Recommendation? Stone After Norton India fine

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JeffDahMoose776

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I'm looking at the shapton pro line of medium stones to follow up my fine India. I have the 1k coming in the mail but upon further research it seems most people consider it to be closer to 800 grit, if that the case I think it will overlap too much with my fine India. Would it be logical to send it back and go with a 1500 or 2000? I like a stone that's hard and will last a while.

Would anybody recommend a specific one of these stones for me?
 
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A fine India is about 400 grit (JIS), right? You are right, the Shapton Pro 1k is more a 800 grit stone.
How do you use your India? If it is a rather coarse stone (as 400 grit would be) I wouldn't want to use it regularly because it is too aggressive. A finer Shapton to keep your blades sharp makes sense.
What size is your India? Shaptons are 21x7. I want stones the same size, more or less. India is an oilstone, Shapton a waterstone.
Maybe you want to take a closer look:
Ten Color-Coded Grit Options
What about a Spyderco Medium? That stone is much finer than what you would expect from a stone that is called "medium".
 
Norton's Fine India is one of my favorites for setting working edges on the knives I use. After doing that and using the knives for awhile, I often like to do touchups on a medium Spyderco ceramic (I use the Sharpmaker's medium rods for this). It follows the Norton Fine beautifully, as far as I'm concerned. They're a nice complement to one another. And this combo also makes for very, very simple upkeep on the knives I use (EDC & kitchen knives). The Fine India is rated by Norton at around 360-400 or so. A little coarser when new, and then it gets a little finer with some use over time.

In terms of grit size equivalency, I've often felt the medium Spyderco closely emulates the finish left by fresh, unused 1200-grit wet/dry SiC sandpaper (FEPA-P grit standard). I'd been a fan of using sandpaper for awhile, for creating convexed finishes on some of my knives. So I became acquainted with the finish of various grits in it and began to recognize the similarity in finish of the 1200-grit paper to the medium Spyderco.
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
In terms of grit size equivalency, I've often felt the medium Spyderco closely emulates the finish left by fresh, unused 1200-grit wet/dry SiC sandpaper (FEPA-P grit standard).
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I have the Spydero Medium at about P1000 on my chart. Have you directly compared it to both P1000 and P1200 and concluded it is more similar to P1200? (I presume factory finish on the Medium rod.)
 
Mr.Wizard said:
I have the Spydero Medium at about P1000 on my chart. Have you directly compared it to both P1000 and P1200 and concluded it is more similar to P1200? (I presume factory finish on the Medium rod.)
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When I was sharpening with wet/dry paper, I sometimes used a full progression up through 2000 or so. That included steps at 800 and then to 1200. I didn't have any at 1000. So, comparing to what I'd used, I found the 1200 most similar to the medium Spyderco. There may be some similarity to 1000 as well, as there's not likely a big difference in finish between those two (1000, 1200).

There may also be some variability in the Spyderco hones themselves, depending on how new or well-used they are.
 
Depending what you want to spend, I'd go for the Chosera (Naniwa Pro) 1000, Shapton Glass 1000, Cerax 1000, or King 1000. The first two are more expensive but they're splash & go. The Cerax and King are soaking stones, and pretty affordable. You can get a combination King 1000/6000 for around $42. If you go that way, make sure you're getting the KDS model and not the cheaper (and not so good) KW65. Good price on the Cerax here: https://store.burrfection.com/products/suehiro-cerax-1010-whetstone
 
I have the stones you mention and actually prefer to avoid oilstones now, unless I am working with woodworking blades. After the Norton fine India, I would follow it with a sintered ceramic, like the Spyderco fine or the Norton fine ceramic stone. Residual oil, if any is left on the blade, should not harm the ceramics, but I am not sure about the Shapton stones. I actually prefer the Shapton pro 2000 to the 1000, as it cuts fast and leaves a fine edge.
If you are working with vanadium carbide steels, then a ceramic stone, like the Spyderco or Norton, will do better than the Shapton pro.
I use the Spyderco medium as a finishing stone on axe blades after sharpening on a belt sander with a 320 or 400 grit belt. It is relatively fine, but I generally prefer the fine Norton or Spyderco for finishing after something like a fine India. The fine India gives a sharp edge, and grit values are not the whole story.
 
I have the Spyderco fine and I really don’t like it. Worst feel and feedback of any stone in my collection.
 
Many Spyderco ceramic stones may not be as flat as they should be. This can cause difficulty with woodworking blades, but not so much with many knife blades. I can’t stand using ceramics with water. They work much better dry, even though lots of people recommend lubrication with water.
 
I recommend trying Norton Sharpening Oil on the Spyderco Ceramics. A light coating and it helps greatly with delaying swarf clogging and loading. Quick rub off with paper towel and the black steel swarf is gone. A light coasting of Norton oil is not going to run all over the place like water. I even use it on the Sharpmaker rods with great results.

Regards,
FK
 
Norton Washita India Combination Sharpening Stone Oilstone ...
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
The Fine India is rated by Norton at around 360-400 or so. A little coarser when new, and then it gets a little finer with some use over time.
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Old post, I know. I thought 360 to 400, too. That is what Norton says in their grit chart. But today I found an article with a comparision Norton made between waterstones and benchstones (what seems to mean oilstones). And there they compare a Fine India close to a surface finish a 1000 Grit waterstone leaves. Will add the link. This is confusing, because in their grit chart a Fine India is rated as 35 micron or a little finer than a 360 waterstone (JIS).
https://www.nortonabrasives.com/en-us/resources/expertise/choosing-sharpening-stone
 
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Papilio said:
Old post, I know. I thought 360 to 400, too. That is what Norton says in their grit chart. But today I found an article with a comparision Norton made between waterstones and benchstones (what seems to mean oilstones). And there they compare a Fine India close to a surface finish a 1000 Grit waterstone leaves. Will add the link. This is confusing, because in their grit chart a Fine India is rated as 35 micron or a little finer than a 360 waterstone (JIS).
https://www.nortonabrasives.com/en-us/resources/expertise/choosing-sharpening-stone
Click to expand...
That's where grit comparisons get pretty vague or even meaningless sometimes, if comparing between different standards (Norton oilstones = ANSI; most waterstones = JIS). And even then, individual mfrs. will seemingly grade according to their own vague scales, which are sometimes difficult to compare to any of the known grit standards.

And if comparing only by the finish produced, instead of nominal grit size, then other factors come into play, like the particular shape, hardness or friability of the grit, and the rate at which the stone's binders release fresh grit (or don't). Each of those factors makes a huge difference in the finish or the rate of metal removal. All kinds of variables there.
 
Well explained. Thank you.
Nonetheless I think Norton should not give contradictory information.
 
Manufactures are now assigning grit rating numbers to all types of stones. I guess the consumer demands that these days with it being so common in synthetic water stones.
Grit rating doesn't really belong on many naturals and India's either IMO.
 
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