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waterstone:which side is which?
- Thread starter lionken07
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2003
- Messages
- 726
Well i have no experience with japanese waterstones, but i do know that the edge that you grind away with the higher grit will look much more like a mirror. The lower grit will give it a dull shinyness. If you cannot tell the difference by feel and have a piece of steel you don't mind grinding away a bit, (just the very surface is necessary) you can find out that way. I hope that helps, a little, mabye.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2002
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- 2,483
The softer side will be the 1000, just imerse it in water and slowly scrape your fingernail over each side, if stone comes off slightly, then thatll be the 1000. Careful easier then you think it is to do.
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2002
- Messages
- 7
As different manufacturers use different colors for their waterstones, it isn't very helpful to use the color of the stone as a guide to its grit.
The best way to tell the difference is simply to inspect the stone. The coarser grit will be just that, with a larger more porous appearance than the finer grit. It will feel rougher, or more porous to your fingertips.
Another good thing to try is to sharpen or abrade some steel with both grits, and then look at what you've done. The 250 grit will produce larger, deeper scratches than the 1000 grit. You don't even need to use a magnifier to compare the two.
The 1000 grit will also produce a scratch pattern, but the scratches here will be finer and closer together than the 250 grit. And by the way, you won't get a polished look until you get into the finer stones, around 6000 to 8000 grit for Japanese waterstones. These really are capable of polishing the metal.
Also, the 250 grit is usually used for some major stock removal, as in re-profiling a knife edge, whereas the 1000 grit will produce a final sharpness which is good for most kitchen knives, where you want a sharp but "toothy" edge. You don't need a polished edge for most kitchen knives. I do use 6000 and 8000 grit stones for woodworking tools, where I want a very sharp, polished edge.
Hope this helps!
The best way to tell the difference is simply to inspect the stone. The coarser grit will be just that, with a larger more porous appearance than the finer grit. It will feel rougher, or more porous to your fingertips.
Another good thing to try is to sharpen or abrade some steel with both grits, and then look at what you've done. The 250 grit will produce larger, deeper scratches than the 1000 grit. You don't even need to use a magnifier to compare the two.
The 1000 grit will also produce a scratch pattern, but the scratches here will be finer and closer together than the 250 grit. And by the way, you won't get a polished look until you get into the finer stones, around 6000 to 8000 grit for Japanese waterstones. These really are capable of polishing the metal.
Also, the 250 grit is usually used for some major stock removal, as in re-profiling a knife edge, whereas the 1000 grit will produce a final sharpness which is good for most kitchen knives, where you want a sharp but "toothy" edge. You don't need a polished edge for most kitchen knives. I do use 6000 and 8000 grit stones for woodworking tools, where I want a very sharp, polished edge.
Hope this helps!
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2001
- Messages
- 8,276
Originally posted by V10011011
Uhh..the rougher side is the 250 grit?I'll leave this one for the experts..
We have two winners. The rougher side is the 250, because of the coarser grains. The 1000 is smoother to the touch, for, tada, the finer grains. Some stones are the same hardness, so that's not always a good test.Originally posted by lionken07
I'm also guessing that the rougher side is 250 grit...but not too sure ya know...
