Wanting different/better freehand stones

highestpoint

highestpoint

Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
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Alright first off hello everyone. Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays, etc. lol

I'm fairly new to freehanding and have searched around the web and forum before. I started sharpening using the Spyderco Sharpmaker and it works well as anyone who has used one would know. I then moved to the Smiths tri-sharp. Used it but it still didn't give me the edge I wanted. So I bought the Ultra-Fine Rods. They're really nice except the sharp maker doesn't have stones good enough for moving the back bevel. I usually pull the rods off the sharpmaker and use it because while on the stand they're only good for a micro bevel.

I want to get a good set of freehand stones. I've looked around at whetstones, waterstones, ceramics etc. also brands Norton, Shapton but can't decide which ones to get. I would like a good extra fine or ultra fine (2k or higher) that will get the edge sharper than the ultra fine rods. What's everybodys opinion on different brands and stones.

Could somebody point me in the direction of what three or four stones I can get the will be good for setting a back bevel and getting it more sharp than the ultra fine rods that will last.

And also a strop if it is necessary. and I don't really want a stone that I have to soak in water.
 
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Well first off the new Smith tri hone is junk. An older one is great. Better quality stones. Arkansas stones are great, cut slow but makes a awesome edge. Id suggest a coarse india medum Arkansas a true hard Arkansas and either a black or translucent also for finishing. Then make your own strop.
 
I would recommend Shapton Pro 1k and 5k to start, add a 400 Atoma and you have a well rounded set. If all I had was these three stones I would not be sad.

For stropping I would recommend 1 micron diamond compound on balsa or poplar. The edge from a 5k Pro stone is pretty clean though so stropping shouldn't be too much of a worry.
 
buckman110 said:
Well first off the new Smith tri hone is junk. An older one is great. Better quality stones. Arkansas stones are great, cut slow but makes a awesome edge. Id suggest a coarse india medum Arkansas a true hard Arkansas and either a black or translucent also for finishing. Then make your own strop.
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It might've been the tri hone that I used because it had Arkansas stone but had tiny chunks that came out of it after using it several times.

Jason B. said:
I would recommend Shapton Pro 1k and 5k to start, add a 400 Atoma and you have a well rounded set. If all I had was these three stones I would not be sad.

For stropping I would recommend 1 micron diamond compound on balsa or poplar. The edge from a 5k Pro stone is pretty clean though so stropping shouldn't be too much of a worry.
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I'll check these out and hopefully they're in my price range. I'm not a penny pincher but I was cautious about spending $100 plus on one stone.

My brother recommended trying some dmt stones. What's your preference on them?
 
The only expensive stone of the bunch is the Atoma, the Shaptons are very reasonable for the quality of stone you are getting. I recommend the Atoma because it has a superior feel and grinding action compared to other diamond stones and is a exceptional lapping plate thanks to the engineered diamond surface.

DMT hones are great and I own a full set of benchstones but they go mostly unused unless I am dealing with a very wear resistant steel. My shaptons sharpen faster and produce better edges for 99% of everything else so I use them the most.

To save on the diamond lapping plate you could get a cheaper version of Damond plate but IMO spending the extra money to not have a headache is worth every penny.
 
And the newer Arkansas stones like in that black plastic tri hone are crap. Look for old Arkansas if you choose this route.
 
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Jason B. said:
The only expensive stone of the bunch is the Atoma, the Shaptons are very reasonable for the quality of stone you are getting. I recommend the Atoma because it has a superior feel and grinding action compared to other diamond stones and is a exceptional lapping plate thanks to the engineered diamond surface.

DMT hones are great and I own a full set of benchstones but they go mostly unused unless I am dealing with a very wear resistant steel. My shaptons sharpen faster and produce better edges for 99% of everything else so I use them the most.
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Yeah I read that the shapton 320 or whatever it was was to soft and crack so I don't need that.

When you say wear resistant steels what would you be referring to? I have a big variety of steels. D2, s30v, s35vn, etc.
Is the Atoma going to wear fast with these?
 
The 220 and 320 Shapton are very good stones, they are far from being soft and I have never experienced cracking but for most things they are not needed. The 1k pro is a very fast cutting stone so it will be used most of the time for small edge repair and regular sharpening. I recommend the Atoma 400 because it's a good plate for lapping stones from 1k and up but also has enough grinding power for major repair and serious bevel setting. Killing two birds with one stone ;)

It's a top quality diamond plate, it's longevity should better than average. It's not the steel that wears out the diamonds it's using too much pressure or lapping coarse stones often that wears them out. With regular sharpening this set of stones will easily last you many years or even a lifetime.
 
Well im obviously no use in this thread. I would just advise you to really look around befor wasting your money. Good luck.
 
buckman110 said:
Well im obviously no use in this thread. I would just advise you to really look around befor wasting your money. Good luck.
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Paying attention to the requests of the OP and being a little less demeaning of other methods will get you much further.
 
Jason B. said:
The 220 and 320 Shapton are very good stones, they are far from being soft and I have never experienced cracking but for most things they are not needed. The 1k pro is a very fast cutting stone so it will be used most of the time for small edge repair and regular sharpening. I recommend the Atoma 400 because it's a good plate for lapping stones from 1k and up but also has enough grinding power for major repair and serious bevel setting. Killing two birds with one stone ;)

It's a top quality diamond plate, it's longevity should better than average. It's not the steel that wears out the diamonds it's using too much pressure or lapping coarse stones often that wears them out. With regular sharpening this set of stones will easily last you many years or even a lifetime.
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Yeah I don't mind knocking two things out at once.. always a plus.

buckman110 said:
Well im obviously no use in this thread. I would just advise you to really look around befor wasting your money. Good luck.
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Didn't mean for you to feel left out but I've already tried those stones and wanted more. I enjoyed it as a beginners set up but after using the Arkansas stone on the tri-sharp it left me with a stale taste in my mouth from those stones.

I'm pretty OCD about the sharpness of my edc's and every other knife I have. I'll touch up my edc every other day or so. With that being said I just wanted to try a new setup and have something that will give it a superb edge.
 
I am by no means an expert at sharpening but have been in the same situation you are in now. I also own the Sharpmaker, the smiths clamp on with diamond stones, a Japanese water stone and various other sharpeners. I got the best results with the Sharpmaker but with harder steels like my Becker Bk-11 it would take for ever. Never could get it really sharp. With the Japanese stone I got decent results but the soaking and mess it made was a turn off. Eventually I start getting better results from the Sharpmaker but I was using the rods in Benchstone mode. All this time it was hit or miss getting that really sharp edge. My spydercos would usually be the sharpest but my Bk-11 was still lacking.
I started on my quest to find a stone and after much research decided in the DMT whetstones. I just received it 2 days ago and couldn't be happier. I had that moment when it all clicked and my knives are really sharp. Cut circles in newspaper, shave arms cut paracord etc.
like I said, I'm no expert but have put in some time with sharpening blades. I am obsessed with having sharp edge. With the diamond stones I can sharpen a dull knife to a vey sharp working edge in less than 5 minutes with very little effort and mess. I highly recommend the DMT stones. But as with everything there will be a learning curve. Just keep in mind these stones cut fast with little pressure and will last a very long time. :)
 
Hmmm, jason no one was being demanding... Your the one who rhinks that. I was merely giving advice.
 
When you start by trolling my response then proceeding to tell the OP that my recommendations are a waste of money it becomes obvious you have a different agenda.
 
Ok first off, i was the first to respond to this thread. Second im not trolling... Third this is a form. People are here for suggestions, information and viewing others ideas. And i wasn't targeting your "recommendation". Your methods as well as my own arent perfect or for everyone. In my opinion i think he can get better longer lasting stones more reasonable. There is nothing wrong with simply stating my personal opinion. If you took it that way, my appolagies. But for future reference come off a lil better and we wont have this. I enjoy this forum as well as others. Lets keep it that way.
 
highestpoint said:
Yeah I don't mind knocking two things out at once.. always a plus.



Didn't mean for you to feel left out but I've already tried those stones and wanted more. I enjoyed it as a beginners set up but after using the Arkansas stone on the tri-sharp it left me with a stale taste in my mouth from those stones.

I'm pretty OCD about the sharpness of my edc's and every other knife I have. I'll touch up my edc every other day or so. With that being said I just wanted to try a new setup and have something that will give it a superb edge.
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Highest,
I completely understand a first time use and bad experiences. It sucks! :mad:

I have a stone that i think you would very much enjoy. I would like to gift it to you. If you would like.
 
There are many types of stones to consider. I don't have a great total recommendation for you overall, but something you said made me reply: You want sharper edges than you get with the Spyderco Ultra Fine ceramic. That "stone" is roughly like a 5k or so waterstone, or roughly 3 micron. That's enough to give a mirror polish on most steels and is easily capable of what most people would consider extreme polished sharpness. The level that should nearly effortlessly remove arm hair, cut phonebook paper *very* quietly, and pass most push cutting tests very well.

If you're not getting anything approaching this, then I humbly submit that your work on the lower grit stones is not yet done. The edge I get on many blades, from the Spyderco medium (brown/grey) stones is able to cleanly cut phonebook paper with ease, and cleanly shave arm hair. Since you don't have a more coarse stone yet, it's highly likely that your bevels aren't clean and flat, and that's probably why you aren't getting the type of performance you want.

I think a bit of work with a lower grit stone to a very clean apex and then finishing on the Sharpmaker might yield some edges that would impress you.

Brian.
 
Djrichone said:
I started on my quest to find a stone and after much research decided in the DMT whetstones. I just received it 2 days ago and couldn't be happier. I had that moment when it all clicked and my knives are really sharp. Cut circles in newspaper, shave arms cut paracord etc.
like I said, I'm no expert but have put in some time with sharpening blades. I am obsessed with having sharp edge. With the diamond stones I can sharpen a dull knife to a vey sharp working edge in less than 5 minutes with very little effort and mess. I highly recommend the DMT stones. But as with everything there will be a learning curve. Just keep in mind these stones cut fast with little pressure and will last a very long time. :)
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I thought about trying these stones. What stones did you buy and why did you choose them over any other dmt stones? Just curious about different peoples experiences with different ones to make a final judgement call and submit the purchase button.

bgentry said:
That "stone" is roughly like a 5k or so waterstone, or roughly 3 micron. That's enough to give a mirror polish on most steels and is easily capable of what most people would consider extreme polished sharpness. The level that should nearly effortlessly remove arm hair, cut phonebook paper *very* quietly, and pass most push cutting tests very well.

If you're not getting anything approaching this, then I humbly submit that your work on the lower grit stones is not yet done. The edge I get on many blades, from the Spyderco medium (brown/grey) stones is able to cleanly cut phonebook paper with ease, and cleanly shave arm hair. Since you don't have a more coarse stone yet, it's highly likely that your bevels aren't clean and flat, and that's probably why you aren't getting the type of performance you want.

I think a bit of work with a lower grit stone to a very clean apex and then finishing on the Sharpmaker might yield some edges that would impress you.

Brian.
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Not saying you aren't correct but I thought I remember reading several threads about the UF rods and Sal (from spyderco) said that the micron on the fine and UF are the same just a different finishing process and that they couldn't compare them to an actual grit but other people had said that it was in a range of 1500-2k grit. So no offense but if you could give me insight to how you could say it was a 5k, I would appreciate that.

I do just fine with the UF rods as I can shave hair, split hairs effortlessly but wanted to switch to freehand and was thinking that if I'm making the switch that I should get something better. If not I would humbly buy the spyderco UF 8x3 stone.

I do enjoy the sharpmaker to keep my edges nice and sharp and put a micro bevel on the blades though.

Thanks!
 
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