaur line.

From what I heard a lot of people who buy these kits never use 1 or 2 of them anyway.

My goal is to get the mirror edge as fast as possible and not spend an hour sharpening 1 knife.

lol, that's why I stopped using that style of sharpening system. I hated re-profiling the apex so much that it ruined the experience. Then I'd put so much time into it I wouldn't want to use it! It became my precious.

And my knives were S30V or less... S90V requires more time and energy. (my experience is coming from S30V --> S110V)

 

[jeronimo]

Thank you for actually answering the question
Okay, Venev stones it is.

Hapstone just made a facebook post HERE which looks like they may have fixed the issue with the stone holder, the gen2 looks like it holds it better. Was this the issue you were talking about? Because if that problem is now fixed then it would be more cost effective to get the 2 sided stone. Also, which sharpener were you using to experience the poorly mounted 2-sided venev stones?

But, even after this update if you think i would get better results getting the Orion line with the backplate then what stone grits would you recommend? I would only want to buy 3 stones since it would be around the same price as the Centaur line.

From what I heard a lot of people who buy these kits never use 1 or 2 of them anyway.

My goal is to get the mirror edge as fast as possible and not spend an hour sharpening 1 knife.

The stone holder you linked to above is indeed made by Hapstone, but it's for use with the Work Sharp Precision Adjust Sharpener, not the R2.

I primarily use a TSProf Kadet Pro, but I also have and use a Hapstone M3, the small magnetic table module version of the Hapstone modular platform.

The stone holders of the Kadet Pro and the R2 work just fine with the dual sided stones, they're just not as secure as the EP form factor plates.
You need to keep an eye on the dual sided stones, while sharpening, to ensure they don't shift or move in the stone holder.

The Venev Centaur dual sided set is a solid choice. I'm the opposite of you, in what I want out of these stones.
I rarely use the F800/F1200 stone, because I prefer the sticky sharp working edge the lower grit stones in the set provide.

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamond (3)Stone Set [6" x 1"]

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamonds are used for sharpening knives on Hapstone and TSProf guided knife sharpeners, as well as freehand sharpening. Diamond sharpening stones offer excellent performance in sharpening knives of any steel.Centaur Series is dual side diamond with two 1 mm-thick...

www.gritomatic.com

 

[777 Edge]

I have and use both the Venev Centaur dual sided set, and, the EP Diamond Matrix set of stones.

Hands down, I prefer the Venev stones. To me, they give a better "feel", or "feedback", when in use.
However, if I could do it over again, I would have just bought the Venev Orion stones,
which are single sided stones, mounted on an EP form factor aluminum plate.
Much more secure when mounted in the stone holder.

Nothing at all wrong with the EP Diamond Matrix stones. I still use them, now and then.

I primarily use the 1 micron Gunny Juice on a basswood strop, mounted on an EP aluminum plate.
I also have the 3 micron and 0.5 micron, but seldom use them.

If you're in the United States, you should consider giving Gritomatic a look.

Hope that helps a little!

+1

The 80 - 1200 grit set will serve you best.

 

[777 Edge]

Hapstone just made a facebook post HERE which looks like they may have fixed the issue with the stone holder, the gen2 looks like it holds it better. Was this the issue you were talking about? Because if that problem is now fixed then it would be more cost effective to get the 2 sided stone. Also, which sharpener were you using to experience the poorly mounted 2-sided venev stones?

This post is regarding the Work Sharp Precision adjust stone holder, not the R2 stone holders.

But, even after this update if you think i would get better results getting the Orion line with the backplate then what stone grits would you recommend? I would only want to buy 3 stones since it would be around the same price as the Centaur line.

From what I heard a lot of people who buy these kits never use 1 or 2 of them anyway.

My goal is to get the mirror edge as fast as possible and not spend an hour sharpening 1 knife.

The F1200 grit stone would already be near mirror finish, you can strop after that if you really want to.

 

[Murkr]

This post is regarding the Work Sharp Precision adjust stone holder, not the R2 stone holders.



The F1200 grit stone would already be near mirror finish, you can strop after that if you really want to.

I think I'm going to go with the Venev Orion series since it has the backplate which is recommended by jeronimo above.
Here are options I have available to buy in that line
FEPA Grit:
150 (+$75.00)
240 (+$75.00)
400 (+$75.00)
800 (+$75.00)
1200 (+$75.00)
1500 (+$75.00)
2000 (+$75.00)

Can you tell me which grits to buy for:
3 Venev Orion plates + a bottle of Gunny Juice to add to a strop to finish.

I just don't want to order the wrong grits and I don't want to buy more than 3 stones.

 

[777 Edge]

With the options you've listed and because you're after going for a polished edge, I would go for the 150, 400 and 1200.

If you just want a great daily use edge, then you can stop on the 400.

You might still need something for faster reprofiling if you need to do that, so I would look at getting yourself a cheap 100-ish grit diamond plated stone too. Even a real cheap Chinese diamond plated stone on plastic backing will work well as a reprofiling work horse.

A 1 micron gunny juice after the 1200 venev will work well.

 

[Blade Lab]

I have the full set of Orion stones up to 1200 grit. I wouldn't go above that. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that the grits over 1200 can have stray larger diamonds that can cause scratches.

Three grits would be enough to get you to near mirror (400, 800, 1200), but that will only work if your knives aren't super dull and you aren't lowering the edge angle or trying to repair chips. Maybe start out with those three and add the 150 and 240 later?

If you're only going with one diamond emulsion, I'd go for 3 micron.

 

[Murkr]

Thanks for the info. I don't really use my knives hard. 90% of cutting is opening cardbox boxes. So I dont think I will be needing to fix chips and im not sure if I'd need to reprofile an edge.

Right now my only knife is a bugout carbon fiber in s90v. Maybe in the future id get a benchmade 940 but I really like the bugout and haven't found anything I like better for EDC. I like my knives to be light in my pocket.

I'd probably also attempt to sharpen my chef's knife every once in awhile but in all honestly, with the chef's knives Im happy with those tiny V shaped sharpeners that take 1 minute to sharpen the knives back to sharp enough levels for my gf to be happy using it.

I just want to keep my bugout s90v extremely sharp while having a close to mirror edge would be nice to look at. And future-proofing my sharpening system for when I do actually get more knives.

So here is what im thinking:
Venuv Orion in - 400, 800, 1200 grits
Gunny juice in 3 micron
Gunny juice in 1 micron

Later, if I get a knife that I beat on hard and it gets dull I will buy a 150 or 240 grit to use prior to the stones listed above.

One last question, after the 1200 grit stone, would I really notice any difference using 3 then 1 micron gunny juice? If not, I might as well just buy 1 gunny juice in either the 3 or 1 to save me money and time.

 

[Blade Lab]

Yeah, the diamond emulsion will definitely give you an additional polish on the bevel. 3 micron is roughly equivalent to 7000 grit, and 1 micron is equivalent to 22,000 grit. Of course stropping will also help clean off the burr.

 

[jeronimo]

With the options you've listed and because you're going for a polished edge, I would go for the 150, 400 and 1200.

If you just want a great daily use edge, then you can stop on the 400.

You might still need something for faster reprofiling if you need to do that, so I would look at getting yourself a cheap 100-ish grit diamond plated stone too. Even a real cheap Chinese diamond plated stone on plastic backing will work well as a reprofiling work horse.

A 1 micron gunny juice after the 1200 venev will work well.

Thanks for the info. I don't really use my knives hard. 90% of cutting is opening cardbox boxes. So I dont think I will be needing to fix chips and im not sure if I'd need to reprofile an edge.

So here is what im thinking:
Venev Orion in - 400, 800, 1200 grits
Gunny juice in 3 micron
Gunny juice in 1 micron

Later, if I get a knife that I beat on hard and it gets dull I will buy a 150 or 240 grit to use prior to the stones listed above.

One last question, after the 1200 grit stone, would I really notice any difference using 3 then 1 micron gunny juice? If not, I might as well just buy 1 gunny juice in either the 3 or 1 to save me money and time.

I 100% agree with the recommendation of 777 Edge , above.
You can easily make the jump from F400 to F1200, and get a polished edge, making the F800 unnecessary.
I can get a semi-polished edge with the F400 alone. Here's a Manix 2, in S90V, finished with the F400 stone.


You should understand that the FEPA-F (European) grit classification of the Venev stones is considerably finer than ANSI (American) or JIS (Japanese) grit classifications.
Here's an easy to read grit chart, to help make sense of the differences.


You should not overlook the need for a coarser stone, starting out. Put reprofiling out of your mind, for now, and just think about edge repair.
You will need to do edge repair, sooner or later, and a coarse stone is invaluable, because it saves so much time, especially on S90V!

1 micron Gunny Juice will serve you just fine.
If you look at the grit chart, you can see that the F1200 stone is equivalent to 3 microns.
Stropping does make a difference, but I don't always strop. If you use a light touch with your finishing stone, it will render similar results.

 

[Murkr]

Okay jeronimo glad I saw your post before purchasing later tonight.
I assumed F400 to F1200 was a huge jump but as I said before I have zero experience with this so I'm glad I started asking questions here before buying an unnecessary amount of stones.

I actually just now bought a Venev orion F240 from ebay because I saw it listed for $56 brand new so I couldn't pass it up.

So I guess the stones I'll have are F240, F400, and F1200 + Gunny Juice 1 micron

Does that sound like the best option without going overboard?

 

[jeronimo]

Okay jeronimo glad I saw your post before purchasing later tonight.
I assumed F400 to F1200 was a huge jump but as I said before I have zero experience with this so I'm glad I started asking questions here before buying an unnecessary amount of stones.

I actually just now bought a Venev orion F240 from ebay because I saw it listed for $56 brand new so I couldn't pass it up.

So I guess the stones I'll have are F240, F400, and F1200 + Gunny Juice 1 micron

Does that sound like the best option without going overboard?

That progression is a solid start, and will serve you well.

I've used just the F240 on some of my work knives, with excellent results. I really like that stone.

And, just to reiterate what 777 Edge and I recommended above, look at getting yourself a cheap 100-ish grit diamond plated stone too.
While it's not the cheapest option out there, I prefer the Atoma 140.
When you need to do edge repair, it will save wear and tear on your Venev stones, and save you a lot of time.

 

[Murkr]

Thanks. So for my benchmade s90v that still feels very close to factory sharpness should I still start with the F240 or should I just jump right to the F400?

 

[jeronimo]

Thanks. So for my benchmade s90v that still feels very close to factory sharpness should I still start with the F240 or should I just jump right to the F400?

As long as the bevels are even, you can start with the F400.

But first, let's take a step back, for a moment.

Since you said you're new to all of this, you should gather whatever small or medium sized kitchen knives/beater knives you have available,
and practice, practice, practice, on those first.

Get a good feel for how the sharpener and stones work.
Get a good feel for how to match the existing bevel angles on the practice knives, before you move on to your expensive ones.

 

[stonemedusa6264]

You know people sharpen knives? Like they have all the stones. You send them a knife and money. You get a sharp knife back. Why buy a good sharpening kit to try and mirror polish one knife with 3 stones? Buy another knife and send them out. Sorry but I have a hard time seeing any logic in your goal. Its your money spend it how you want but you're gonna start mirror polishing knives on s90 with 3 stones? Why am I the first one to be like what is even going on here?

 

[stonemedusa6264]

I've never thrown a brand new knife of any brand on my sharpener and not had to reprofile the grind some. I'm interested in how this works but I'm pessimistic...