Sharpening Stones

Phydeaux said:
Start out with a work horse stone like Norton combo. It will take care of a lot of your sharpening needs. As you get more experience freehanding, add another stone to augment your sharpening equipment. I still have my first stone, a Boy Scout SiC stone. Then I got myself a Norton Combination India stone in high school, this is my work horse stone. It does 90% of my sharpening. I have gotten some other types of stones over the years, but if I could have only one stone, it would be my Norton. Like pmeisel, I use other stones(Arkansas, Washita, ceramic) I use to refine the edge if I want to. Ric
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Agreed. I've built several knives as well as some from ATS-34 and 154-cm and Norton's fine India stone can sharpen it with no problems. I used Norton's coarse crystolon stone to re-bevel a S30V blade. It seemed slow but did it. I really don't do much re-beveling. Both of these combination stones I enjoy using and find no problems in their functioning. The India stone wears far less than many other stones. I've flattened it only once in 30yrs.. Whereas the crystolon stone requires it more. DM
 
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to add onto the discussion, I recently purchased a norton combination india oil stone. I have never owned an oil stone before and am accustomed to using water to lubricate my cheap hardware store brand whetstones in the past and not used to oiling my stones. I wonder if anyone can advise me about whether I can simply use water on my new norton stone or if I should strictly stick to oil lubricants.

I am new to bladeforums and would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,
Will
 
I believe that you want to go one or the other. water will not help clear the swarf well one the stone has been oiled as it will not penetrate, but I believe it's ok to use those stones with water. Hopefully others with more experience will chime in.

Personally, I think I am going to go with the King 1000 and 6000 and stick with that as suggested by Murray Carter.
 
Binalith said:
I believe that you want to go one or the other. water will not help clear the swarf well one the stone has been oiled as it will not penetrate, but I believe it's ok to use those stones with water. Hopefully others with more experience will chime in.

Personally, I think I am going to go with the King 1000 and 6000 and stick with that as suggested by Murray Carter.
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Try the Arashiyama stones, very similar but better than the kings for not much more.
 
The Norton course/fine stone (like others said) is great. It doesn't dish very fast, and it leaves a decent toothy finish edge. I personally own it, along with Japanese water stones, DMT diamond stones, Spyderco ceramics, and even and Edge Pro Apex. The Norton is the best priced, and very easy to learn on. Good luck! Sharpening is a VERY fun thing to do, welcome to the addiction!
 
I'm shopping for a new sharpening stone right now, can't decide whether to go with a quality waterstone such as Arashiyama or DMT Diamond Plated. The Norton India stone seems like a great value as well. I will not be sharpening any super steels that require diamonds or similar, so that isn't a consideration at all.

Which of these will give the best results in terms of quality of edge produce? Which will require the least maintenance? Which will have the greatest longevity?
 
In terms of maintenance you just knocked out the waterstones, you either have to flatten them occasionally or sharpen on them in several different areas so you don't wear down one spot. Not to mention some you have to soak for awhile prior to using. (disclaimer I have no experience on waterstones, going off of what I've heard).

For longevity the DMT's will last an extremely long time if you don't use excess pressure. So another words just use it as sparingly as possible, if you use a lot of pressure you rip out the diamonds. Though on softer steels the diamond stones feel like your bringing a bazooka to a knife fight, it's overkill and you may run into some problems due to that until you get your skill down as they tend to cut very aggressively.

The norton india I hear great things about, I just picked up the economy version of it and it seems pretty good once I get done stropping it on paper. There are a lot of people who have been using these things their whole lifetimes, it's kind of like that old cheap car that just refuses to break down. It's ain't pretty, it's cheap, it get you from point A to point B, but it's reliable and last you a lifetime.

As to the quality of edges they will produce, they will all produce some pretty good edges if you have the skill and after a good strop. With me I own some small DMT stones, and just picked up the norton economy stones, one india, one silicon carbide but I have the most experience with the DMT's as the 2 nortons were just picked up in the last few days. Thus far I prefer the india but I only tested it out on SAK's so far but was quite pleased with the results. For reprofiling I take the silicon carbide or diamonds over it in a heart beat.

Personally even though I've had the 2 economy stones for such a short time, I would say the higher end version of the Norton Combination India and Crytolon paired up with a strop would do you quite well. The Crytolon leaves a far toothier edge and cuts far more aggressively and you can reclaim the shedded grit to use on a strop. The India gives you a more refined edge, far more refined than the grit ratings between the two would lead you to believe. I'm impressed enough that if I were to restart over again from scratch it be those 2 stones and I build myself some strops and I would have avoided the DMT Aligner (but bought the clamp to use with the benchstones).
 
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