The last sharpening stone on earth.....

I

ichor

Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
1,988
OK....you guys are always coming up with questions like.."if you could have only one folder (one Benchmade, one fixed blade.....whatever). What if you could have only one sharpening stone. In the wilderness.....to last....say five-ten years. Without it you use rocks. For use on your 9" Becker, Trailmaster, Tigershark, or one of those really expensive jobs.....all the way down to your Victorinox paring knife. What would it be and why? (it would be nice to hear some expensive and not so expensive choices....and....is this too much to ask?..........some fairly inexpensive stones). Real stones, synthetic stones, diamond stones.....have at it. Remember, you're in the middle of no where, so no EdgePros and stone pools.
 
The only thing I could think of actually carrying around with me anywhere as far as systems go is the sharpmaker. However, I'd probably sneak some sandpaper too for reprofiling. Reprofiling a hard steeled knife on the sharpmaker is a nightmare.
 
I must say that I'd go with the Sharpmaker too, perhaps with the addition of the diamond rods for the more aggressive tasks that might be needed.
 
James Muehlner said:
The only thing I could think of actually carrying around with me anywhere as far as systems go is the sharpmaker. However, I'd probably sneak some sandpaper too for reprofiling. Reprofiling a hard steeled knife on the sharpmaker is a nightmare.
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I wasn't thinking "systems", but rather, a single unit sharpener. However, the Sharpmaker is so compact that one with the addition of diamond rods might be a consideration.
 
If it has to last 10 years it eliminates my favorite waterstones and diamond hones--they just wear too fast. Abrasive paper will last even less time. If I have to do some heavy sharpening it eliminates the Arkansas and ceramic hones (they don't cut fast enough). I want to be able to sometimes put a fine edge on my knife so that eliminates most of the silicon-carbide bench hones (they just don't give me as fine a finish). I would be left wanting a high quality aluminum-oxide bench hone. I would pick a Norton combination medium-coarse aluminum-oxide on one side and india stone on the other side. I would get a long one, 8-inches minimum, 12-inches preferred. As time went by it would become concave, but that isn't a practical problem. The old bench home at my parents home looked like that after I used it for 10 years and it still worked fine.
 
Jeff Clark said:
If it has to last 10 years it eliminates my favorite waterstones and diamond hones--they just wear too fast. Abrasive paper will last even less time. If I have to do some heavy sharpening it eliminates the Arkansas and ceramic hones (they don't cut fast enough). I want to be able to sometimes put a fine edge on my knife so that eliminates most of the silicon-carbide bench hones (they just don't give me as fine a finish). I would be left wanting a high quality aluminum-oxide bench hone. I would pick a Norton combination medium-coarse aluminum-oxide on one side and india stone on the other side. I would get a long one, 8-inches minimum, 12-inches preferred. As time went by it would become concave, but that isn't a practical problem. The old bench home at my parents home looked like that after I used it for 10 years and it still worked fine.
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Thanks, Jeff. Not quite as short as qborchert or GarageBoy's, but every bit as succinct, considering the message. And tells me a bunch of what I need to know about "stones". I'm curious now about the longevity of diamond sharpeners. In my obvious ignorance, I kinda thought they would last and last and last (tho' the most recent EZE Lap I bought was a disappointment). Any comments on this????
 
It probably depends om brand. I owned an eze-lap diamond sharpener that didn't last long at all, but i still use a DMT diafold(sp?) sharpener that is about 14 years old, but still sharpens beautifully.
 
The biggest piece you can find!

I've tried all types of systems and still prefer the Arkansas whetstone, freehand.

I also like using very fine wet sand paper, usually with a mouse pad but anything works, even a dishcloth folded a couple times.

Happy sharpening,
Collecter
 
qborchert said:
It probably depends om brand. I owned an eze-lap diamond sharpener that didn't last long at all, but i still use a DMT diafold(sp?) sharpener that is about 14 years old, but still sharpens beautifully.
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I bought and EZE Lap diamond sharpener, the one that has a brass handle and screws into the handle, about 25 years ago. It lasted forever. It finally wore out for normal sharpening but is still a helluva steel to put on finishing touches. It was so good that I thought, hell, why not buy another. So, I did. Less than three years later it's worn out. I emailed the company and told them the same story but they didn't care enough to answer and defend their product. Screw'em. I use to recommend them to everyone, now......well. Word of mouth goes a long ways......especially if it's negative.
 
Without a doubt....the Norton Fine India.

Actually, the combo stone with the fine India and coarse on the flip side.
 
15yrs of freehand sharpening, only "killed" one stone and my father had done a number on it before I got it.

one stone for 10yrs of sharpening?
Alumina Oxide, 500/800 combo, and as large as I could find

[have a 2x7x1 now, can shave off 800grit if I work on it, been going 4yrs on this one so far, and other than my corners on the sides being gone, it's still good. I'm sure I could do better than this $6CAD stone.]
 
probably my norton fine india stone, it works pretty good imho, and would last forever


greg
 
I know of some people on this board who has had diamonds last them quite a while. Just don't press down too much. True, ceramics cut a bit slow, but it gives you one helluva edge.

Another tradtional stone: the Medium Arkansas
 
Another vote for the Norton stone. I have a course/fine combo and really like it.

Tom
 
GarageBoy said:
I know of some people on this board who has had diamonds last them quite a while. Just don't press down too much. True, ceramics cut a bit slow, but it gives you one helluva edge.

Another tradtional stone: the Medium Arkansas
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A 2 1/2" X 11 3/8'' medium EZ Lap Diamond Hone.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with Diamond Hones is to buy a fine hone and expect it to do reprofiling, when it clogs up they get mad and say it's junk.

My Dad always said, "...there's a right tool for every job, and if your workin' too hard your probably usin' the wrong tool."
 
Diamond hones start out cutting very fast, but the coarser ones do not cut as evenly as I would prefer. They wear in (the uneven high points break off) and the hone cuts slower, but smoother. They wear down and cut slower and smoother with time. They will last a long time, but I would rate their prime productivity at under 5 years if used frequently. I use my hones frequently.
 
Medium Arkansas.

I've had mine for 17 years, and a aside from a slight concave surface, it works as well as the day I bought it, and looks like it will go another 17 years.

I'll qualify that by saying that although I have an extensive knife collection, the stone only gets what could be called "home" use for the kitchen stuff and the 7-8 "users".
 
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