Recommendation? Sharpener: honing flat stone, whetstone, etc....

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jsurvant

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Oct 3, 2020
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Can you point me in the direction of your personal picks for a benchstone sharpener (whetstone sharpener, flat stone sharpener, etc.)? I currently have the Spyderco triangle sharpening sticks and the Ken Onion Worksharp. I would like something that can really put a sharper blade on my kitchen knives, archery broadheads, and other edc blades as well. Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance.
 
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There is quite a lot referenced in the Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment area in General Knife Discussion.
I initially bought a Japanese King wetstone - a 1000/6000 grit version. Very good, following some guidance from this site I have become proficient at sharpening.
I have more recently purchased a medium Arkansas stone, so oil instead of water. Also fantastic, it's probably a 600 grit equivalent.
I think I have my stones sorted for now, until I need some rods for some crazy recurve or some diamond stones for some of the 'super steels'.
 
Wurger190 said:
There is quite a lot referenced in the Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment area in General Knife Discussion.
I initially bought a Japanese King wetstone - a 1000/6000 grit version. Very good, following some guidance from this site I have become proficient at sharpening.
I have more recently purchased a medium Arkansas stone, so oil instead of water. Also fantastic, it's probably a 600 grit equivalent.
I think I have my stones sorted for now, until I need some rods for some crazy recurve or some diamond stones for some of the 'super steels'.
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What as your experience been with Arkansas Stone? Do you prefer using the oil w stone or water? Thank you for the information.
 
jsurvant said:
Various: S30V, 20CV, CTS BD1N, D2, and VG Max Damascus (Shun Chef Knives). Thank you.
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Let me start by saying I have no experience with water stones. So I cannot give any commentary on them and nothing I'm going to say is in anyway a comparison to them.

Then let's say that no equipment on the planet will substitute for understanding the fundamentals of sharpening. See the stickies here, abuse the search function, and research YouTube.

Next is understanding the steels and for that, the zknives steel chart site or app are excellent: https://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelchart.php

Let me also say, I am always a fan of 8" stones.

You have a mix of steels and in my opinion, you don't have a one-size-fits-all solution. One key element to look for is vanadium (V). At 4% and above, diamonds are preferred.

In general, sub-4% vanadium carbide steels can be sharpened on silicon and aluminum oxide stones. This your BD1N, D2, and VG Max. BD1N is really nice to sharpen. So here, at a minimum I recommend a Norton Crystolon JB8. But my preferred approach is a Norton Crystolon course stone, Norton Fine India, and a soft Arkansas for final honing. Paired with a leather strop for de-burring and maintenance. You can skip the Arkansas, I just really like them.

For the higher vanadium stuff, then I recommend diamonds in 300 grit and 600 or higher grit. DMT is excellent but the Ultra Sharp line is a good value as well. One or two diamond stropping compounds on some paint sticks.

A universal stone holder is a must in my opinion as is a red Sharpie for marking the bevel.

jsurvant said:
What as your experience been with Arkansas Stone? Do you prefer using the oil w stone or water? Thank you for the information.
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Oil. Always, always oil. I've used Arkansas stones for around forty years. Honing oil is highly refined mineral oil and is the best to use, this goes for the Norton stones too, but you can get away with laxative grade mineral oil in the pharmacy section of your grocery store.

Spend time understanding what you're doing when sharpening and what you're trying to make happen and it will help you decide what you want. Hope that helps.
 
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Also, for broadheads, check out the KME broadhead sharpening system. Well, they have great stuff all around but they have a dedicated arrow head sharpening setup that might interest you.
 
Eli Chaps is right, if you don't know how to use them the equipment won't do you any good.
You have two steels with 4% Vanadium. That says diamond to me.
You have kitchen knives, so 8" stones are easiest with those. Really 8"x2.75" or wider. While diamond would work, I'd prefer the edges that water stones would give me. I'm not a huge believer in novaculite for VG-Max, though I love the stones. There are a lot of working choices for water stones.
I assume you want keener blades, so from a cost effectiveness standpoint you want some strops and abrasives. If you want to spend $$$ there are some pretty fine stones for that too.
 
jsurvant said:
What as your experience been with Arkansas Stone? Do you prefer using the oil w stone or water? Thank you for the information.
Click to expand...
I initially started out with the King wetstone (1000/6000) and that uses only water. The Arkansas, I would only use oil.
To be brutally honest, I favour the Arkansas stone, as the preparation time is minimal. The King stone requires about 10 minutes of soaking.
The King stone generates a lot of 'slurry' (see 'Burrfection' on Youtube for some excellent tutorials on using wetstones) which aids the process, but can be a bit more messy than the Arkansas.
Either way, definitely read the following post on here called 'The Seven Secrets of Sharpening' which will take you from zero to hero.
 
jsurvant said:
Various: S30V, 20CV, CTS BD1N, D2, and VG Max Damascus (Shun Chef Knives). Thank you.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind, since you also asked about using Arkansas stones, they won't be very effective on most of the steels mentioned above. Steels with a lot of hard carbide content (as above) will be too wear-resistant to grind or sharpen easily on Arkansas stones. And the carbides in those steels will also eventually glaze or polish the stone itself, rendering it almost useless on any blade, no matter the steel.

Arkansas stones can work well on much simpler steels with little or no hard carbides, like 1095, CV, 420HC, etc. For some of these steels, they can be a very good match and a pleasure to use.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Keep in mind, since you also asked about using Arkansas stones, they won't be very effective on most of the steels mentioned above. Steels with a lot of hard carbide content (as above) will be too wear-resistant to grind or sharpen easily on Arkansas stones. And the carbides in those steels will also eventually glaze or polish the stone itself, rendering it almost useless on any blade, no matter the steel.

Arkansas stones can work well on much simpler steels with little or no hard carbides, like 1095, CV, 420HC, etc. For some of these steels, they can be a very good match and a pleasure to use.
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I appreciate that. Thank you much.
 
Wurger190 said:
I initially started out with the King wetstone (1000/6000) and that uses only water. The Arkansas, I would only use oil.
To be brutally honest, I favour the Arkansas stone, as the preparation time is minimal. The King stone requires about 10 minutes of soaking.
The King stone generates a lot of 'slurry' (see 'Burrfection' on Youtube for some excellent tutorials on using wetstones) which aids the process, but can be a bit more messy than the Arkansas.
Either way, definitely read the following post on here called 'The Seven Secrets of Sharpening' which will take you from zero to hero.
Click to expand...
I appreciate that. Great usable information. Thank you.
 
Ourorboros said:
Eli Chaps is right, if you don't know how to use them the equipment won't do you any good.
You have two steels with 4% Vanadium. That says diamond to me.
You have kitchen knives, so 8" stones are easiest with those. Really 8"x2.75" or wider. While diamond would work, I'd prefer the edges that water stones would give me. I'm not a huge believer in novaculite for VG-Max, though I love the stones. There are a lot of working choices for water stones.
I assume you want keener blades, so from a cost effectiveness standpoint you want some strops and abrasives. If you want to spend $$$ there are some pretty fine stones for that too.
Click to expand...
Thank you much.
 
King Stone 1000/6000 or Pebble Stone 1000/6000? Any difference or reason to do one over the other?
 
I'd recommend a set of diamond bench hones, as they can sharpen any kind of steel. I prefer freehand sharpening, using an angle guide on occasion, as it seems to me the most versatile sharpening method. My DMT hones have lasted for decades.
 
The options are really endless, my advice as above is to nail the theory and go from there.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a no name off Amazon. The cheapest good quality stone you will get is the King brand, but ultimately you get what you pay for. Each brand of stone contains good and not so good stones. The King 6000 really shines, where as the Naniwa 800/3000 are their best of the bunch.

Work out what grits you want, whether oil or water and then ask for recommendations based on the grit rating.

Grab a coarse diamond for your S30v
 
Craig James said:
The options are really endless, my advice as above is to nail the theory and go from there.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a no name off Amazon. The cheapest good quality stone you will get is the King brand, but ultimately you get what you pay for. Each brand of stone contains good and not so good stones. The King 6000 really shines, where as the Naniwa 800/3000 are their best of the bunch.

Work out what grits you want, whether oil or water and then ask for recommendations based on the grit rating.

Grab a coarse diamond for your S30v
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Awesome. Thank you much!!!
 
jsurvant said:
King Stone 1000/6000 or Pebble Stone 1000/6000? Any difference or reason to do one over the other?
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I never used a Pebble, but at those prices I question how much abrasive is actually in the stone.
Also, what are you trying to accomplish with this stone? Which of your knives are you trying to sharpen? Because even with the D2 you'll have a slow going of it - and that won't like an 8K edge.
 
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