What Type of Water Stone?

P

Portholes

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Dec 19, 2009
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I have been shopping for water stones on the web for a while now but it is very difficult to tell the advantages or disadvantages of each different type. I've mainly been considering a black or pink arkansas stone or a japanese stone. All I have with me now is a spotted Smith natural arkansas stone but I don't think it is very high quality. I notice the stone is developing a metallic sheen which must mean it is grinding off bits of steel but not forming a slurry, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is necessary to create a truly sharp edge. I want something I can use to put a "screaming sharp" edge on my new Spyderco Police 3. Any suggestions are appreciated.
 
Aren't shaptons and choceras well over $100 for a finishing stone? I may consider it because I've heard those are real premium quality but I was hoping to get something less than $70 since I'm just making E-2 pay. I have heard a lot about Natural stones vs synthetic. Could anyone tell me the pros and cons.
 
Norton makes a good finishng waterstone. Two sided, 4000/8000 for under $90.

They do an excellent job if you keep them flat, but they're soft, and you need to flatten them regularly.

Norton also makes a two sided 220/1000 waterstone. It works well for sharpening, but doesn't polish. Around $35 IIRC. This is the one to start with. :thumbup:

Waterstones cut faster and IMHO leave a better finish than natural oilstones. Most professional sharpeners who do hand work use waterstones

Get the Shaptons and/or Choceras when you make E5! :p (or beter yet, get an Edge-Pro) www.edgeproinc.com )
 
Thank you very much, I'll look into those Nortons. Do the Japanese stones just tend to flatten out slower or are they better for sharpening also?
 
I usually use Japanese stones, but I've started replacing my most worn-out stones with Norton stones. They seem to work quite well - I'd definitely recommend their 220 grit and 1000 grit stones.

Ice Bear stones are also very nice - I have one of their 4000 grit stones. It doesn't hurt that they're dirt cheap for finishing stones :p - I think I paid under 30$ for that one with tax...
 
The Shaptons and Naniwas are both very good, with the Naniwas being cheaper. Both provide excellent feedback when sahrpening. The Kings are the cheapest but I don't like them because they are too soft, and darken the edges for whatever reason. They are also somewhat slow cutting.

The Naniwa 12k Superstone is pretty well-priced at $72 with free shipping:

http://www.straightrazordesigns.com...ath=37&zenid=86b7c0ba00e5d3c7a2741f265dede0e3

The Naniwas cut pretty fast without any slurry, the Shapton Pros cut even faster but the slurry it creates is a mess.
 
Japanese waterstones wear out MUCH more quickly than Arkansas noviculite stones. That is the way they are supposed to work. You don't build up the same sort of slurry with noviculite. You NEED to work up a slurry with a Japanese waterstone. That's what makes them work.

I live about 50 miles away from where some of the very finest Japanese waterstones are mined, but even here the prices for good high quality stone runs to several hundred dollars. Ordinary quality stones go for $30-$100 USD. But...

The grain size of ordinary Japanese waterstones is NOT consistent. Close, but not perfect. Not nearly as consistent as you can find in a manufactured waterstone by a company such as Shapton or Naniwa. On the other hand, you need to flatten the higher quality waterstones more often than the man-made stones so they wear out more quickly. Matsunaga stones are so soft that you have to dress them quite often, while Suehiro stones are harder and last longer. The Shapton stones are MUCH harder and much more consistent than either, and will be much cheaper!


Maybe a good question we should ask is; how many knives are you going to sharpen, and how often? If you only have one or two knives, and you only make several cuts a week, even the softest stone can last you a lifetime. Do you want/need to have a hair-whittling edge, or shaving hair be enough for you? I can buy 'broken' stones (odd shape pieces) at all the local hardware stores for a few bucks, which would work well for small wood carving tools, but not for larger fixed blades. What sized blades are you planning to sharpen?

Stitchawl
 
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I really appreciate all the replies. For the time being I'll just be sharpening my spyderco 4 3/8" and my straight razor. I'll probably pick up another folder and I suppose I have to get a ka-bar also. I can't say how much use they will be getting because I don't know how much cutting my occupation will demand when I'm deployed. My main goals right now are to get my straight razor and my spyderco to hair whittling edges. I will look into norton, icebear, and naniwa. I figure if I am not satified with a <$100 stone, I can upgrade later, then I will have real appreciation for the quality. Another question: would it be unwise to use a cheaper medium grit stone for inital sharpening, then a high end fine grit stone for final finishing?
 
For straight razors, you usually don't have to reprofile the edge as they come with the bevel already set. Having a 6k stone and 12k stone, and some 0.25 micron diamond paste is all you need. If you're buying antiques with extremely dull edges, a DMT Extra Fine comes in useful for bevel-setting.
 
For those blades with secondary bevels, choose whatever waterstone hard enough
and put less force on the edge, especially doing the curved section.
If you choose softer stone or put much force in sharpening curved section,
you will carve the stone with your blade.

Cut the steel with the stone, instead.
 
if you find that with very soft water stones you are cutting into it, try sharpening in a stropping motion as opposed to a slicing motion, it'll make your stones last longer before you have to flatten them out again.
 
Portholes said:
I really appreciate all the replies. For the time being I'll just be sharpening my spyderco 4 3/8" and my straight razor.
Click to expand...

If a straight razor is going to be in the mix, you'll need at least a 4000 grit range stone and a 8000 grit stone. you can't go wrong with the combo norton 4k/8k. Also, naniwa superstones are good. Shaptons are great, but spendy for the high grit finishers.

good luck
 
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