Waterstone question.

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Buck knives I like

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When sharpening 420 HC stainless steel, how do you work your way to a 4000 grit waterstone, can you go from 1000 to 4000? is 4000 ok for high carbon? I'm new to sharpening Also, does the fact my knife is a drop point make a difference in the way i sharpen or the stone I should buy? I'm looking for a fairly generic way to get most knives to fairly sharp enough to be considered pretty damn sharp. So really I just want to know what grit to progress up to and how to do it, Also should I get a leather strop? I don't want a perfect set up, I don't need one yet. Just one to practice free hand sharpening and to get my knives over factory sharp
 
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You'll probably get a better response posting this in Maintenance Tinkering & Embellishment. I use a DMT Aligner with good results, and I don't go down in grit so far. Finish with a bench strop & green compound and you can whisper through phone book paper easily. And hair.

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A 1000 grit waterstone would in most cases be well beyond what factory sharpness is. Yes, you can use a 1k then a 4k but you will also need something coarser as those stones are not coarse enough to remove damage and or reset bevels.

A set of three stones in the 220, 1000, & 4000 grit flavors would set you on the right path and provide the tools needed to create Sharp edges.

Beyond that its all practice.

IMO, wait on the strop until you can make a Sharp edge on the stone.
 
Do you always have to progress up the grits for example if you have a knife that doesn't need the 220 grit, could you go right to 4000/and or 6000? Or is there a process that you need to do 220, 1000, 4000, 6000, etc, and go up like that every time. Thanks. I can't wait to teach myself how to free hand sharpen. Edit: Also I see a lot of 1k grit and 6k grit combinations. But not really any 1k and 4k combinations. Would a stone around 220 grit for course, a 1k grit stone, and 6k grit work too?
 
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knifenut1013 said:
This is not true.
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:foot: I also noticed some are western stones that require oil and others japenese stones that are softer and require water. For some reason, I think I should get a western 1k grit with honing oil, and a 4 or 6k grit japenese water stone. also a course western 220 stone. am i on the right track?
 
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Buck knives I like said:
Do you always have to progress up the grits for example if you have a knife that doesn't need the 220 grit, could you go right to 4000/and or 6000? Or is there a process that you need to do 220, 1000, 4000, 6000, etc, and go up like that every time. Thanks. I can't wait to teach myself how to free hand sharpen. Edit: Also I see a lot of 1k grit and 6k grit combinations. But not really any 1k and 4k combinations. Would a stone around 220 grit for course, a 1k grit stone, and 6k grit work too?
Click to expand...

No, you can start at whatever stone the edge needs.


Look into the 150 grit Naniwa Omura and the 1k & 6k Arashiyama stones.
 
I'm sort of poor, what about Smith's TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE Sharpening Stones System, It has a course, medium, and fine stone.
 
There is also King brand stones, cheaper and a bit slower but still effective.

Google: King 1k/6k

If your just dealing with basic steels like 420hc a 1k/6k combo stone will work well. Usually found for about $40
 
Is it dangerous to use a 5-8 dollar coarse whetstone? I found the 1k and 6k grits I need ( the ones you recommend. ) but the Coarse 220 stone is either too expensive or too low for me to feel it isn't garbage. If a stone is just a stone I'll be more then happy to buy this 6 dollar coarse stone, thanks.
 
Yep, home depot sells a Norton stone for $5 that actually works well.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Yep, home depot sells a Norton stone for $5 that actually works well.
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Ditto that. It's the Norton 'Economy Stone' (2-sided Coarse/Fine; 6" x 2") in silicon carbide. :thumbup:

Wish I'd had one of these a very long time ago. Just getting acquainted with mine. Works very fast and leaves some wicked 'tooth' on an edge, even on the 'fine' side. This would be a great stone to learn on. The price (recently) is about $6, still a great bargain for a silicon carbide stone.


David
 
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