- Joined
- Oct 2, 1998
- Messages
- 44,804
I know that Venev has changed up their hones recently, most specifically the 1200/2000 grit bonded diamond hone due to reported issues with the matrix (resin) as well as diamond loss, but I just wanted to take a moment to give my impressions of this hone from the original offerings.
For many years I've relied on my Spyderco ceramic hones, (Medium, Fine, Ultra Fine) in both bench stone and triangle rod format for touch-ups and light sharpenings...and for the most part they've worked well with the usual caveats.
But since I seem to collect as much sharpening gear as I do knives, it was only a matter of time until I ended upaccumulating purchasing some bonded diamond hones to see how they compared to ceramics and other sharpening media.
To that end, I purchased a couple of Venev bench stones (in 100/240 and 400/800 combo grits) along with the small 1200 / 2000 in 1x6" format. (I haven't yet used the bench stones.)
Anyway, I've been using the 1200 / 2000 on a variety of knives over the past several months when the edge has degraded a bit from what I consider "sharp enough". (Usually a combination of how the edge slices phone book paper, shaves, etc. I don't drive myself insane with plucking the remaining hairs on my head in an effort to whittle them.)
I've found that using (mostly) the 1200 and (occasionally) the 2000 grit sides of the hone has proven excellent in restoring an edge that has just degraded somewhat, (to the point where it might skate on a fingernail or snag phone book paper), back to sharp in short order. This is accomplished with a relatively few strokes while keeping the hone wet under a tap after every few.
I know I'm done as soon as I can feel the edge aggressively grab hair on the back of my head, (with both edge bevels), and slice phone book paper cleanly along the entire length of the blade. I don't strive for perfection or any particular level of polish.
The edge it leaves is smooth with a nice bite...which is just how I like it.
Per the Gritomatic site, I initially dressed the hone with some loose alox grit, and have since kept it clean and ready for work with a medium rust eraser.
Thus far I've used the hone with a variety of steels like 3V, M2 and Maxamet among others. No issues with any of them. I have not used it with softer, gummier stainless such as on my wife's Victorinox paring or Boker kitchen utility knives. For those I still use a 1000 grit water stone, ceramic or an old worn diamond plate I've had for years.
I have found that using this fine grit Venev hone precludes the need for stropping, though I admittedly don't do a heck of a lot of stropping to begin with, but will occasionally hit my blades with 1 micron diamond paste (oil based) on basswood. So, YMMV in this regard.
This little hone has also in large measure taken over the role that my ceramic hones would normally play, though they still get use. The advantage is that the diamond hone will not have the limitation of the ceramics with high vanadium carbide or similarly challenging steels, and thus works more quickly while still leaving a fine edge.
I'm excited by the addition of bonded diamond hones into my sharpening arsenal, the most recent of which are Diemaker's (Edge Pro) Matrix hones. I've only used his 600 grit hone on a couple of the aforementioned blades to good result but hope to be able to share more about my experience with them, (as well as the Venev bench stones), down the road.
For many years I've relied on my Spyderco ceramic hones, (Medium, Fine, Ultra Fine) in both bench stone and triangle rod format for touch-ups and light sharpenings...and for the most part they've worked well with the usual caveats.
But since I seem to collect as much sharpening gear as I do knives, it was only a matter of time until I ended up
To that end, I purchased a couple of Venev bench stones (in 100/240 and 400/800 combo grits) along with the small 1200 / 2000 in 1x6" format. (I haven't yet used the bench stones.)
Anyway, I've been using the 1200 / 2000 on a variety of knives over the past several months when the edge has degraded a bit from what I consider "sharp enough". (Usually a combination of how the edge slices phone book paper, shaves, etc. I don't drive myself insane with plucking the remaining hairs on my head in an effort to whittle them.)
I've found that using (mostly) the 1200 and (occasionally) the 2000 grit sides of the hone has proven excellent in restoring an edge that has just degraded somewhat, (to the point where it might skate on a fingernail or snag phone book paper), back to sharp in short order. This is accomplished with a relatively few strokes while keeping the hone wet under a tap after every few.
I know I'm done as soon as I can feel the edge aggressively grab hair on the back of my head, (with both edge bevels), and slice phone book paper cleanly along the entire length of the blade. I don't strive for perfection or any particular level of polish.
The edge it leaves is smooth with a nice bite...which is just how I like it.
Per the Gritomatic site, I initially dressed the hone with some loose alox grit, and have since kept it clean and ready for work with a medium rust eraser.
Thus far I've used the hone with a variety of steels like 3V, M2 and Maxamet among others. No issues with any of them. I have not used it with softer, gummier stainless such as on my wife's Victorinox paring or Boker kitchen utility knives. For those I still use a 1000 grit water stone, ceramic or an old worn diamond plate I've had for years.
I have found that using this fine grit Venev hone precludes the need for stropping, though I admittedly don't do a heck of a lot of stropping to begin with, but will occasionally hit my blades with 1 micron diamond paste (oil based) on basswood. So, YMMV in this regard.
This little hone has also in large measure taken over the role that my ceramic hones would normally play, though they still get use. The advantage is that the diamond hone will not have the limitation of the ceramics with high vanadium carbide or similarly challenging steels, and thus works more quickly while still leaving a fine edge.
I'm excited by the addition of bonded diamond hones into my sharpening arsenal, the most recent of which are Diemaker's (Edge Pro) Matrix hones. I've only used his 600 grit hone on a couple of the aforementioned blades to good result but hope to be able to share more about my experience with them, (as well as the Venev bench stones), down the road.
DM