Recommendation? Smith's Tri-Hone vs Norton Crystolon 100/280 Combo Stone

[Fixall]

I'm looking for a cheap setup that will allow me to maintain the scandi grinds on my Mora's (I have an Edge Pro and a Sharpmaker for the rest of my knives) and will also allow me to break into freehand sharpening. I also already own a strop with black and white compound as well as several different sandpaper grits I can use to finish the edge with. Right now I have it narrowed down to the Smith's Tri-6 Arkansas Tri-Hone sharpening system and the Norton Crystolon Combination Oilstone.

The Tri-Hone comes with a synthetic 400 grit coarse stone, a synthetic 600 grit medium stone, and a natural 1000 - 1200 grit fine Arkansas stone. The stones are 6" x 1 5/8" x 3/8".

The Norton has a combination of a 100 grit coarse stone and a 280 grit fine stone. The stone is 8" x 2" x 1".

With the price being roughly equal... Which would you choose and why? Are there any other stones/systems I should be looking into?

Thanks!!

 

[bolabeenz]

I'd go with the Norton stone. It's bigger and the low grits will work faster when working a scandi grind.
The Smiths seems too small for what you want and may load up fast.

 

[bgentry]

I would steer away from the Smiths setup. Arkansas stones are good for almost nothing these days. If you only sharpen carbon steels, it will work for you. Otherwise you'll be fighting the ability of the stone to actually cut a modern steel.

The Norton combo stone will produce nice sharp edges if you do your job. The polish won't be very high, but it should produce tooth sharp edges. You might want to supplement this with some other finer stone. Using your Spyderco sharpmaker as a finisher would definitely get you a more polished edge.

I can't think of a super budget fine-ish bench stone right off the top of my head...

Brian.

 

[Fixall]

I'd go with the Norton stone. It's bigger and the low grits will work faster when working a scandi grind.
The Smiths seems too small for what you want and may load up fast.

That's kind of what I'm thinking too. I used the Edge Pro stones as makeshift bench stones last night to see how it would go with the Mora. It went ok, but the narrow, short stone made it seem very inefficient. They also became clogged up rather quickly because of the amount of steel you have to take off with a Scandi grind. The Norton should help alleviate both those issues.

Thanks!

I would steer away from the Smiths setup. Arkansas stones are good for almost nothing these days. If you only sharpen carbon steels, it will work for you. Otherwise you'll be fighting the ability of the stone to actually cut a modern steel.

The Norton combo stone will produce nice sharp edges if you do your job. The polish won't be very high, but it should produce tooth sharp edges. You might want to supplement this with some other finer stone. Using your Spyderco sharpmaker as a finisher would definitely get you a more polished edge.

I can't think of a super budget fine-ish bench stone right off the top of my head...

Brian.

The Smith's setup only has one Arkansas stone for finishing the blade, the other two stones in the system are synthetic stones. Whichever setup I pickup, it will likely only be used to sharpen a; Morakniv Bushcraft Survival, Morakniv Craftline Pro S, and maybe a Svord Mini Peasant (the Edge Pro doesn't handle the Sandi and Plunge grind on these knives very well). These knives use Sandvik 14c28n and high carbon steel, so I don't imagine I'd have an issue with the stones being to soft/unaggressive.

The size of the Norton is the biggest selling point to me right now. As of now, I think I'm going to pick up the Norton and then just use some fine grit sandpaper to finish the Mora/Svord for now.

Thanks!

 

[David Martin]

You should do well with that, (last paragraph). DM

 

[deltaboy]

Norton the way to go due to the larger size and more aggressive grits. If all you were doing Traditional Pocket Knives with Carbon Steel Blades the Smith set would serve you well! My Dad's Smith set is nearly 40 years old and we had to reglue the Hard Arkansas stone to the Cedar.

 

[Fixall]

Norton the way to go due to the larger size and more aggressive grits. If all you were doing Traditional Pocket Knives with Carbon Steel Blades the Smith set would serve you well! My Dad's Smith set is nearly 40 years old and we had to reglue the Hard Arkansas stone to the Cedar.

Yea, I think I'm going to go with the Norton. I'm going to give myself another day or so to think about it and give others a chance to chime in, but the Norton sounds like the way to go. If I end up really liking freehand sharpening to the point I'm doing that more than using the Edge Pro or Sharpmaker on my folders, than I'll likely invest in a nice waterstone set down the road.

 

[David Martin]

I've had my Norton combination grit stone for 11 or 12 years and like it. You'll mostly use the fine side. I use mine with mineral oil. Good luck, DM