New to Sharpening, Which DMT product to get?

[Jason B.]

I have spent a huge amount of trial and error (and trial and success) sharpening (and polishing) A-2 on all manner of sharpening stones (curiously enough for those who don't know A-2 will polish a hard Arkansas stone and not even leave metal behind in the stone. A whole other world from 1095 steel).
so
I am convinced that when ever I have SLURRY I am slowing down the sharpening process. Especially for the harder steels and A-2 is not all that super when it comes to super steels. When I want to Geeeeeter done I wash off the slurry as it builds up and DO NOT encourage it with the misguided use of some rub around stone.
nah dude, nah
a clean, well groomed stone with out all the rolly polly grit on it is going to cut faster than a stone with "ball bearings" made of grit all over it. Grit locked into the matrix of the stone is best/fastest.

Knowing how to properly manage the Japanese waterstone is not alway an easy skill to learn. If you are not comfortable with mud management then keeping the stone flushed is probably best.

A2 is not something I would consider all that hard to sharpen with quality sharpening tools. So, maybe a change in stones to something more suited to your needs is in order?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for all of the info guys! So I should not go with diamond then? I would have preferred them because I think they would be easier to use. Would diamonds work well for my Mora 155 6" fillet knife? Because maybe I could get an extra fine diamond hone to touch that up and get a regular stone for my Mora Companions and other knives.

You CAN use diamond if you want to; they'll be fine for general maintenance of most knives. As previously mentioned though, heavier grinding on a wide Scandi bevel is sort of a unique situation due to the huge amount of metal removal involved; other options that're used wet and less prone to clogging might sometimes be better. For 'touching up' purposes, even the EF diamond can do do that with only a few passes if you don't let the edge get too dull, and if you're OK with the finish left by it. And you don't have to increase your angle to touch up, as otherwise suggested, BTW. An EF diamond hone is still aggressive enough to keep a Scandi edge crisp without having to microbevel it, so long as you stay ahead of regular maintenance and don't let the edge degrade too much.

And if stropping is an option you're considering, make sure the strop is as firm or HARD as possible. Smooth & firm wood with compound, or very thin denim/linen over hardwood with compound will also work well, without the risk of rounding off the apex too much. Any stropping done with a compressible substrate like leather will be at greater risk for rounding off the apex, in which case you'll be faced with regrinding the wide bevels again to fix it.


David