Waterstones here I come!

[hburlingameiii]

Hi everyone,

I have been a lurker for quite a while and I first wanted to say that this forum has been a great help for so many of my questions, so thank you!

Anyway, I have decided to give some freehand sharpening with waterstones a try without breaking the bank, and after a bunch of research I think I have decided on the following:

400x, 1000x, and 5000x naniwa super stones followed by a leather strop with .5u CrO.

Will this be able to meet all of my sharpening needs from reprofiling to cleaning up nicks to getting a knife hair popping sharp? Or is there a better combination of stones I should get, like maybe the naniwa SS 220x instead of the 400x (I would like to stay with a max of three stones for right now, and just waterstones)?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[pwet]

your grit choice is good. a 5k SS will provide a brighter polish than a dmt EEF for exemple, and similar edge quality imho. the 10k is extreme and pretty hard to master but it will yield a perfect mirror polish.

just one thought, keep in mind that SS stones are pretty soft. they don't wear very fast but they gouge easily, imho it's a good thing for a starter kit as you'll know exactly when your angle is too steep or when you use too much pressure, the edge digs in the stone. it can be frustrating, but the advantage of the drawback is that they have a great feedback and you will pay more attention to what you do.

 

[zyhano]

I have naniwa superstones, you won't be dissapointed. It's a good choice. I sharpened knives to chisels to axes to razors with them and they perform. They do dish out after use, so you might want to see how you can prevent that (grind everywhere ala murray carter) or restore them (flatten them with dmt's or on the pavement)

 

[hiwa]

Keep your waterstones flat with a Norton truing stone. Works great:thumbup:

Seen here

 

[hburlingameiii]

Thanks everyone, I pulled the trigger and bought the naniwas and strop, I can't wait to try them out! Any tips on where to find some good videos or advice on the best methods to use with them?