Waterstone setup for beginner

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benlg

Joined
Jun 7, 2009
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Hey guys, I actually just bought a Norton 1000/8000 grit stone. Sharpened two kitchen knives today and did a decent job, edges were uniform and its shaving sharp. Very proud of myself since I am coming off a Spyderco Sharpmaker :) Now I have one knife that is used a lot in the kitchen, has not been sharpened in like a year and its taking too long (over hour) on the 1000 stone. I am looking at getting a coarser stone. If I understand correctly, I can also use the lower grit stone to level the higher one in the future? Can you guys recommend a good coarse waterstone as well as maybe a beginner setup? I am thinking maybe I should have sprung for the Norton beginner setup (I didnt want to pay the high price tag initially). Is a coarse stone and the Norton 1K/8K enough for a beginner? Until I can get better at it.
 
The 1k does good on moderately dull knives. A completely dull one needs a 220 grit. Could also opt for the cheap route of a coarse norton sic stone. They cut fast like the 220 waterstone norton offers. Also in my opinion jumping from the 1k to the 8k is too steep of a jump. I would pick up a 4k if you can afford to. The 1k is still relatively coarse and the 8k is extremely fine.
 
On the relatively low Rockwell hardness of most Western kitchen cutlery, the 1k/8k should work fine. On tougher stainless or higher Rockwell carbon steel, the 4k would be a nice addition. The 4k also makes a great edge on its own for utility edges.

If you get a rougher stone and intend to use it for a lapping plate, you will want a diamond plate. The DMT extra coarse or the Atoma 140 come highly recommended on the forum. Learning to move around and use the entire surface of the stone will keep it wearing less unevenly and prolong the amount of time between needing to be lapped. Lately I have been using a 14" cut off wheel (Home Depot) that has exposed abrasive on one side- very flat and effective and cost $6. Use plenty of water when lapping.

The 220 (240?) that is part of the Norton waterstone lineup is maybe not the best, but it does get the job done. I use mine dry and just sweep the powder off as it builds up. Otherwise it barely holds onto water as its so porous, and is so loose any water it does retain generates a mud that actually slows grinding speed and often winds up scratching the blade above the shoulder. This stone also dishes very rapidly if worked in one spot.

All of the Nortons except for the 8k are fairly soft, so it makes a big difference if you can learn to move around on the stone.
 
From all I have heard of the Norton waterstones I still don't want to try them. They sound more like an average waterstone but at a premium price. The 220 being a slight exception in the pricing but falling short in wear rate and size. Most coarse waterstones are brick size because they wear fast so they give you more stone to work with.

I just can't see the Norton 220 as a wise choice give the other brick size coarse stones on the market, Imanishi, Nubatama, King, and Suehiro to name a few.

The best coarse option IMO is the Atoma Diamond plates, they cut much smoother than other diamond plates and remove metal very fast. They also stay flat so as you progress to finer stones you don't have so much distortion in the bevel to deal with. This becomes very problematic with softer coarse stones and can disrupt the edge geometry severely.
 
Thanks HeavyHanded, you answered almost all of my questions in one post! The knives I have are a Wushtof set, one of the cheaper economical set for about $150. Also will be using it mainly on folders like Spydercos that have VG10 and S30V. I was browsing around and saw the mention of DMT stones, yes I do want one coarse stone and use it to level the waterstone as well so I guess I will be going for a DMT. Any thoughts on the extra coarse vs. coarse of the DMT stones? I will check out your recommendations, thanks.

http://www.amazon.com/DMT-D8C-Dia-S...e+coarse&pebp=1421592850250&peasin=B0001WP1L0

Lastly, to determine knife angle it would be easiest to use the sharpie trick? I saw something like the height of a quarter or holding the knife spine at half thumb height.
 
A DMT coarse and Extra coarse can and will become damaged if used as a lapping plate. They work like sh!$ anyways, that's why DMT recommends the XXC or their specific lapping plates.
 
So I assume you want to continue waterstones with the coarser grit?

I have a Beston 500, a thirsty stone that dishes but gives great results, good feedback and fast cutting action. I store it in water. Next option could be Naniwa Prof 400 grit, often recommended here on BF, fast cutter and maybe a bit better finish than the Beston (I have the Naniwa Pro 1000 and 3000 and I love them). Even coarser waterstones could be Nubatama Bamboo 150 or Naniwa Omura 150 (I think recommended by Jason here on BF). It seems that the Shapton Pro stones are an excellent choice all across the board as well, particularly on higher wear resistant steels.
 
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