Hi,
I'm moving from using my belt sander with various grit belts to start to freehand on stone. I've got the KME kit, which is fine, but it's a little finicky and I spend more time setting it up and so forth than I'd like, and the results aren't really that much better than I can do on the belt sander with appropriate grit belts then a strop - and definitely takes a lot longer. I also have issues with smaller knives (such as SAK) that don't have much blade height, as it's hard to hit the right angles with the clamps in the way. I end up having to tape everything even with the stop to avoid grit from scratching up the knives, and the tip is always a risk of rounding out/goofing up with the KME, just because of the grinds on many knives not having the same thickness, so sometimes you end up with a wider bevel at the tip.
As such, I'm in the market for stones to freehand on (but am open to other guided systems that can deal with smaller knives, but also larger kitchen knives as well and aren't quite so finicky with the clamping/don't have issues with needing to tape/etc). Many of my folders are M390, the rest are S35V/S30V, 154CM, and softer metals like the SAKs. The kitchen knives are all over the map, with everything from VG10 to stuff you can look at intently and the edge will fold (my plan is to practice on these, as they need constant sharpening, and are cheap).
I won't say I have no budgetary limits as I'm sure someone will find $10,000 stones, but I'd rather buy once and cry once on these. I'd like to stay under $1000 total, and would obviously prefer less than that. If a incremental amount more will provide a significant increase in performance, I'm willing to pay for it, but within reason.
My primary initial use will be my EDC folder (Spyderco PM2 in M390) and the kitchen knives. I'm looking for suggestions on the individual stones I'll need, something to flatten them with if they need regular flattening, and a good holder for the stone(s). I'd also love to hear thoughts on stropping solutions (meaning the materials for it, not necessarily an actual liquid solution. I'm totally open to emulsions or whatever the current best method is - but would love input on what to use to utilize them).
I've heard good things about the Naniwa professional series here, but wanted to check in before I just bought a bunch of them in various grits (I was thinking 400/1000/5000, as well as the flattening stone they sell), and get some input on what grits/stones I should pick up to put a nice edge on these types of knives. I'm not stuck on a single brand; I'd definitely like to hear thoughts on what the current best would be for my use case. I'm sure I'll be the weak point in the setup for a while, but I don't want the equipment to be a barrier in the future.
FWIW, with the belts, I can get shaving sharp without any issue, but no tree-topping or whittling level of sharpness. I'd like to be able to take it to that level with a knife or two just for fun.
Thanks!
I'm moving from using my belt sander with various grit belts to start to freehand on stone. I've got the KME kit, which is fine, but it's a little finicky and I spend more time setting it up and so forth than I'd like, and the results aren't really that much better than I can do on the belt sander with appropriate grit belts then a strop - and definitely takes a lot longer. I also have issues with smaller knives (such as SAK) that don't have much blade height, as it's hard to hit the right angles with the clamps in the way. I end up having to tape everything even with the stop to avoid grit from scratching up the knives, and the tip is always a risk of rounding out/goofing up with the KME, just because of the grinds on many knives not having the same thickness, so sometimes you end up with a wider bevel at the tip.
As such, I'm in the market for stones to freehand on (but am open to other guided systems that can deal with smaller knives, but also larger kitchen knives as well and aren't quite so finicky with the clamping/don't have issues with needing to tape/etc). Many of my folders are M390, the rest are S35V/S30V, 154CM, and softer metals like the SAKs. The kitchen knives are all over the map, with everything from VG10 to stuff you can look at intently and the edge will fold (my plan is to practice on these, as they need constant sharpening, and are cheap).
I won't say I have no budgetary limits as I'm sure someone will find $10,000 stones, but I'd rather buy once and cry once on these. I'd like to stay under $1000 total, and would obviously prefer less than that. If a incremental amount more will provide a significant increase in performance, I'm willing to pay for it, but within reason.
My primary initial use will be my EDC folder (Spyderco PM2 in M390) and the kitchen knives. I'm looking for suggestions on the individual stones I'll need, something to flatten them with if they need regular flattening, and a good holder for the stone(s). I'd also love to hear thoughts on stropping solutions (meaning the materials for it, not necessarily an actual liquid solution. I'm totally open to emulsions or whatever the current best method is - but would love input on what to use to utilize them).
I've heard good things about the Naniwa professional series here, but wanted to check in before I just bought a bunch of them in various grits (I was thinking 400/1000/5000, as well as the flattening stone they sell), and get some input on what grits/stones I should pick up to put a nice edge on these types of knives. I'm not stuck on a single brand; I'd definitely like to hear thoughts on what the current best would be for my use case. I'm sure I'll be the weak point in the setup for a while, but I don't want the equipment to be a barrier in the future.
FWIW, with the belts, I can get shaving sharp without any issue, but no tree-topping or whittling level of sharpness. I'd like to be able to take it to that level with a knife or two just for fun.
Thanks!
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