WEPS and Chosera Stones

clayallison

clayallison

Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
131
I finally got a good chance to work with the Chosera stones that Tom sent. He had affixed them to aluminum blanks which I then mounted to WEPS handles. He sent the following grits: 400, 600, 800, 1k, 2k, 3k, 5k and 10k. I gave them a proper soaking and proceeded to work up a great edge on this Kershaw Blur.

Kershaw-Blur-with-Chosera-Stones.jpg


My first impression is that the stones are a joy to use. There is some ineffable yet deeply satisfying quality in the way that you feel the blade through the stone. The results were great, giving a beautiful and very sharp edge. I did go a little beyond the 10k, finishing with strops treated with .5µm and .25µm diamond spray from HandAmerican.com. I'm hoping that Tom will be providing these stones to WEPS users directly for those that want to extend the system and experience the "zen" of using waterstones.
 
OMG look at that huge jagged brown scratch on your blade. Those dastardly waterstones strike again :grumpy:

Nice edge :D
 
I thought waterstones have to be kept wet; is that not a problem on the WEPS? Isn't there a slurry that the knife has to slop around in? I can't picture it on the upright WEPS system:eek: all those precision moving parts!

(BTW, very excited about the imminent arrival of my WEPS:D )
 
bladestamp said:
I thought waterstones have to be kept wet; is that not a problem on the WEPS? Isn't there a slurry that the knife has to slop around in? I can't picture it on the upright WEPS system:eek: all those precision moving parts!

(BTW, very excited about the imminent arrival of my WEPS:D )
Click to expand...

It went pretty well with the water. I kept the stones in a little tray soaking and then periodically got them a little wet again as they dried while using them. There was a little slurry that would go down onto the blade of the knife but I kept a paper towel on hand to wipe that clean. The biggest issues was dripping from the tray to the sharpener so i just pushed the try up next to the base of the sharpener so that the drips just landed on the base and not on my desk.
 
So what puzzles me is the need for any other abrasive medium. With a comprehensive set of diamond and ceramics, and a few strops to polish, is there a place for waterstones on the WEPS. I mean, does it matter how the metal is removed? 800k WEPS stone or 800k waterstone? Or have I just shown my level of ignorance in a few well chosen words? :o
 
bladestamp said:
So what puzzles me is the need for any other abrasive medium. With a comprehensive set of diamond and ceramics, and a few strops to polish, is there a place for waterstones on the WEPS. I mean, does it matter how the metal is removed? 800k WEPS stone or 800k waterstone? Or have I just shown my level of ignorance in a few well chosen words? :o
Click to expand...

That was a really great question. What I've found so far is that the diamonds are great for creating the initial bevel and for doing any specialized shaping or repairs. They are fast and very convenient. They only go so far though in terms of how refined they make the edge. The ceramic stones we offer go to the next level. From there, I've had great results with the leather strops with various compounds, so overall I'm very happy with the combination we've put together. So where do I see the Choseras fitting into the mix? I'm new to the use of the waterstones so anything I say here must be qualified by a big "this is only my very preliminary evaluation and I need a lot more time with the stones to make a definitive statement. There are a bunch of guys on this forum with tons of experience that can probably answer this question much more thoroughly." Having said that, three things jump out at me so far:

  1. The waterstones offer very consistent grit and therefore consistent scratch pattern. In refining the edge they are excellent. For example, let's say you got a great edge with the standard WEPS array of stones and strops. You then used the knife enough that the strops alone weren't sufficient to restore the edge. The high grit water stones are perfect for the job. They are firm enough and just abrasive enough to restore the edge.
  2. The experience of the using the waterstones is hard to describe, but there is something very satisfying in the way the stone feels against the metal.
  3. It makes sense to have as many stones available for the WEPS so that the user has a wide array of options and can sharpen to their individual taste.

I'll be doing a lot of testing with the Choseras in the next couple of weeks and I'll be sure to publish my results and photos.
 
What is the stone life like using the Chosera's? Do they wear quickly or are they fairly long lasting?
 
ricklee4570 said:
What is the stone life like using the Chosera's? Do they wear quickly or are they fairly long lasting?
Click to expand...

In my experience, the lower grit waterstones do wear relatively fast and require fairly frequent flattening. The higher grits are generally harder and wear less.

The way to use them is to learn proper technique. That is to say use a light stroke, with very limited downward pressure, keep them wet, and perhaps above all, keep them flat.

They are truly a joy to use once you gain a bit of experience with them! :thumbup:
 
PDE said:
It is so funny, I was just reading this same post on knife forums.
Click to expand...

Since this is fairly common knowledge among experienced waterstone users, I would imagine that you could find similar posts on virtually all cooking/sharpening forums.

The techniques and procedures that work well for us, will work well for the members of those forums as well. :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top