What is the most minimal, low-cost sharpening setup that still lets you get a good edge?

maximus83 said:
This is kind of hypothetical, but an interesting question to me that was sparked by another thread.

If you wanted to come up with the most minimal, free or low-cost sharpening setup you can think of that would still let you create a totally workable edge, what would you recommend? Where the basic requirements are something coarse to grind steel, and something smooth to strop/polish or finish the edge?
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For me personally? (Note - some of these things seems to have been discontinued since I bought them)

- A 6" Norton Economy combo (silicon carbide) stone - $6 from Home Depot when I bought it.
- A can of Norton Honing Oil - $4 when I bought it at the same Home Depot.
- A reclaimed leather belt that no longer fits but was the right kind of leather for a strop.
- A stick of Porter Cable PCPC5 green buffing compound that I paid $3 for at Lowe's, and should last the rest of my life.

That'll do it right there, for my non-kitchen knives. In fact, I used that exact set up this weekend to resharpen a knife because I didn't feel like getting anything else out. The knife (a Case Stockman) is shaving sharp and the 420HC stainless seems to like a bit of a toothy edge anyway.

I can get better results with other stuff, but that'll do it. So I guess about $13 given that I already had the belt.
 
Mo2 said:
Iirc the Norton crystalon has oil in the structure where as the sears sic stone does not. And apparently that makes a difference? I've not compared.
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I don't have one of the as-named 'Crystolon' stones from Norton. Their Economy Stone is made with the same abrasive, also what they call Crystolon (they told me it's the same stuff, what they've named their silicon carbide abrasive). The Economy Stone is definitely not pre-oiled, and nor is the Sears stone. They both suck up oil or water like sponges. As to a difference in performance, I can't say, as I've not tried one of the designated and more expensive Crystolon stones.


David
 
maximus83 said:
How does this compare to the economy stone David mentions? That economy stone ain't anymore; it shows $129 at Azon and I can't find it elsewhere online.

ETA: Ok update, I think I found the one David mentions, $18 at this online retailer for the 6": http://www.airgas.com/p/NOR07660787933

Or $15 for the 8": http://lmrtackle.com/norton-knife-tool-sharpener-benchstone.aspx
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The Economy stone I saw listed on Amazon is here:
https://www.amazon.com/Norton-Econo...04781480&sr=8-1&keywords=norton+economy+stone

It's listed at $12.39 (roughly 50% more expensive than what I paid for mine, at around $7-$8 a couple or three years ago), though they also show the so-called 'List Price' at $78.70 ( :eek: ), with a 'savings' of $66.31. No idea what that's about.


David
 
So first of all, thanks to everybody who weighed in on this thread, and some other recent ones I started, you guys are incredibly helpful educating me about sharpening. I've made more headway over the last 2 weeks just asking a few questions, than I made for several years just struggling along on my own.

Next thing: I've narrowed down to a couple of the minimalist approaches I'm going to try. Don't mind experimenting and spending a few $$ here, I'm not poor, I was just interested in the discussion of most minimal system possible that would still get better-than-factory sharpening results, "occam's razor" and all that ;). And also as a way to recommend a good-but-basic sharpening system to NON knife knut friends and family who just want a good home sharpening system without going all overkill and buying gadgets, a whole bunch of stones, etc.
  • Norton economy
  • Tarvol 2-sided (120/240, aluminum oxide, $9.99): this is made-in-china but gets good user ratings as an economy stone in the same class as the Norton. I'm getting it not because I need it, but just curious to try it alongside the Norton and see if any difference.
  • FortyTwo's bench stones. I ordered the "American Mutt" stone (for coarse grinding, re-profiling), and the new Arctic Fox bench stone. This is a very reasonable 2-stone solution, it ends up being around $50 for both, and while this is going SLIGHTLY beyond the uber minimalism I was asking in the thread, I want to try these nicer stones as an alternative to my interrupted surface DMT's. I won't knock DMT--I love their stuff overall and will keep mine--but as others have found, sometimes that interrupted surface can be a pain and also those metal plates mean the feedback from the stone is not "direct" and feels kind of weird. I'm trying FortyTwo's two-stone solution as an alternative to my DMT's, so I can get direct stone feedback on a quality stone, but (hopefully) keep it super minimalist and not have to buy a whole bunch of stones/grits to get better-than-factory edges.
 
If you really like the rods as in round rods not the triangular sharp maker rods. ... You can buy ceramic rods if different grits and either buy a set with precut holes such as you might get from AG Russell or from Idahone ...

And there are other brands that offer options of Aluminum Oxide ceramic rods ... or you can buy then and set your own angles for use.

Or you can buy them as ceramc hones with handles ... same as steels but actual sharpening mayerial not just steels. And unless you let your knife really get bad they will keep your blades sharp very easily.
 
Can somebody advise on what I will need to do for the simplest lapping options on these inexpensive stones? I've been using DMT diamond stones for so long, or sharpmaker, I haven't even had to really think about lapping. :)
 
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If you do a search on eBay for "no center hole diamond lapping plate" you can find big ol' 12" diameter round diamond plates from Chinese sellers that work well even for big stones. No one's gonna' say they're world class, but they do the job and the price is right.
 
For the stones you are getting I suggest silicon carbide powder and tile or glass as your grinding surface.

I get my grit from His Glassworks and low grit, 60-120, is 4 bucks a pound.
 
Think this is pretty minimal and works on any steel
Costed me 13 $ Canadian.
400 / 600 grit, courtesy of our Chinese friends, who we enable to have all the manufacturing plants of the world...

Splash some water on it. The piece of leather keeps it from sliding. Use the leather after too. :thumbsup:

This rides with me on road trips in my survival container. Will sharpen a shovel if needed.
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A year ago, I bought 2 of those 400/600 diamond plate - pic by Sergeua - on big river for less than $10 each. Used to lap and files when new. Once broken in - it is excellent for sharpen all steels. One plate is quite dull now but no bare spots, nor rust.

SiC stone is good and has 20x service life but doesn't produce crisp edge for steels with VC & WC carbide diameter larger than 1um.
 
Luong,

Thanks. I was about to ask Serg where to buy. My current Taedea 360/600 is quite worn, and being small not very conducive for reprofiling.
 
maximus83 said:
I like these super minimalist ideas that are being suggested, I plan to try a few of them. Not because my diamond stones don't work, but because it sound like fun, and kind of cool to be able to sharpen anywhere with minimal fancy gear on hand. Also I'm quickly starting to realize the main limitation for common every day type of sharpening is not the sharpening gear, it's ME. :)

  • Sandpaper. Never tried this for sharpening. For a solid base, would it also help to just take an 8" to 12" length of 2x4 and wrap sandpaper around it? If you were just going to use 1 single grit for maximum simplicity, what grit of sandpaper would you use as the primary?
  • Concrete. I've seen people recommend sharpening on super smooth concrete, like concrete steps. Is this urban legend, or a bad idea?
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It's not what I would like to do, but it works.
I use to carry my keychain sharpener on coarse, medium and fine grit just for a urgency sharp.
 
Currently, I like 1K ws and 12-15um diamond edge with and w/o finer grit micro. Just ordered a cheap small 1K 5.9x2.5" diamond plate for in-hand sharpening. dmt8e & dmt6e are too heavy, and interrupt dmte diafold isn't friendly to tip and tight radius belly. If this 1K works well, I probably would grab: Big Horn 19394 Double Sided Diamond Stone 400/1000 Grit - 8x2.75" combo plate. With a diafold e/ee be a good travel sharpening kit. I think - if it proven as durable as dmt or better, this almost continuous diamond surface 400/1000 could be a good single stone for sharpen all mid-to-high end steels. Low-mid end steels, a decent ~$35 8x2.5" ~600/1.5K waterstone would be a competent minimalist sharpening gear.

Chris "Anagarika" said:
Luong,

Thanks. I was about to ask Serg where to buy. My current Taedea 360/600 is quite worn, and being small not very conducive for reprofiling.
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Wow I tried my new Norton economy stone tonight--absolutely lousy results. Gave up and went back to my DMT stones, got great results, so I don't think it was my sharpening technique.

Wonder if I did something wrong with the stone. First time using it, I tried using glycerin which was thicker, but the stone just kept drinking it up. A lot of the blade was kind of catching on the stone. Maybe I just need to throw a thicker oil on there like a cheap mineral oil? Or should I use soapy water? I don't want to use my nice norton oil on this stone, it drinks it up too fast. :)
 
maximus83 said:
Wow I tried my new Norton economy stone tonight--absolutely lousy results. Gave up and went back to my DMT stones, got great results, so I don't think it was my sharpening technique.

Wonder if I did something wrong with the stone. First time using it, I tried using glycerin which was thicker, but the stone just kept drinking it up. A lot of the blade was kind of catching on the stone. Maybe I just need to throw a thicker oil on there like a cheap mineral oil? Or should I use soapy water? I don't want to use my nice norton oil on this stone, it drinks it up too fast. :)
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There's a big difference in feel between DMT stones and the Norton Economy & similar stones. They do drink a lot of oil, and the 'catching on the stone' aspect is a big part of getting used to the feel. The stone will (or should) shed grit as it's used, and that comes with using a bit more pressure than would be used with diamond hones. For the Economy stone, you WANT TO scrub some of that grit free, and the catching aspect plays into that. It feels weird, I know. But don't be afraid to be a little more aggressive in scrubbing off those 'catchy' points, in using the stone. When the stone is brand new, it'll feel much more 'catchy'. As it breaks in, that'll taper off, and it'll become easier to get a feel for the right pressure, both for heavier grinding and for the finishing touches done with a lighter touch.

I'm with you, in that I don't like to use up a lot of my 'good' Norton oil on these stones. I've instead used other, less expensive but still food-safe mineral oils, such as the pharmacy-grade (laxative) stuff, as well as other mineral oils marketed for lube use in food service equipment. The heavier laxative-grade oil won't drain out of the stone as rapidly, BTW.


David
 
David,

Just an idea, not having the Norton. Would putting on vaseline on the surface before the oil help reducing the 'drinking'?
 
probably just make a sticky mess. with some of my stones like this, I put them in loaf pan, covered with mineral oil and left overnite. no more issue, i guess they drank enough
 
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