I'm getting annoyed with sharpening systems!

Colog

Colog

Joined
Dec 2, 2005
Messages
1,341
As the title says, I'm setting sick of all these sharpening systems I have. I'm speaking of the edge pro, WEPS, and even the sharp maker. With my edge pro and WEPS, my stones keep falling off the blanks. I know, that's not a big deal as I can just stick them back on. However, it's a pain in the a$$. Considering I don't have any adhesive handy. So now those are useless to me, until I figure out how to reattach them. As for the sharp maker, I find that many factory edges don't hit the stones. Even at the 40 degree angle. So that's useless to me without the other systems, because I don't have 2 years to reprofile on the brown stones. Rant over.

I've decided to buy a full set of Arkansas stones. I have not successfully sharpened anything freehand yet. So the decision to ditch my systems for stones scares me a bit. However, once I master freehand sharpening, I feel I will be liberated. No longer tied down to complicated, expensive devices.

Please note, I'm not trying to bash the products I've mentioned, I just feel that the process can be simpler.
 
I have an EdgePro Professional and have had zero issues. Ben Dale describes which adhesive to buy if you need to re-glue the stones. I suggest you do that.
 
Arkansas stones are slow cutters and going to be difficult to learn freehand with (very good for refining an edge). I highly recommend Norton India, Crystalon, any of the diamond plate manufacturers, or waterstones. There are a couple of threads going that discuss freehand sharpening. Good luck, take your time, and use a Sharpie often.
 
Hold off on the Arkansas stones for awhile. As HeavyHanded suggested, get yourself something like a Norton India stone. Once you start getting more comfortable with freehanding, then decide if you want to invest in the Arkansas stones.

I like to use my Norton combination stone for general sharpening and a Spyderco Fine ceramic if I want to further refine the edge. I have a few Arkansas and Washita stones which are nice, but over the years the Norton is my "go to" work horse stone.

Practice a lot. Let us knot how things go and if we can help you.

Ric
 
jimmyjohnjohn said:
Ben Dale describes which adhesive to buy if you need to re-glue the stones. I suggest you do that.
Click to expand...

That's the problem Jimmy. I don't want to have to redo anything.

Hold off on the Arkansas stones? They seem to come in various grits. From coarse to fine. Guessed I'll take a look at the Norton stones. I just want some stones that will last a long time.
 
Arkies use a natural abrasive and can be very slow, difficult for learning freehand. Even the "coarse" ones are rather refined. I once spent over 20 minutes attempting to rebevel a 154cm blade on a Washita stone. I switched to a SIC stone and had it done in 5 minutes. Arkansas stones are great for what they do, for carbon steels and more mild stainless they work well. On anything with higher wear resistance you're better off with more aggressive stones.
 
Colog said:
That's the problem Jimmy. I don't want to have to redo anything.

Hold off on the Arkansas stones? They seem to come in various grits. From coarse to fine. Guessed I'll take a look at the Norton stones. I just want some stones that will last a long time.
Click to expand...

Problem is, what's 'coarse' or 'fine' is completely dependant on the abrasive type. A 'coarse' Arkansas won't be near as aggressive as a 'coarse' India stone (aluminum oxide), which won't be as aggressive as a 'coarse' silicon carbide, which won't be as aggressive as a 'coarse' diamond hone. And a 'fine' diamond hone will be coarser (much more so) than any other 'fine' abrasive. Different standards across the board, for each abrasive type, and huge differences in effectiveness, depending on abrasive type vs. steel type.

HeavyHanded said:
Arkies use a natural abrasive and can be very slow, difficult for learning freehand. Even the "coarse" ones are rather refined. I once spent over 20 minutes attempting to rebevel a 154cm blade on a Washita stone. I switched to a SIC stone and had it done in 5 minutes. Arkansas stones are great for what they do, for carbon steels and more mild stainless they work well. On anything with higher wear resistance you're better off with more aggressive stones.
Click to expand...

This is solid advice, in a nutshell. :thumbup:
 
Last edited:
Ark stones are the classic American stone but a step back in technology compared to modern stones and the steels we sharpen on them. They are a natural stone so finding "grit" is a problem, nature made it so we can't screen it to find the "grit". As HH pointed out they will be painfully slow on all but the most basic of steels and finding results even close to what your other systems provided would be challenging to say the least.

If you want to keep cost low the Sic stones or India stones are nice, if you want a higher end set the I would recommend diamond or waterstones.
 
Colog,

My Norton stone is 35+ years old and is still going strong. Take care of them and they will last for a while.

Ric
 
I'm glad I posted this. Thanks for all the replies. I'll give the Norton stones a look.
 
A butcher supply store should carry the Norton stones. The large models measure 11 1/2X 2 1/2X 1/2 inches. The Silicon carbide (Crystalon) stones are available in 100 grit (coarse) and 220 grit (medium). The Aluminum oxide (India) stone is 320 grit (fine). A wooden block 12X 2 1/2X 2 1/2 with piece of bicycle inner tube stretched over it will give you knuckle clearance for free hand sharpening. There is also an oil bath that holds all three stones in a triangular prism arrangement. The stones can then be rotated into the oil and the top stone squeegeed off with a rubber spatula.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top