Venev Ursa Set vs Centaur Set

I use the venev 400 for most of my work knives, fantastic grit for that! Some I will finish on 800 depending on the steel

II'm currently on the r2 still have the v7
 
Revival29 said:
I just need figure out my stones situation and I’ll be good.

777 Edge 777 Edge I have one last request. I know the ratings for the Venev uses the FEPA-F rating correct? I’ve always used the KME Diamonds and Shapton Glass stones.

Can you give us a estimation of the grits for each of the Ursa/Centaur stones? I have seen the chart before but wanted to hear your opinion. I also want to save it to my notes so I can always refer to it if needed:

Venev
80F =
150F =
240F =
400F =
800F =
1200F =

Thanks!
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One of the nice things about the Venev stones, is they actually give you the Fepa-F AND the particle size rating laser etched on them. When you look at the numbers on them, you'll see what I mean.

For example, the 1200 stone will have F1200 and 2/3 (GOST9206 rating) etched on its side, which means the diamond particle size average is between 2 and 3 micron, and the grit rating is Fepa-F 1200. Very nice to have both numbers right on the stone, I kind of wish all manufacturers would do this!

FYI, Gritomatic has a good quick reference grit chart on their site too.
 
Revival29 said:
Should I just go for the Venev Orions?
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Can't answer that for you unfortunately, all I can tell you is which ones I prefer personally. You'll be happy with the Orion set - no doubt about it, but it's much more expensive than the Centaur or Ursa. They are very nice stones, I have a set of them too. Your knives will be just as sharp with any of those 3 sets of stones.

The only difference with the Orion set is, it's aluminum backed and the layer of abrasive is thicker than the Centaur or Ursa. Other than that, it's the exact same composition. You don't have to be concerned that the Ursa or Centaur layer is "too thin" though, that thinner layer will last many years.
 
FWIW, I went with the Ursa’s for a couple of reasons. First was budget. Also, since this was my first foray into serious sharpening I didn’t want to make a big investment in stones until I knew what I was doing, and knew what ultimately would work best for my needs.
 
crn3371 said:
since this was my first foray into serious sharpening I didn’t want to make a big investment in stones until I knew what I was doing, and knew what ultimately would work best for my needs.
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That is a mistake that many make, and i'm the first to put my hand up. 🤯 :rolleyes:
 
Made my first trial run. The patient was the blade on an original Leatherman tool. The tip had long ago been broke off, and the blade “reshaped” on a bench grinder, not the prettiest blade. I got the blade clamped in and then proceeded to cut my knuckle while adjusting sharpening angle. Note to self - be spatially aware of your surroundings. Luckily the blade was in bad shape, so only serious damage was to my pride. Set sharpening angle to 20 dps and worked through the full progression of stones. I have to say, the stones cut quite nicely, and offered good feedback. After finishing off with the 1200 stone I was left with a near mirror finished blade that satisfactorily passed the paper test. Very pleased with my first try, and have nothing but praise for the Hapstone system and the dual sided Venev stones. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my threads, and a special shoutout to 777 Edge for all of his help.
 
crn3371 said:
Made my first trial run. The patient was the blade on an original Leatherman tool. The tip had long ago been broke off, and the blade “reshaped” on a bench grinder, not the prettiest blade. I got the blade clamped in and then proceeded to cut my knuckle while adjusting sharpening angle. Note to self - be spatially aware of your surroundings. Luckily the blade was in bad shape, so only serious damage was to my pride. Set sharpening angle to 20 dps and worked through the full progression of stones. I have to say, the stones cut quite nicely, and offered good feedback. After finishing off with the 1200 stone I was left with a near mirror finished blade that satisfactorily passed the paper test. Very pleased with my first try, and have nothing but praise for the Hapstone system and the dual sided Venev stones. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my threads, and a special shoutout to 777 Edge for all of his help.
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That's good, glad you like your new sharpener and the stones, you will only get better, every sharpener has it's own quirks that you will get used to. But one thing never changes- Patience, just take your time and don't rush, if you feel like a break take one. You will quickly grow to really like your sharpener and the results you get. :thumbsup:
 
crn3371 said:
Made my first trial run. The patient was the blade on an original Leatherman tool. The tip had long ago been broke off, and the blade “reshaped” on a bench grinder, not the prettiest blade. I got the blade clamped in and then proceeded to cut my knuckle while adjusting sharpening angle. Note to self - be spatially aware of your surroundings. Luckily the blade was in bad shape, so only serious damage was to my pride. Set sharpening angle to 20 dps and worked through the full progression of stones. I have to say, the stones cut quite nicely, and offered good feedback. After finishing off with the 1200 stone I was left with a near mirror finished blade that satisfactorily passed the paper test. Very pleased with my first try, and have nothing but praise for the Hapstone system and the dual sided Venev stones. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my threads, and a special shoutout to 777 Edge for all of his help.
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Good info. I believe you said it’s your first sharpening system? If so, the best advice I can give you is making sure your knife is set correctly in the clamp.

I like to draw a straight line from the heel to the tip using a small ruler. Then I find the mid point of that length. Now that line should be parallel to the edge line of the clamp. I then try to match the center point of the line I drew on the blade and the midpoint of the clamp.

I’m not a sharpening OG like 777 Edge 777 Edge and alot of these other guys, but I have couple years on the Edge Pro and couple years on the KME. Still willing to learn and try new things. Sometimes it just gets expensive…lol
 
I’ve seen the drawing a line trick, but didn’t use it on the Leatherman blade since its edge is mostly straight with only fast curve at the tip, figured having the straight part of the edge parallel to clamps was best. Is drawing the line still preferred, regardless of blade geometry?
 
crn3371 said:
I’ve seen the drawing a line trick, but didn’t use it on the Leatherman blade since its edge is mostly straight with only fast curve at the tip, figured having the straight part of the edge parallel to clamps was best. Is drawing the line still preferred, regardless of blade geometry?
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For the most part yes. Shoot me an email and I’ll send you the pic that was sent to me years ago directly from KME. It was a game changer for me.
 
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crn3371 said:
Made my first trial run. The patient was the blade on an original Leatherman tool. The tip had long ago been broke off, and the blade “reshaped” on a bench grinder, not the prettiest blade. I got the blade clamped in and then proceeded to cut my knuckle while adjusting sharpening angle. Note to self - be spatially aware of your surroundings. Luckily the blade was in bad shape, so only serious damage was to my pride. Set sharpening angle to 20 dps and worked through the full progression of stones. I have to say, the stones cut quite nicely, and offered good feedback. After finishing off with the 1200 stone I was left with a near mirror finished blade that satisfactorily passed the paper test. Very pleased with my first try, and have nothing but praise for the Hapstone system and the dual sided Venev stones. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my threads, and a special shoutout to 777 Edge for all of his help.
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Only a pleasure C crn3371 , happy to help. Glad you're enjoying your Hapstone R2.
 
Update:

So I probably sharpened around 10 knives so far on the Hapstone R2. Used the Ursa stones on 7 of those knives from a Lil Native to a 8” Chef knife. It was adjustment at first in regards to feel and size compared the KME Diamonds but really loving them it so far. Definitely a lot more messy but not a problem.

The size of the Ursa stones is extremely beneficial when sharpening specific areas like the tip and the heel of the knife. Just need to go really slow when sharpening the tip due to having half of the surface area.

Still interested in purchasing the Orion set more for the simplicity and more surface area when needed, but definitely not necessary. Now I understand why 777 Edge 777 Edge kept saying they are a great value for the money.

I’m still figuring out which stone would be a good stone to finish on if I did not want to take it to the 1200 every single time. For the KME, the 600 grit followed with 4 micron on a kangaroo strop was one of my favorites finishes.

I think the biggest challenge for me with the Hapstone R2 is getting used to the angled clamps compared to the simple single clamp of the KME. Also, one of the angle clamps sits higher than the other when in position but levels out when everything is secured. Not sure if that’s normal though.

So still deciding if I also want the Orion set, but been impressed and loving the Ursas so far.
 
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Revival29 said:
Also, one of the angle clamps sits higher than the other when in position but levels out when everything is secured. Not sure if that’s normal though.
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Glad you're loving your new system!

The angled clamps are slightly adjustable if one is a little higher or lower. I have not needed to adjust mine as mine are fine, but you can loosen the phillips head screws a little bit on the spring steel section and fine tune their positioning until you're happy.
 
Per 777 Edge I purchased a King Japanese Nagura stone from the big river store. It’s a small eraser sized stone rated at 8000 grit, $9. There was also a similar stone he recommended from Gritomatic.
 
Revival29 said:
777 Edge 777 Edge How do you recommend cleaning the Ursa stones?
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Use a Nagura stone and rub it over the Venev under running water, it works like a charm. It conditions, cleans and refreshes the surface very nicely. There is a small "King Japanese Nagura Stone" available on Amazon that works well. It's listed as 8000 grit, it's not 8000 but it's completely irrelevant if you only use it as a conditioning and cleaning stone. Gritomatic also sells a "Bodrid Dressing Stone" which I've found to also work very well.

While you wait for delivery of one of these options and you want to clean in the meantime with what you have, try Bar Keepers friend / any similar kitchen cleaning agent with scouring powder in suspension.


www.gritomatic.com

Bodrid Dressing Stone

FeaturesBodrid Dressing Stone is a perfect tool to clean and refresh synthetic sharpening stones. During the sharpening process metal dust and degraded abrasive settle inside the sharpening stone. Stone surface becomes glazed and loose performance. Bodrid dressing stone can be used to remove...
www.gritomatic.com www.gritomatic.com
 
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Per 777 Edge I purchased a King Japanese Nagura stone from the big river store. It’s a small eraser sized stone rated at 8000 grit, $9. There was also a similar stone he recommended from Gritomatic.
 
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