I have been using a Norton 1000 grit waterstone for about a year now and have been quite happy with it. Now it is time for a finer grit waterstone. I am considering either a Norton 4000 grit or a Shapton 5000 grit. I would like to hear from anybody who has used both brands about how they compare.
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Shapton vs Norton
- Thread starter guyfalks
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
Nortons use a different grit scale than Shaptons. The Nortons are considerably coarser. I would use an 8,000 grit Norton or a 4,000 grit Shapton as a final step.
Does this mean I could forget about the 4000 Norton & just get the 8000? I like that idea. I also have just discovered that the Norton is slightly thicker and wider than the Shapton, which is a plus for the way I plan to use it.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
The fastest way to manually sharpen a knife is to quickly hone through a series of finer-and-finer grit hones. With small steps between grit you can rapidly remove scratches left by the previous slightly coarser grit at each step. While this is the fastest way, it is also the most expensive way and is not mandatory. If you have a type of hone that cuts fast, such as a waterstone or a diamond hone, you can skip several grit steps and reach your finished edge in a reasonable amount of time. If you don't want to sink all of your savings into a hone collection I suggest trying the 8000 grit Norton as a next step. If you decide that you need to go finer you could find a 6000 grit King or an 8000 grit Shapton later on. If it seems to take too much work to go direct from the 1000 grit Norton to the 8000 grit Norton you could go back later and buy a 4000 grit Norton.
