Norton India - Shapton 2k - Strop

[streak]

Many years ago I bought a lansky with extra stones. It did a decent job but I got tired of having to use the clamp and the mess of the oil. I then bought the Spyderco sharpmaker which I have used for about 20 years to which I recently added the CBN rods.

I got a bee in my bonnet and decide to look at freehand sharpening. After lots of agonizing I bought the IB8 Norton combo India stone figuring that it's cheap enough to see if I was able to freehand. It took some time but I seem to have got it right using small amounts of mineral oil.

I then made a couple of strops, one smooth side up and one rough side up with green compound. I was happy with the results but found the edges a little toothy. Again I agonized forever before buying the 2k Shapton Pro KO703 hoping that it was not too much of a jump from the India stone. Taking the knives from the India stone to this and then to the strop has made a huge difference to the quality of the edges.

I also recently made a huge 12" bench strop with rubber base that also made stropping easier then the paddle strop.

Thanks to all of you for your great advice.

 

[David Martin]

Glad you found your sweet spot. DM

 

[streak]

Thanks David. Yes, it's the sweet spot for now. I hope it's not the start of the slippery slope of expensive stone buying!
So far it's working for the low tech. steels. I need to start practicing with some of the higher tech. steels to see if I can get the same results.

Oh and if I haven't said it before. I love the GSP in your avatar. Have owned a couple over the years while still living in Africa.

 

[Bill3152]

325 DMT is a great tool to have. Works on all steels. Its a workhorse. Delivers a very nice working edge or for the kitchen the way it is or you can always continue your progression. Dmts run up to eef which is 8k grit or so.