Hi there I'm looking for a nice combination stone or a few stones as I'm working on truly learning the intracacies of sharpening. I usually get a pretty decent edge but have not reached even close to where I want to be. I have an izula 2 that gets carried most days and have ordered a custom elmax from a maker here. My budget is around 100 bucks. Also if there is a good book for sharpening I'd be interested to know about any suggestion on that.
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Sharpening system that covers 1095 and elmax
- Thread starter noob93
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I'd suggest DMT stones, XC, C, F, XF. With e double-sided stones, you can get that in two stones. That goes from ~160 grit to 1200 and will cut any steel you throw at it. Get the largest size you can afford. I also often put a microbevel on with spyderco M and F ceramics, like on the doublestuff. With that spread you can choose the level of refinement you want on the blade for lots of different uses.
Diamonds cut fast, so practice on a crappy old kitchen knife first and be careful.
My suggestion will likely not be the least expensive though, so hopefully someone else will have cheaper but effective options.
Diamonds cut fast, so practice on a crappy old kitchen knife first and be careful.
My suggestion will likely not be the least expensive though, so hopefully someone else will have cheaper but effective options.
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Good diamond hones will last for decades. I've used the same DMT's for going on 20 years.
Good diamond hones are the most efficient way to go (they'll last for many years if not abused by too much pressure). A Norton fine India is a good stone if you put a lot of wear and tear on your working knives, it'll bring back a working edge pretty quickly. For work knives I almost never go finer than a soft Arkansas to finish it off. I like a work knife to be a little "toothy".
Jason B. should be here any time soon. He's got a recommendation for the basics which should fit your budget. I would have remembered it but I saw it too late.
Anything that will take care of the Elmax will take care of the 1095. I think you can go from a rough stone to a strop as the bare minimum (and that doesn't mean you're being cheap - it is effective as any system). Or you can go rough stone, fine stone, and strop.
I don't think a lot of makers are focused on sharpening as much as you would think so. Sharpening is it's own science apart from blade making. Good luck!
ETA: for books, while I have several books on sharpening which I bought when I was starting out, i would highly recommend the stickies on top of this forum especially the one on "what is sharpening about" by magnanimous.
If you want a hard copy book: The Razor Edge book of sharpening by John Juranitch.
For youtube, murray carter and cliffstamp. there's a couple more but if you start with the stickies and the book and the two youtube channels, that will give you enough breadth to weed out bad youtube videos for yourself.
Anything that will take care of the Elmax will take care of the 1095. I think you can go from a rough stone to a strop as the bare minimum (and that doesn't mean you're being cheap - it is effective as any system). Or you can go rough stone, fine stone, and strop.
I don't think a lot of makers are focused on sharpening as much as you would think so. Sharpening is it's own science apart from blade making. Good luck!
ETA: for books, while I have several books on sharpening which I bought when I was starting out, i would highly recommend the stickies on top of this forum especially the one on "what is sharpening about" by magnanimous.
If you want a hard copy book: The Razor Edge book of sharpening by John Juranitch.
For youtube, murray carter and cliffstamp. there's a couple more but if you start with the stickies and the book and the two youtube channels, that will give you enough breadth to weed out bad youtube videos for yourself.
Last edited:
Wowbagger
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Yes I read that . . . but . . . I would still recommend just getting an Edge Pro with shapton stones.
A Wicked Edge might even be better but is more expensive.
You can struggle, and struggle and learn and learn and yes you can make stuff sharp and be PRETTY HAPPY with your results; eventually PRETTY DARNED HAPPY.
OR
You can get a guided system, especially one of the two mentioned
AND
Be Ecstatic about your results in short order. What's your time worth ? In hours and hours verses minutes and minutes ?
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What are you using now?
I've been impressed with WorkSharp's "Guided System" package as a nice little kit, (here's a pic since some think it's the powered sharpener)...
It's a nice little setup... gives you a decent base to work on, abrasives decent and large enough to go from reprofiling an edge or doing a bit of repair work to a decent fine finish (includes a strop in the 'upgrade' package), guides if you want them, freehand if you don't, etc. It will easily handle the knives you mentioned, and can be found well under your price limit.
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Ideally, you want to use something harder than vanadium carbide to sharpen Elmax. That means diamond or CBN. However, Elmax VC is only 3%, so it's not as difficult as say, 90V or what have you. That said, a silicon carbide stone should work pretty well with Elmax (and 1095 of course). Vanadium carbide is only slightly harder than silicon carbide.
Jason B.
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Most anything will sharpen ELMAX, the Vanadium really doesn't pose a challenge with this steel.
I'd say keep it simple with a Coarse DMT plus a strop but I know that wouldn't work so well on 1095. Basic carbon steels like 1095 don't do all that well on diamond plates, leaves the edge ragged.
If you want to keep it cheap then the Norton Combo India and a strop would have you covered on both steels. The fine India is about 300 grit but can make a very sharp edge. Personally, I would buy them as individual stones that way you can get the Coarse SiC and Fine India. Make a strop and your around $50.
A little more expensive option would be waterstones. A Shapton Glass 500 and lapping plate would put you at the $100 limit but is a stone set that's easy to expand on and sharpens very well. I use the 140 Atoma and Shapton Glass 500 & 2k for most of my sharpening needs, they sharpen quickly and yield a very nice cutting edge.
I'd say keep it simple with a Coarse DMT plus a strop but I know that wouldn't work so well on 1095. Basic carbon steels like 1095 don't do all that well on diamond plates, leaves the edge ragged.
If you want to keep it cheap then the Norton Combo India and a strop would have you covered on both steels. The fine India is about 300 grit but can make a very sharp edge. Personally, I would buy them as individual stones that way you can get the Coarse SiC and Fine India. Make a strop and your around $50.
A little more expensive option would be waterstones. A Shapton Glass 500 and lapping plate would put you at the $100 limit but is a stone set that's easy to expand on and sharpens very well. I use the 140 Atoma and Shapton Glass 500 & 2k for most of my sharpening needs, they sharpen quickly and yield a very nice cutting edge.
Thank you for the info i was tempted by the work sharp but it only has 6 inch stone which is a bit of a bummber to me. So out of those two options which one will give me a sharper edge and be more diverse as in being able to remove chips and hone edges. Im gonna take a guess here and say the norton set as the shapton is only one grit?
Jason B.
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Staying in your price range the Norton stones would be best. Coarse stones are where the sharpening happens and more often than not you will need to reprofile the edge to a more desirable angle.
The Shaptons have 13 stones in the Glass series but this can get expensive, especially when you buy the lapping plate, pond and stone holder... like I have.
The Nortons will give you good value for your money. I was thinking about it a little more and I remembered they make a real nice Fine india/Arkansas combo stone, this and a combo SiC stone would give you a nice 4 stone set well within your price range.
The Shaptons have 13 stones in the Glass series but this can get expensive, especially when you buy the lapping plate, pond and stone holder... like I have.
The Nortons will give you good value for your money. I was thinking about it a little more and I remembered they make a real nice Fine india/Arkansas combo stone, this and a combo SiC stone would give you a nice 4 stone set well within your price range.
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I guess I'll be the one to say Lansky, The deluxe diamond set is well under your budget. The guide and rods will give you the basic understanding of sharpening, then you can move into doing it by hand.