TSPROF Kadet vs Hapstone R2

Regarding the dual side Venev stones, do you just put a few drops of water on them for lubrication? Can you also use oil?
 
I only use soapy water on all of my diamond stones (Venev, EP Matrix, Naniwa, Poltava and plated diamond plates included) and it works perfectly fine, I can't be happier the performance with soapy water on my Venev stones. The end result is hair whittling edges. Also makes stone maintenance and cleaning easier. Just a few drops of dish soap mixed in a dropper water bottle and you just draw a line with the soapy water on the stone, and smear it around with your finger. Add more every once in a while, while sharpening.

Just make sure to have a clean, moist rag around while sharpening to wipe your blade clean between swapping stones. Some guys use dry paper towels, but those will on occasion scratch your blade (especially if some stray diamonds make their way between the paper towel and your blade). A moist, clean rag works much better. Just keep using a clean part of it every time you wipe the grit and metal swarf off before moving on.

I have heard of guys using oleic or even mineral oil on only the fine grit Venev stones but I really don't think it's necessary. The problem is, once you put oil on a stone it is forever an oil stone, messy and oily and you can never really stack them on top of any of your other water stones or they'll transfer some oil onto them permanently. Some types of stones excel with oil, but the Venevs really do not need any oil.

For cleaning and conditioning, use a cheap Nagura conditioning stone (like the "Bodrid" stones Gritomatic sells, or the very cheap yellow with blue wrapping "King Nagura" that you can buy on Amazon. Amazon lists it at #8000 grit, but don't pay any attention to that. It's irrelevant anyways, you're just looking for a stone with a soft bond that releases grit easily to use for conditioning/refreshing and cleaning.

The King Nagura works very well. Just hold the stone and Nagura under some running water, and rub a flat part of the small Nagura over the surface of the Venev back and forth and round and round a couple time. You'll see how quickly it becomes squeeky clean and perfectly conditioned again.

These Naguras are very soft and they release their grit easily which then rubs between the stone and the Nagura to clean and condition/refresh the surface of the Venev.

If all else fails, you can also clean them with something like Bar keepers friend, but a Nagura works much better.

As far as flattening is concerned, you won't need to do much of that at all. Maybe only once in a few years if you only do personal sharpening, so don't be too concerned about flattening them. If you do need to eventually flatten them, you can buy some silicon carbide loose grit from Gritomatic and use a pinch of that on a flat surface with a little water to flatten the Venev. But this won't be necessary for quite a while.
 
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^ very true. Many or most people dress the stones when all they need is a good cleaning. Or they don’t clean often enough and now they are so gunked up they remove material to get rid of the top layer.
 
777 Edge 777 Edge Ok so in the other thread you recommended the Standard R2 because of the versatility of the angled clamps. Is 1 set enough for mostly folders and occasional kitchen knives ?

So is the Standard R2 plus extras (fine tuner, 2 x spring stoppers) the best bang for you buck? (If you already have an angle cube)

If you were to add a second set, would you go with another pair of angled clamps or the Y clamp?

Thanks!
 
AVigil said:
I have been putting my R2 through its paces, you should be happy with it.
It is very easy to set the angle with the height adjustor.

The jaws work great, very well made and really can adjust to the blade shape to lock it in. I am able with the angled spring jaws lock in a 2" blade that is 1/2" wide with a hollow grind with no problem up to a 10" full flat ground kitchen knife.
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Which version of the R2 do you have?
 
Revival29 said:
777 Edge 777 Edge Ok so in the other thread you recommended the Standard R2 because of the versatility of the angled clamps. Is 1 set enough for mostly folders and occasional kitchen knives ?

So is the Standard R2 plus extras (fine tuner, 2 x spring stoppers) the best bang for you buck? (If you already have an angle cube)

If you were to add a second set, would you go with another pair of angled clamps or the Y clamp?

Thanks!
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I have an R2 with all the clamps that Hapstone has to offer. My R2 was originally a R2 standard (as far as I remember) but I ended up getting all the extra clamps and the scissors adapter after a while.

I wouldn't buy the Y clamp if you're getting the angled clamps, because the angled clamps effective become a Y clamp if you use them side by side. That's part of why I mentioned how versatile they are.

I would say that 1 pair of angled clamps is probably enough for most cases. If you do want another pair of clamps, then get the "Lite" whole milled clamps. They are very nice for small blades (but they do also work for big blades BTW)

And like Adam said above, the scissors adapter. That's definitely worth getting for the price too.
 
777 Edge said:
I have an R2 with all the clamps that Hapstone has to offer. My R2 was originally a R2 standard (as far as I remember) but I ended up getting all the extra clamps and the scissors adapter after a while.

I wouldn't buy the Y clamp if you're getting the angled clamps, because the angled clamps effective become a Y clamp if you use them side by side. That's part of why I mentioned how versatile they are.

I would say that 1 pair of angled clamps is probably enough for most cases. If you do want another pair of clamps, then get the "Lite" whole milled clamps. They are very nice for small blades (but they do also work for big blades BTW)

And like Adam said above, the scissors adapter. That's definitely worth getting for the price too.
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Awesome info thanks.

Does the “Lite” whole milled clamps work along side the angled clamps or is it best to use either or?

Also a questions for the future….I will be keeping and using my KME Diamond stones and Shapton Glass stones. Which Diamond stones would you recommend if I wanted to get brand new diamonds?
 
Revival29 said:
Awesome info thanks.

Does the “Lite” whole milled clamps work along side the angled clamps or is it best to use either or?

Also a questions for the future….I will be keeping and using my KME Diamond stones and Shapton Glass stones. Which Diamond stones would you recommend if I wanted to get brand new diamonds?
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For now the stones you have is just fine but for future reference, I would definitely recommend the Venev diamond stones.

As for the Lite clamps, they are shorter than the other clamps, so it's either/or...unless you buy some of the small "Gearconnect" adapters that Gritomatic is advertising. That extends the Lite clamp to the same length as the other clamps.
 
Revival29 said:
Last question…..what size hex is needed for the system? Thanks!
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No probs, fire off as many questions as you want. Happy to assist.

The Lite clamps use a 3mm hex. The Angled, Y and straight spring clamps use a 4mm hex.
 
Here is the link to the "Gearconnect" adapter I'm referring to, FYI:

www.gritomatic.com

Extension for Hapstone R2 Lite Clamp

Attention! GearConnect adapters use 4 mm hex sockets, no tools included. All adapters are sold in singles, never in pairs. GEARCONNECT is the family of clamp adapters to build "cross-platform" sharpening systems. An adapter connects the clamp bar of a host sharpening system to a clamp designed...
www.gritomatic.com www.gritomatic.com

This is only necessary if you want to use the normal and lite clamps together.
 
Here is the link to the "Gearconnect" adapter I'm referring to, FYI:
777 Edge said:
www.gritomatic.com

Extension for Hapstone R2 Lite Clamp

Attention! GearConnect adapters use 4 mm hex sockets, no tools included. All adapters are sold in singles, never in pairs. GEARCONNECT is the family of clamp adapters to build "cross-platform" sharpening systems. An adapter connects the clamp bar of a host sharpening system to a clamp designed...
www.gritomatic.com www.gritomatic.com

This is only necessary if you want to use the normal and lite clamps together.
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Thanks! I’m want to get a Wiha/Wera hex screwdriver specially for the clamps.

It says “coming soon” for that Gear Connect Extension. But no problem as I think I’m going with the angled clamps for now.

Appreciate all your help and info. And apologizes if I derailed the thread but hopefully it will help someone else in the future!

Standard R2 + Accesories here we come!
 
Revival29 said:
Here is the link to the "Gearconnect" adapter I'm referring to, FYI:

Thanks! I’m want to get a Wiha/Wera hex screwdriver specially for the clamps.

It says “coming soon” for that Gear Connect Extension. But no problem as I think I’m going with the angled clamps for now.

Appreciate all your help and info. And apologizes if I derailed the thread but hopefully it will help someone else in the future!

Standard R2 + Accesories here we come!
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No problem at all. Just FYI, the Gritomatic branded hex drivers are very, very nice. All metal construction and look and work well.

Enjoy the R2 and let us know how it works for ya.
 
777 Edge said:
For now the stones you have is just fine but for future reference, I would definitely recommend the Venev diamond stones.

As for the Lite clamps, they are shorter than the other clamps, so it's either/or...unless you buy some of the small "Gearconnect" adapters that Gritomatic is advertising. That extends the Lite clamp to the same length as the other clamps.
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Actually one more question…lol…which Venev Diamond stones? They have a ton of different ones. Just want to see how much they are. Thanks!
 
Revival29 said:
Actually one more question…lol…which Venev Diamond stones? They have a ton of different ones. Just want to see how much they are. Thanks!
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Your best value for money is the 6" long dual sided sets that Gritomatic sells. Either the Venev "Ursa" set (0.6" wide) or the Venev "Centaur" set (1" wide). The "Orion" set has an aluminum backing plate but it's a lot more expensive.

With a set of 3 dual sided stones you get 6 different grits. And remember, they are Fepa-F rating, so their 1200 is more like 5000 grit JIS.

Just make sure you get the "100%" loading stones, not 25% or 50%. The 100% just has more diamonds in it, so works faster. I don't think they sell the 25 or 50% any more, but just letting you know in case.

As for the different types and names are just really different form factors, sizes and thickness. The actual stones composition are all exactly the same.

I personally love the 0.6" ones (Ursa), even though I have all of the other ones too. The 0.6" width again is just more versatile and their feedback is really nice due to the fact that they are slightly narrower. Bonus also is that they conform better too with hawksbills or other challenging grinds. They're only around 60 bucks a set, so that's 10 bucks per grit. Unbeatable value for money.

If you ever get the dual sided Venev stones, good tip is to stick a strip of Gorilla crystal clear tape on their ends (where the stone clamp holds them), for better grip. They work just fine without it, but work better with it.
 
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