Shapton glass stones? Anybody use them?

Magnaminous_G

Magnaminous_G

Joined
Jul 13, 2011
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They are very popular on the dedicated sharpening forums. The more I looky, the more I likey. I'm guessing they are kind of like the Spyderco ceramic bench stones? The 30K calls to me with a Siren song... must resist. I've been thinking about trying my hand at straight razor honing, and it's just such a beautiful stone. Just a fantasy, of course. No way I'd pay that much for a stone I'll probably never really use since A) I don't use a straight razor myself and thus have no idea what the final edge should really be like, and B) I don't really know anybody else who uses a straight razor, so I wouldn't even be using it to sharpen my friends' razors.

But anywho... anybody try the Shapton glass stones? Not necessarily the 30K monster, just the 1 - 10Ks. What do you think?

Cheers,

Mag
 
They are arguably the best. They aren't like Spyderco's at all.

I don't think I've ever heard or read anything but praise for them.

I have a full set. They get used a lot more than my set of Choseras.
 
I have the 1k and 6k. Those two pretty much cover all MY needs. They are great stones. They cut very fast and have a great edge right off the stone. Slow wearing and very easy to clean. I have a kitchen sponge (the yellow kind with the green scrubber side) that I use to get what little loading occurs out. A couple passes with the green scrubber and all the loading is gone. I use the glass underside to keep them flat(I ain't payin 380 bucks for a lapping plate). All in all I have been very pleased with them and I will probably continue to build the set until I have em all. I might even buy the lapping plate at some point, lol.
 
I have both pro and glass stones, bench stone versions and edgepro versions. once you figure out shaptons, especially the glass stones you will be in love. The trick is, especially with glass you NEED the diamond on glass lapping plate... I flattened the glass stones with just DMT plates and SiC for along time, but the DGLP-plate is a life changer. It not only flattens the stone fast BUT, it also is designed to groom the surface of the stones in a way that creates these abrasive particles into little mountain peeks. Glass stones are DESIGNED to be used with the diamond on glass plate.
Its a 380 dollar plate but I forgot about the money spent within 20 minutes of using it. Everyone else will tell you its over priced and not necessary, this is simply not true.

The plate does the same thing to the pro stones but I feel as though the pro stones are a little more forgiving to different lapping methods.
If you are doing pocket knives, you want the glass stones. They are designed for powdered steels. I will say I still had trouble setting my bevels with Elmax steel on the glass stones, but either way they are amazing. Elmax is just a pain in the ass, with just about any water stones. Same with s30v. IF you buy shapton glass, and use the DGLP, you will never look back. They are simply heavenly when kept flat and groomed the DGLP. The pro stones are great too, but they really shine with soft stainless, and high carbon. Glass stones are a bit aggressive for high carbon steel knives, however will still work fine. I think the pro stones tend to polish a bit better, but they are slower. They are also harder. Go glass man, go glass and DGLP, you won't look back!
 
Magnaminous_G said:
They are very popular on the dedicated sharpening forums. The more I looky, the more I likey. I'm guessing they are kind of like the Spyderco ceramic bench stones? The 30K calls to me with a Siren song... must resist. I've been thinking about trying my hand at straight razor honing, and it's just such a beautiful stone. Just a fantasy, of course. No way I'd pay that much for a stone I'll probably never really use since A) I don't use a straight razor myself and thus have no idea what the final edge should really be like, and B) I don't really know anybody else who uses a straight razor, so I wouldn't even be using it to sharpen my friends' razors.

But anywho... anybody try the Shapton glass stones? Not necessarily the 30K monster, just the 1 - 10Ks. What do you think?

Cheers,

Mag
Click to expand...

I absolutely love the stones, they lap very well on my Atoma 400 and the full progression is definitely worth it!
 
I have four of the glass stones and they work great. I like the feed back you get on them. Russ
 
Oh hey Russ, I am following you bud! building a glass stone progression & pro stone progress lines. So far, I completed the pro but only have a GS 500. LOL - GS 500 gives more almost mirror for my D2 knives. 5K pro dulls my D2 a little bit. 1K pro works great.
mycough said:
I have four of the glass stones and they work great. I like the feed back you get on them. Russ
Click to expand...
 
Want to hear a funny story? I'm probably the only one silly enough to do this when I first got them years ago. I was using them and soon realized they were SOOOOO smooth, but didn't seem to aggressive. Well, believe it or not, the first time I tried these I was using the glass side, not the abrasive.:eek:

I know, I still think back all the time how stupid I was not to know when ordering them. I quickly flipped them over, beveled the edges of the stone a hair, and they work just awesome for a long time now lol. But, I use harbor freight diamond plates(like 10 bucks for 3 different diamond grit plates) to keep them flat, but these don't seem to wear like other waterstones. Should be a while before you need to lap them anyways.

Its been like 7 or 8 years now, and the stones are still going strong. But, just figured anyone who wants a good laugh might want to hear it. So, the glass side is very smooth! Funny though, after using the stones, I do actually sometimes finish them on the glass side. Works pretty great too. Ok, that is all.

dave
 
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