Please Recommend 3 Grits

The Burgh

The Burgh

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Almost all of my knife collection have better steel blades. But my kitchen knives are inexpensive stainless (for familial reasons). I'm fairly adept at hand sharpening but finish the process with ceramics (not using strops, emissions, etc.).

For my stainless kitchen knives, I'd like to buy 3 progressive grit diamond or CBN stones. Cost is not a determining criteria. Larger plates are preferred.

Can you help with recommendations?

Thanks for reading!
 
If cost is no object, then seek out the FSK vitrified diamond stones, which are available in 400, 1000, and 3000 grit.

Most of my stainless and supersteel sharpening happens on the 400 (cheap stainless and some fixed-blade knives where I want a rougher edge) and the 1000 (everything else). Rarely use the 3000. I rarely use more than one of them on a single knife at all.

They feel great to sharpen on (so much better than a diamond plate, and significantly better than Venev for my tastes), dish extremely slowly, and are very fast. They are the best diamond stones I know of. They make short work of knives that many consider hard to sharpen, like cheap soft stainless, Global, Shun, Rex 121, and so on.
 
The Burgh said:
Almost all of my knife collection have better steel blades. But my kitchen knives are inexpensive stainless (for familial reasons). I'm fairly adept at hand sharpening but finish the process with ceramics (not using strops, emissions, etc.).

For my stainless kitchen knives, I'd like to buy 3 progressive grit diamond or CBN stones. Cost is not a determining criteria. Larger plates are preferred.

Can you help with recommendations?

Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...

I would recommend against diamond or CBN. You dont want a super hard abrasive for soft kitchen knives. If you want a diamond plate to double as a lapping stone and grinding stone then that is possible.

My favorite combo for soft stainless is the naniwa pro/Chosera 400 and the Naniwa 2k Aotoshi. The 2k will yield a polish like a 4K, with a more aggressive edge. The edge will also be very clean off the stone with very little need to deburr.

400 to 2k can be a lot for some so another great option would be the Atoma 400, king hyper 1k, and 2k Aotoshi. The 400 Atoma plate would be a good diamond plate for lapping and grinding duties. The 1k hyper was designed specifically for stainless steels and has very strong grinding power. Makes needing a dedicated course stone less necessary and bridges the gap to the finishing stone much better.
 
UncleBoots said:
If cost is no object, then seek out the FSK vitrified diamond stones, which are available in 400, 1000, and 3000 grit
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Wow, I initially didn't think that cost would be important. But...
Jason B. said:
My favorite combo for soft stainless
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Didn't think my cheap kitchen stainless knives were "soft." Attempts to sharpen on traditional stones were inefficient and slow.

My thanks to U UncleBoots and J Jason B for contributing!
 
The Burgh said:
Didn't think my cheap kitchen stainless knives were "soft." Attempts to sharpen on traditional stones were inefficient and slow.
Click to expand...
Yep. I think of it as sort of like trying to cut chewed bubble gum with scissors. Gummy and a bit sticky and hard to cut. Diamonds are aggressive and that really helps. So would starting with a low grit like 400 -- and maybe not bothering to go above it, since soft stainless can't take a fine edge anyway.
 
Jason B. said:
I would recommend against diamond or CBN. You dont want a super hard abrasive for soft kitchen knives. If you want a diamond plate to double as a lapping stone and grinding stone then that is possible.

My favorite combo for soft stainless is the naniwa pro/Chosera 400 and the Naniwa 2k Aotoshi. The 2k will yield a polish like a 4K, with a more aggressive edge. The edge will also be very clean off the stone with very little need to deburr.
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This 👆👌
 
The Burgh said:
Wow, I initially didn't think that cost would be important. But...

Didn't think my cheap kitchen stainless knives were "soft." Attempts to sharpen on traditional stones were inefficient and slow.

My thanks to U UncleBoots and J Jason B for contributing!
Click to expand...
Them soft stainless knives have the most stubborn burrs there are. Two or three light passes on a loaded strop might do wonders.
 
Most any decent, manmade lubricated stone can work well for simple stainless kitchen knives. Whether it's water stones, oil stones, or even a mid-grit diamond plate that's wetted will cut down on many of the issues associated with the 'gumminess' of such steels. The softish, ductile and clingy nature of simple stainless means it will be more prone to clogging the stone's surface if it's used dry, which then will dramatically slow grinding and exacerbate heavy burring issues. But with a surface that's kept consistently wet as it's used, the clogging issues will more easily be kept at bay and the stone will continue cutting efficiently. Then these steels become easy to grind and refine.

My own favorite for common kitchen stainless is a simple Norton Fine India stone used with mineral oil. In the arid environment I live in, the oiled stone stays lubricated much longer than any stone I've tried to wet using water or dish soap & water, which evaporates too quickly, after which the stone begins loading up very fast. And the 360-400 grit (ANSI) finish left by the Norton Fine creates a perfect working edge for steels like these, used in the kitchen.
 
The Burgh said:
Wow, I initially didn't think that cost would be important. But...

Didn't think my cheap kitchen stainless knives were "soft." Attempts to sharpen on traditional stones were inefficient and slow.

My thanks to U UncleBoots and J Jason B for contributing!
Click to expand...

I dont know of any cheap stainless that isn't soft. Even cheap stainless Japanese knives are soft and just as difficult as a Henckels or Wustof. When you say "traditional stone" what stones are you using? Also, knowing the knife brand would be helpful.

Unless you are using Arkansas stones, most synthetic stones should eat up the steel on a lower end kitchen knife.

Also, you say you are finishing with ceramics? Like a ceramic rod?
 
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Knives description reads "Japanese Stainless Steel."

Stone is cheap two-sided Home Depot stone (no markings).

Yes, a ceramic rod.
 
Ok, that helps.

The knives will be difficult to sharpen, no getting around that. I typically sharpen knives like those with a grinder (which will make about anything sharp) and those are still difficult.

The HD stone is very low end, even for that class of stone. I would recommend setting a budget and investing in something of quality.

The ceramic rod is also doing you no favors. I would leave it for touch-up in the kitchen and not as a finishing tool.

Start with a good stone, the Naniwa 400 for example. I recommend this stone because it is one of the fastest, smoothest, and cleanest grinding stones. It punches well above it's weight in grinding power while also being able to produce a precise and sharp edge. The classic leather strop with compound is also your friend and a much better tool for finishing after stone work. It would also be highly effective used directly after the 400 for a coarse/polished edge on those blades.
 
Jason B. Jason B. , it's members like you who make this Forum a standout! Thanks for so generously sharing you experience and recommendations!

Anywhere close to St. Clair Shores?
 
220ish, 600ish, 1000ish
I'm not picky about stone material for low end knives. It's a horse a piece as far as I'm concerned. I'll use whatever is already out and on the bench.

Often when the lady of the house mentions her knives are dull, it's 220 territory to start out.
She has good knives and cheap knives, and she treats the cheap knives like they deserve to be treated ......

Honestly I could live with 220, and 600 for most things, the 1000 and up are not used often around here.

I generally don't strop, just super light deburring passes. But some cheap stainless is so gummy and burr prone I get sick of burr chasing and strop them. But even my strops are pretty course compared to what a lot of people use.
I do think I have all the really bad ones gone out of her knife drawer now though.
 
The Burgh said:
Jason B. Jason B. , it's members like you who make this Forum a standout! Thanks for so generously sharing you experience and recommendations!

Anywhere close to St. Clair Shores?
Click to expand...
Thank you.

In Brownstown, by the airport. Send me an email we can set something up.
 
There are plenty of ways to go for doing mostly cheaper kitchen knives. You can't go wrong with Naniwa Chocera stones with a progression of 400 > 1k > Aotoishi "Green Brick" with an additional advantage being this combo will sharpen almost everything else, too. The Green Brick is so versatile; it can actually cut a bit yet it polishes nicely and the stone is a great value (it's almost as big as a normal brick!). IMOHO the Naniwa Chocera stones are the best synthetic stones available, or at least the best I've found. But I do wish they made one in that line that's coarser than the 400. For a synthetic arato I really love the Shapton Pro 320. It dishes a bit faster than some but it has great feel and is super fast.

I find electoplated diamond stones/plates to be fine for cheaper kitchen knives. You just want to use a bit less pressure. You could easily get a Sharpal 162N (325/1200) and a strop and not need anything else for entry level kitchen knives. If you still want a splurge add the Naniwa Green Brick to the mix to polish after the 1200 side. IMO the Atoma plates are a little bit better but the difference is so small that it's not worth if for home use.

No matter which stones you get a nice double sided strop is great to have. For the one I keep in my kitchen the rough side is loaded with 9 micron Stroppy Stuff and 0.5 micron on the smooth side. Just minimize the burr as well as you can on the stone and then move to the strop.
 
CBN stone 150x25x3, metal bond, grain size 100/80μ = 140/170 - rough sharpening
CBN stone 150x25x3, metal bond, grain size 40/28μ = 550 - fine sharpening
CBN stone 150x25x7x3, combined bond, grain size 20/14μ = 1100 - fine lapping
CBN stone 150x25x7x3, combined bond, grain size 10/7μ = 1700 - the finest finishing

the last one or two may not be necessary if surface quality is not important
 
In my experience, 300, 1000, and a high grit (3000,4000, 5000, 8000). That may be overkill, but I love 8000 grit for protein and 4000 for box cutting.
 
Another good one to try would be the King Neo 800. Very inexpensive, and cuts harder steels as well.

There is a great thread on it: HERE


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I'd go with diamond hones since they work on any steel. I've used DMT bench hones for decades, and have yet to wear one out (I clean them with BreakFree CLP). DMT's DuoBase holder is worth the investment.
 
For cheap stainless kitchen knives, I just use sandpaper. 400,600,800, then 1200 grit. I wrap it around a 2x4 block. Diamond stones for the super steels.
 
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