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New to sharpening, What system/stones should I get?

P

PowerHammer

Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Messages
22
Right now I have the DMT 3 piece box set, the results are good and I can slice paper pretty well but I wouldnt exactly shave my face with it. I have around $300 to spend and I am torn between the Ken Onion work shop, some other system (Little bit wary of this because I tried a lansky system and I didnt like it), or some high quality water stones. I have alot of 3v/m390 steel knives. My goal is to get knives "scary sharp" and I am not sure where to go from here.
 
The DMT stones are a good start. The simplest way to go to another level in sharpness is to use a leather strop, and you can even make one yourself. After a little sharpening with the DMT EF stone you can take a half dozen strokes with a strop and you will have a blade sharper than you need for almost any use.

People that really get into sharpening like to use several more levels of fine and very fine stones so that is another option for you. You can create a polished edge this way.
 
I have to unfortunately fix way too many edges sharpened on the work sharp to ever recommend it.

You can get "Scarry Sharp" with the stones you have, using very light pressure and making sure the burr is removed will increase the sharpness. Adding a strop with some 1 micron diamond or CBN would really up the sharpness too. What grit/color DMT's do you have?

Every stone that is not diamond, CBN, or Silicon Carbide will have trouble sharpening steels with Vanadium contents of 4% and greater. The troubles increase as the percentage of V increases and as the grit used to sharpen becomes finer. Most Coarse grit wasterstones, oil stones, or even wet/dry sandpaper will cut these steels but its when the grit gets to the polishing level that the abrasive and the very hard Vanadium carbides of the steel start having a bigger effect on each other. This is where most will switch to diamond films or CBN compounds on a firm strop, they work well to polish steels with high levels of wear resistance.


If you would still like to add something new I would recommend Shapton Waterstones, fast cutting and slow wearing with a reasonable price tag. They work best on more average steels but can tackle some of the higher alloy stuff better than most other "stone" options.
 
Watch Youtube videos on sharpening and make your choice based on what you see.
What I recommend may suck to you in the end...I love my Lansky system but haven't tried the WE, etc...I may love them even more but don't have the money to drop on them.
 
Jason B. said:
I have to unfortunately fix way too many edges sharpened on the work sharp to ever recommend it.

You can get "Scarry Sharp" with the stones you have, using very light pressure and making sure the burr is removed will increase the sharpness. Adding a strop with some 1 micron diamond or CBN would really up the sharpness too. What grit/color DMT's do you have?

Every stone that is not diamond, CBN, or Silicon Carbide will have trouble sharpening steels with Vanadium contents of 4% and greater. The troubles increase as the percentage of V increases and as the grit used to sharpen becomes finer. Most Coarse grit wasterstones, oil stones, or even wet/dry sandpaper will cut these steels but its when the grit gets to the polishing level that the abrasive and the very hard Vanadium carbides of the steel start having a bigger effect on each other. This is where most will switch to diamond films or CBN compounds on a firm strop, they work well to polish steels with high levels of wear resistance.


If you would still like to add something new I would recommend Shapton Waterstones, fast cutting and slow wearing with a reasonable price tag. They work best on more average steels but can tackle some of the higher alloy stuff better than most other "stone" options.
Click to expand...

1200 mesh extra fine, 600 mesh fine, and the 325 mesh coarse DMT stones. Been stropping with an old pair of jeans like some of the youtube videos recommend if you don't have a strop, but now I will definitely pick a strop and some compound up.
 
You only need to add DMT EEF, some extra DMT compound (6. 3, 1 micron) & Heavy Handed's Washboard (www.washboardsharpening.com). These are what I use daily & I shave with my knives.

Disclaimer: I am a light user, touching up/sharpening more than I use the knives. Higher carbide steel I have tried is Superblue & M4. The rest are 8Cr13MoV, AUS 8, & 52100. Interested in edge properties but not having extensive experience in using.
 
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Just buy a finished Poplar strip from Home Depot, I purchased a 1x3 finished board about 4ft long for just a few dollars and cut it into sections about 8in long. Apply compound to wood and start stropping. The wood provides a more precise edge with less rounding than found with leather and makes the compound more agressive so it polishes faster.

The DMT EF 1200 plate will make a edge very polished with the right touch, a little stropping with further this and take the edge to hair splitting levels.

If you want to buy another stone I would recommend the coarser XC plate to fill out your set, works much better than the Coarse plate for setting bevels. Now, if you would like to try something new then I would recommnd the Atoma 140 diamond plate. I purchased one after I wore out my DMT XXC and can't say enough good things about it. It's amazingly fast at setting a bevel and the feedback is more like a actual stone which makes using it a little more enjoyable.
 
PowerHammer said:
Right now I have the DMT 3 piece box set, the results are good and I can slice paper pretty well but I wouldnt exactly shave my face with it.
Click to expand...

With the DMT EF, you can make essentially any steel shaving sharp. Not necessarily face shaving, but you should be able to relatively cleanly shave hair from your arm or leg. It should absolutely clean slice phonebook paper and do some push cutting of phonebook paper too.

I suspect that you have the same issue that many, many sharpeners have: You aren't spending long enough on the coarse stone to fully apex the edge. The DMT C is a fairly coarse stone, but it will still take a bit of time depending upon how much steel you have to remove. The key is to make sure you form a burr down the *entire* length of the edge on BOTH sides (one, then the other) and then remove that burr. If you don't form a full length burr, you'll never get your blade as sharp as it can get. I can't overemphasize this point enough. The full length burr is the key.

Brian.
 
I really like the Norton waterstone set. It will take the dullest knife and get it to scary sharp through good progression. Add a cheap strop to finish it off. If you can get the hang of free hand it's worth it. A simple tip is learn to feel the edge on the stone. If you're hitting the right angle it should almost feel like it's smoothly gliding over the surface, not grinding at all.
 
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