Sharpening stone

Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
9
Right now I have one of those Lansky systems to sharpen knives, but I'll never forget being taught how to sharpen a knife with a bench stone by my dad and after realizing how annoying it is to set up the whole lansky system, I would rather just have some kind of bench stone.

From some basic research on the web I've decided to get some kind of waterstone like KING. But in all reality, I have no experience with those stones or know anyone who does. If anyone has any ideas on them or has any other suggestions, please let me know.

I couldn't imagine sharpening the Junglas with the lansky system...
 
you can get a set of 2 waterstones at lee valley for around 60$. I picked up a 1200 and a 4000 and has worked for even 9 to 10 in blades like my rtakII, trailmaster and bk-9.
Go to the maintenance/sharpening subforum here and there will be all the info you need on use etc.
 
i just ordered a DiaSharp 6x2 Fine/Extra Fine combination stone off Amazon for under $50, i have not used one....but have heard/read good things, seemed a good deal and it should last a long time.
 
I have a King combination stone- 250/1000 grit. It's a mini stone (was planning on carrying it while backpacking). It's deceptively heavy though and I've decided I probably won't use it for that. I've already had to re-flaten it (not sure the technical term) after a couple sharpening sessions so the quality may not be great on the King stones. The nice thing is I don't need a Negura stone (for making a slurry) with the King, just water.

I've heard REALLY good things from some straight-razor-shaving guys about Norton- they also sell combination stones. I'm planning on getting a Norton next (1000/4000) and also a Spyderco Sharpmaker for when I'm feeling lazy but still want to do some sharpening. My brother read some good things about DMT stones and is getting one of those, so that may be a good option too.
 
King water stones are OK but Norton or Naniwa would be a much better choice. All waterstones will dish and will need flattening, some stones do this faster and some slower and a lot will depend on how much you use the stone but either way flattening is just something that needs to be done with them. A better buy with the nortons would be the 220/1000 and the 4000/8000, it will cost you less and give you a wider range of grits to work with.
 
...also, you don't NEED a flattening stone. I used the garage floor on mine and it worked just fine- one less thing to buy. Japanesewoodworker.com is a good place to look for stones, especially Japanese whetstones (duh). I was always drawn to getting one of the stones that had awesome japanese lettering on it, decided it may not help me get a better edge though :)
 
Also check the Woodcraft site. They have the 1000/6000 King combo stone for $30.00. I picked one up on sale for $21.00. Well worth the money.
 
DMT now sells an Extra Extra Fine bench stone that is 8000 grit. I'd like to get a full set of their benchstones. I have the blue, red, and green mini folding sharpeners and they work great. They are currently the only sharpening tools I have and if I strop on cardboard after I use the green (Fine), I can shave with the blade no problem. They make really good stuff.
 
DMT now sells an Extra Extra Fine bench stone that is 8000 grit. I'd like to get a full set of their benchstones.

....crafstman studio is selling the 6'' DiaSharp set (1 coarse, 1 fine, 1 extra fine) for $56, if you spend $75 you get free shipping, an easy enough amount to reach when you toss in some stropping compound and some leather....a comprehensive scary-sharp setup for a very reasonable price (in my opinion.)
 
Thanks for the info, I'll look into some of those other brands.

As for flattening, when sharpening you can rotate the stone and try and make sure you grind away even spots on each corner... helps the stone last a lil longer
 
Thanks for the info, I'll look into some of those other brands.

As for flattening, when sharpening you can rotate the stone and try and make sure you grind away even spots on each corner... helps the stone last a lil longer

Thats trues, but eventually you're going to have to flatten again and for that, take a walk out to your sidewalk with a bottle of water and do work. The stone Master_Blaster talked about definitely seem worth investigating. Man, i need to find a way to upgrade my wallet size!
 
I have some very fine Arkansas novoculite stones from Dan's Whetstones. They perform well.

DancesWithKnives
 
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