Stones?

mountainmist

mountainmist

Joined
Jun 12, 2013
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Alright, I have a Spyderco SM and a Stropman strop, I like the results I'm getting with this system but I would like to try free hand sharpening. I have a budget of $100+ or -. what stones? Indiana? Japanese water stones? Arkansas stones? what grits should a try? How much practice will it take to get a hair popping edge on my blades? I want to try stones because I have a lot of time on my hands and money to blow.

Thank you for your time!

The Kid

PS. sorry if this has been beet to death but every post is unique.
 
I'd go with DMT diamond stones in coarse, fine, and extra fine grits to start out. There's really no way to know how long it will take you to learn it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. The most important thing is to practice and not get discouraged. Get yourself a bunch of inexpensive knives to practice on so you don't ruin your good knives during the learning process. Good luck:)
 
I was deciding this a year or so back to replace stuff lost in a move. I went with a combination coarse/fine India, and a combination soft/hard Arkansas. I'm happy, but I almost went with coarse/fine/extrafine DMT diamond stones. And I think I would have been happy with them too, they were just a little more money.
 
Well 100$ doesnt go very far once you start talking about full size waterstones.

Your only gonna get a 2piece set to start off with so looking at the shaptons i would get
Pro 320 , 1500
Glass 500, 2000

Others worth looking at.
Nubatama 150 , 1000
Chosera 400 , 2000

Eventually you will need a way to flatten , i would get a fullsize Atoma 140 , although a dmt works as well. When you do that i would get higher grit waterstones to match the two you would already have. (Pro 5000 , Glass 8000 , Nubatama 5000 and Chosera 5000 respectively)
 
mountainmist said:
Alright, I have a Spyderco SM and a Stropman strop, I like the results I'm getting with this system but I would like to try free hand sharpening. I have a budget of $100+ or -. what stones? Indiana? Japanese water stones? Arkansas stones? what grits should a try? How much practice will it take to get a hair popping edge on my blades? I want to try stones because I have a lot of time on my hands and money to blow.

Thank you for your time!

The Kid

PS. sorry if this has been beet to death but every post is unique.
Click to expand...

I always recommend starting with a combination silicon carbide stone for freehanding. You get a a coarse and medium surface in one stone, quick grind, good feedback, respectable edge, works consistently on any steel, and very little to go wrong. For a minimalist approach you can claim the grit from from the stone following a sharpening, apply it to a sheet of paper wrapped around the same stone, and use that for a strop. You can get a surprisingly sharp edge using this method. Once you get a good feel for freehand technique, then go ahead and spend more $ on waterstones etc where other factors start to enter into the results.

Bottom line you will need a coarse, medium, and fine surface to work with. For maintenance you can get away with medium and fine. You can expand out either side of this with extra coarse, or extra fine, but in general you need three steps for most work.

I also sell a full service sharpening block under the link in my signature that will not only give good results, but help with learning angle control and technique. Is well within your budget. Have been out of stock since before the holidays but currently have some on hand. The sale thread has a full description and some videos showing freehand technique and the particulars of the tool (Washboard sharpening block), well worth a look over.

Martin
 
I would really consider getting an Imanishi Two Sided 1K/6K Stone and a flattener for your budget.
 
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