Talk me into Buying a Arctic Fox stone.

A

abey67

Gold Member
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Feb 25, 2007
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I've been looking at this stone for a little while and just haven't seen much on this stone. If you have one, I would appreciate a little brief review or opinion. Thanks in advance!!
 
As the producer of them, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. But I'm sure you're looking for opinions from other folks, so I'll let them speak their mind unless there's any questions specifically for me. :)
 
abey67 said:
I've been looking at this stone for a little while and just haven't seen much on this stone. If you have one, I would appreciate a little brief review or opinion. Thanks in advance!!
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I have (purchased) the "field" size... I think it's a decent stone... it's slow wearing so little mess and stays pretty flat, it's easy to use... I just soak it in water for a few minutes, and I like the size... I hold it in my hand to sharpen with. Haven't used it on any "high end" steels... but on the average knife it does the job. Better than the King 1K/6K stone IMO. Probably wouldn't use it to reprofile a blade, but to resharpen a knife and take out some minor nicks/chips, etc... does the job. Has a decent "feel" too, FWIW (probably not much). ;)

Anyway, worth it in my book. :)
 
abey67 said:
I've been looking at this stone for a little while and just haven't seen much on this stone. If you have one, I would appreciate a little brief review or opinion. Thanks in advance!!
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Its like a upgrade to the classic norton India stone except I believe it will also work with water by Benjamin's design. The price is good value. Leaves a nice finish for the grit rating. I bought a pocket stone a few years ago from Baryonyx.

As a stone junkie it's always fun to play with different stones
 
I have the field stone and like it. I seem to favor it over the Norton India when I sharpen my kitchen knives.
Probably is the "feel".
At first I used water,but went to mineral oil because water is too messy where I sharpen. Works well with either.
Excellent value. Last damn near forever.
 
Forty two blades - I just have to say that this thread caused me to look at your website. You have some very cool products on there and the website format is a delight to look at - especially the backgrounds. You are most probably going to cost me some pesos but I really don't mind buying quality stuff. Your stones are VERY interesting. I really love the idea of recycling scrap material from the manufacture of stones. I hope your business is prospering. Now back to the actual thread.......
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
As the producer of them, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. But I'm sure you're looking for opinions from other folks, so I'll let them speak their mind unless there's any questions specifically for me. :)
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Are you planning on making any stones that fit "edge-pro" blanks (6x1x1/8 or 6x1x1/4)?
 
Perhaps eventually, but our focus is on practical no-frills hand-sharpening so introducing new blends and stone shapes that are in line with that vision will probably take priority. We like the idea of it, but in terms of what we devote our resources towards it's on the radar, but a mid-low priority. :)
 
If I wasn’t so much of a stone junky I could use the Arctic Fox and American Mutt stones exclusively and be very happy.

The AF really has excellent feedback with water and on most steels it leaves a crisp hazy looking edge.
Probably my most used stone is my AF combo pocket stone cause I keep that in my tool pouch for quick touch ups.
 
The AF does a very good job, I've used it on soft low alloy steels and high carbide high hardness steels to great effect. I wouldn't go thinking it's the best for S110V but I've done just fine on steels such as S30V.

It has good feel and if you do your part the edge will be very clean and sharp right off the stone. Very good option if you want to keep it simple.
 
willc said:
If I wasn’t so much of a stone junky I could use the Arctic Fox and American Mutt stones exclusively and be very happy.

The AF really has excellent feedback with water and on most steels it leaves a crisp hazy looking edge.
Probably my most used stone is my AF combo pocket stone cause I keep that in my tool pouch for quick touch ups.
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Same for me. The AF double sided field stone. The only thing needed for your average kitchen knife. When the neighbors bring over all their knives to sharpen I can do 98% of everything I need with that stone.
 
Please consider this another (implicit) request for an Arctic Fox stone in 6"x1"x0.25" for guided systems.
 
We may eventually offer stones for guided systems, but given that much of the design ethos behind the formulations revolves around pragmatic field or workshop sharpening, freehand is the overwhelming emphasis. I understand that freehand sharpening is something some people struggle with, and there are some contexts where the use of guides does genuinely matter for the intended function, but it hasn't been the context for which these stones were designed. All that said, the suggestion is noted and will be taken under consideration for future projects.
 
I ... like many ... have several different stones and I like to use different stones for different reasons or on different steels ... from Norton or Chosera and Shapton Glass Ceramics to DMT diamonds ... and they all have a place in my uses ...

but I can't stress this enough of just what a great value the Artic Fox stones are ... I like the field stone ... it gives a great working edge and a bit surprised that it is almost polished slightly ... it and a couple DMT Diafolds are in my camping pack ...

I have the Artic Fox ... field stone ... the puck ... and the scythe stone and use them a lot on my tools ... with great results ...

I like the feedback from the Artic Fox stones I have so it has me just now buying the Artic Fox bench stone along with the Mutt and Manticore to use on some of my blades ... and hopefully I'll try the Ptarmigan also when they are available again ... to fill a role in my sharpening stones.
 
FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades a quick question on the Arctic Fox fieldstone.

I did ~40 cheap stainless kitchen knives this week for some neighbors with the Arctic Fox fieldstone. It looks like it’s getting close to glazing after a lot of use. Any tips on how to deglaze it? I’ve only used water with it thus far, no honing oil.
 
CasePeanut said:
FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades a quick question on the Arctic Fox fieldstone.

I did ~40 cheap stainless kitchen knives this week for some neighbors with the Arctic Fox fieldstone. It looks like it’s getting close to glazing after a lot of use. Any tips on how to deglaze it? I’ve only used water with it thus far, no honing oil.
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Use more pressure prior to final passes and it'll shed like it's supposed to. :) If you glazed it real bad you can just give it a quick surface rubbing with a cheap diamond plate to take the glazed layer off. Or re-flatten entirely using the ol' SiC grit on plate glass method.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Use more pressure prior to final passes and it'll shed like it's supposed to. :) If you glazed it real bad you can just give it a quick surface rubbing with a cheap diamond plate to take the glazed layer off. Or re-flatten entirely using the ol' SiC grit on plate glass method.
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Awesome. I will bear down a little bit harder and see what happens. I always go lightly on that stone. The Manticore sees the hard scrubbing :)
 
CasePeanut said:
Awesome. I will bear down a little bit harder and see what happens. I always go lightly on that stone. The Manticore sees the hard scrubbing :)
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The stone performs best with medium to medium-firm pressure in the shaping and polishing stages, and light pressure during apexing passes. :)

Eli Chaps said:
Are these more splash-n-go or do they require soaking?
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They're a vitrified bond, so fully porous. Splash-and-goes are usually a urea-formaldehyde resin bond, which is non-porous but dissolved by water, which is why you splash them to get them cutting properly but don't want to soak them. Vitrified bonds are ceramic bonds, and are porous and do not degrade in water.
 
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