Thanks! I've been sharpening up a storm since I received the kit on Saturday. I started out with an old Chicago Cutlery Chef's knife and worked my way up to some of our better kitchen knives. The DMT stones made quick work of the relatively soft steel and we were slicing and dicing, quite literally, in no time.
We have a set of Dexter Russell Soft-Grip kitchen knives that my wife bought for culinary school. Those knives are not much for appearance and we haven't been using them in favor of fancier looking Pampered Chef knives. However, the DR blades are FFG and very thin. I sharpened the small Chef's knife and I was amazed at how sharp it became. I tested it out on an orange, apple, carrot and potato; all of which it sliced through with ease. I set the blade edge on top of an orange, grabbed the end of the handle with 2 fingers and gently rocked the knife back and forth. It sliced through to the bottom in 1 stroke forward and 1/2 stroke back. Very cool!
I did have an issue with the Extra Fine side of one of the stones. I know and understand that the finer DMT's require break-in. However, from first inspection, the stone just didn't seem right. I expected the surface to be consistently smooth for an abrasive that fine but there was a few lines and small pits that were visible and could be felt by touch. I could also feel larger particles raised on the surface. There were very faint stripes on the surface perpendicular to the longer sides. I tried it out and right away it didn't feel right. Even with the lightest pressure, I could feel the edge getting hung up multiple times on each pass. I inspected the blade with a 10x loupe and my smooth edge from the Fine side was now thoroughly chipped. Under magnification, I could see the "larger particles" which were black as opposed to the grayish powder-like appearance of the surrounding diamonds. So I focused on the 2 largest and closes particles with the blade hoping to dislodge them with no success. Then, I tried some Soft Scrub with the rough side of a scrubbing sponge with no success. Then, I used my ZDP-189 blade thinking that if anything is going to "break in" the stone it would be that hard steel. No success. Finally, I lightly used the Coarse side of the other stone and that worked after several passes. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, it also removed some of the EF diamonds exposing those stripes even more and it became obvious that those stripes were the metal mounting surface underneath the diamonds. So the stone is now smooth but with stripes of non-diamond surface.
I contacted the seller about this issue and they have agreed to replace the EF/F stone at no extra charge. I am very happy with their service especially since some might consider my alteration of the stone to be abuse. He stated that the steps that I took were reasonable. Regarding the black particles, my best guess would be that those were black diamonds but I'm not an expert and that's just a guess.
UKPK (CTS-BD1)
I finished sharpening this one yesterday and I'm very happy with the results. The factory bevel was still intact so I worked through the Fine side, Extra Fine side, Green Compound on Balsa and finally a bare leather strop. Hair popping sharp!
Stretch ZDP-189
The edge had been chipped so I had previously attempted repair with 8 sheets of automotive sandpaper (320-2500 grit) on a countertop cutting board. I ended up with an even edge and shiny, polished, convex bevels. It would slice but not push-cut through printer paper and it would not shave arm hair.
After all my recent practice, I decided to attempt to create new, flat bevels at approximately 15 degrees per side. Ha! I started on the Extra Coarse and spent a lot of time trying to get it right on the first stone like everybody recommends. I did my best and worked my way through to stropping. Again, I've got shiny convex bevels and a smooth edge. It is a bit sharper. It push-cuts paper but does not quite shave hair.
I'm confident that my technique is headed in the right direction but I'll need a lot more practice to get the flat shallow bevels that I want from reprofiling. Many thanks to all who have responded and also to knifenut1013 for the plethora of his knowledge on this forum and his MrEdgy81 YouTube videos. What was initially "Greek to me" about freehand technique is finally starting to make sense.
Jay
