Just wondering, where do you guys get your stones? Im thinking of getting a set of waterstones and daimond stones, just want to get a list of online stores so I can find the best prices.
Some of the best prices on diamond stones are from
www.craftsmanstudio.com and
www.allprotools.com
For waterstones, I've gotten great prices at
www.toolsforworkingwood.com (Norton and Naniwa Chosera) and
www.lie-nielsen.com (Shapton Glasstones), but Glasstones cost almost the same everywhere. As has been mentioned before,
www.chefknivestogo.com has a great selection of waterstones, great prices, and shipping is free on larger orders (well, not really free, but not an additional cost) and one of their owners spends a lot of time in knifeforums' kitchen section. You can also find some rare gems at
Hida Tool,
Takeshi's MetalMasterJP, or
Tools From Japan. I hear tons of great things about
Dave's place, too. And I forgot that I've gotten good stuff at
JWW and others have had great luck with
Fred's place and
East Tool West, too. Everyone likes
Sou Yamashita for natural stones and some rare synthetics (Japanese-market Glasstones and Sigma Power stones), but he doesn't sell full time.
ALSO, what stones do you have, and what are the best
Brand I know:
King
Chosura
Icy Bear ( i think)
Shapton
Norton
Naniwa (these seem like a good price to performance ratio)
There really is no 'best.' Well, Naniwa Chosera is as close to 'best' as can be for synthetic waterstones, but other stones costing much less do the same job. Ice Bear's stones are made by a few companies including Matsunaga and Otani, so they
can be among the best and when they're not, they're still alright.
Here are the stones with which I have experience and my skewed/biased/weird view on them:
King (Matsunaga Corp) makes a huge array of stones. The ones most of us can get in the USA and Canada do a great job, but do it slowly. The polishing stones work very slow on steels like S30V.
Naniwa Chosera are among the most expensive waterstones, but they're also among the fast-cutting and leave a finish that's often finer than their grit rating would suggest. The polishing stone, at 10,000 grit, cuts much much faster than its grit would suggest (and it's over $200USD -
).
Shapton Glasstones (there are others - I've only used these) aren't among the most expensive (though they are pricey), but they quickly cut every steel I've used them on (that's a long and boring list) and leave an edge that's shinier than their grit levels suggest. I've only used their 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000. They stay flat longer than most other waterstones and require the least amount of maintenance (splash water on the surface to use them, splash water on the surface when it's too black or dark gray, wipe 'em dry when you're dnoe). Some very experienced sharpeners don't like using these stones on knives with wide bevels and may complain about a lack of feel, but the stones do work well on wide bevels and a shiny and ecstatically sharp edge is more important than a fingertip massage.
Norton! Underrated and simply awesome! I've never used the 220 grit stone, but I've used the 1,000, 4,000, and 8,000 ones. The 4,000 stone is the most fun to use and wears out the fastest and is the least necessary. The 1,000 cuts faster King's reddish brown 1,000 grit and stays flat longer (all waterstones need periodic flattening - no escaping it) and the 8,000 quickly replaces the 1,000's finish with a shiny, glossy finish. I find it hard to make a burr-free edge with the 8,000 unless I fuss over it a whole lot or just move to a strop (which I normally do), but it's a darned good stone for the money if you buy a 1,000/8,000 combination waterstone and quite over-priced if you buy it separately.
Naniwa. Other than the Choseras, I've only used their Naniwa Golden Lobster 80 grit waterstone (DO NOT BUY - if you have the urge, just throw a $20 out of your window - it'll be more satisfying) and their Ohmura 150 grit waterstone. The Ohmura (from JWW and EastToolWest) is kind of a funny stone (it's secure enough in its stonehood to not get upset if you laugh at it). With light pressure and a clean surface, it cuts at a decent rate for a 600 grit stone and with a muddy surface and more pressure (which is how to make the surface muddy) it cuts much faster (not as fast as a 120 grit diamond, but still fast), but needs more frequent flattening.
Another stone not mentioned that's worth consideration is the Beston 500 grit waterstone (sometimes listed as Bester which is another company). It cuts quickly like an Ohmura or 400 grit Chosera and dishes slowly which makes it easier to use than the Ohmura and it's less expensive than the Chosera. The Beston 500 can also be left in water (it works better if it's been soaked for hours on end) for as long as the water doesn't get cruddy, so you have a bevel-setting/chip-fixing block of power ready to roll at need or whim.
I'm not even talking about my Sigma Power 1,000, Suehiro Rika 5,000, or the Sigma Power 10,000 I used to own. Nope.
