newbie (to wetstones) seeks ideas for grit and cheap knives to practice on, please

C

canali

Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
7
hi guys.
i'm a newbie to westones. located in vancouver bc canada

...have mostly german (wusthof) knives (and a new japanesemac mth-80, not even used yet).
originally bought a pull thru 'chef's choice but decided to send it back and invest in a local 2 hr sharpening course


a few questions please:
the instructor suggested just sticking with 1000 grit for my german knives.
that nothing higher is needed ...my knives can maintain great bite with this.
do you agree with this?
if i did wish to move up one stone, would a naniwa pro 2000 grit make any difference?
also
2/aside from 2nd hand/thrift shops where else can i find low cost knives to practice on please?
 
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Where do you live ?

If you live in the US I'd suggest get one of the Ozark trail $3.88 folders from Walmart.
obviously they're very cheap, but what really matters is that they're easy to sharpen and will take a good edge.
 
While we cannot suggest specific brand knives at specific prices from non supporting retailers as it is against the rules, I can suggest our very own @FortyTwoBlades 's site

http://www.baryonyxknife.com/

He has quite a few very reasonably priced high quality knives from brands like Victorinox, Dexter Russell, and Ontario. When you are done practicing on them, you would still have an excellent knife! Might be cheaper in the long run.
 
I bought some cheap 2-4 dollar paring knives and an under $20 Keshaw to start my sharpening training. The Wally world Ozark is a good choice as well. My issue with that would be after I sharpened it I would never use it because (IMO) it inherently sucks. I spent a little more, got a Kershaw Burst and gave it to a friend when I was done with it about 3 years ago. He still carries it today.
Just make sure you get a straight edge. Also on the higher end steels you definitely want to start with the lower grit stones. For example. M390 would take FOREVER to reprofile if you start at 1000.

Have fun!
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
I bought some cheap 2-4 dollar paring knives and an under $20 Keshaw to start my sharpening training. The Wally world Ozark is a good choice as well. My issue with that would be after I sharpened it I would never use it because (IMO) it inherently sucks. I spent a little more, got a Kershaw Burst and gave it to a friend when I was done with it about 3 years ago. He still carries it today.
Just make sure you get a straight edge. Also on the higher end steels you definitely want to start with the lower grit stones. For example. M390 would take FOREVER to reprofile if you start at 1000.

Have fun!
Click to expand...

If one wants to practice reprofiling...ect you don't need necessarily a knife you'll use afterwards but it's deffinaty nice for your efforts to ammount to something

If you do want a knife to use afterwards I'd go with a $5 OKC Old Hickory pairing knife, the old hickories often come with a rough edge anyway so you'll be sharpening something that needs it.

An inexpensive imicasa machete would be a good one as well for practice putting an edge on something that comes without one, and who doesn't need a good machete around the yard.
 
Sounds like you are primarily sharpening kitchen knives. The Naniwa Pro 1000 is a good stone, and is suitable for being the final stone on your German kitchen knives. It depends on how you use them as to whether or not you'd benefit from a more refined edge.

For my better kitchen knives, I use a Shapton Pro 1000, 2000, 5000 progression followed by a few passes on a balsa strop with 1 micron diamond compound applied. I don't always go to the 5000, but I have found for my purposes that a more refined edge does a better job. I don't let my kitchen knives get to where I need a coarser stone than the 1000, though I have a Shapton Pro 320 if needed.

I don't know what you consider cheap for practice knives, or where to shop inexpensively in Canada. You could just go to the local supermarket or department store and browse the cheaper knives. You could also go to a restaurant supply store or your local IKEA for some decent low-end knives.

Unless you utterly wreck them, you'll still have your practice knives around after you figure out how to sharpen them, and they'll be sharp, so you might as well get some that you can get some use out of. IKEA, Mercer, Dexter-Russell, Victorinox, Wusthof Pro are some decent knives that you'd still get plenty of use from later. Though you'll spend between $20 to $40 US for a chef's knife in those lines, so perhaps not the bargain bin you are looking for.

I have some inexpensive kitchen knives made by KAI that I got for under $10 each at a kitchen products outlet store near my home. They are easy to sharpen and I use them when I might be cutting something on a ceramic plate or other hard surface that will dull the edges (or could chip harder steels). They get dull, but they sharpen right back up with little effort.
 
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