Which is a better stone: Spyderco UF or Shapton 16k Glass-stone?

I have used it a lot comparing its sharpness and finish to other stones and compounds and its almost dead on at 3 microns. Its also been asked in the spyderco fourm and if I remember correctly Sal said that the spyderco stones are rated at 15, 6, and 3 microns.
 
knifenut1013 said:
I have used it a lot comparing its sharpness and finish to other stones and compounds and its almost dead on at 3 microns. Its also been asked in the spyderco fourm and if I remember correctly Sal said that the spyderco stones are rated at 15, 6, and 3 microns.
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Very interesting. Is the Spyderco UF fine enough to mirror polish edges?
 
The regular fine is enough for mirror edges once it's broken in a bit. I happen to prefer the edge left by waterstones. They cut into the steel without the tendency to smear that the hard ceramic hones have. Both are capable of leaving a better edge than most of us can put on a knife.
 
yoda4561 said:
The regular fine is enough for mirror edges once it's broken in a bit. I happen to prefer the edge left by waterstones. They cut into the steel without the tendency to smear that the hard ceramic hones have. Both are capable of leaving a better edge than most of us can put on a knife.
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Thanks, I'm just trying to get a point of reference. The Norton 8K can't mirror polish edges, so the Spyderco Fine must be finer than that (despite being less than 8k grit), and the Spyderco Ultra Fine must be finer still.

I also am planning to use the stones on razors. I can say that I can most definitely tell the difference between finishing a razor on chromium oxide version 0.25 micron diamond paste when shaving. On a knife, the sharpening stone used to finish the edge does indeed make a difference too.
 
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cotdt said:
Very interesting. Is the Spyderco UF fine enough to mirror polish edges?
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I can start getting a mirror polish from the fine and the UF will make it almost perfect. After that I use 1 micron diamond compound on a leather strop to make it a true mirror polish. My UF stone has been resurfaced by spyderco and is a little finer than standard (around 10k is my guess) so the polish is a little higher but this is close to the results you would get.

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Though it looks good if you look closer you can see all the fine lines made by the stone.
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To reach a true mirror polish you must use polish and when you do it looks more like this.

Sorry about the poor pic its very hard to take a close up of a high polished edge.
Picture662.jpg
 
Very nice pictures knifenut! No need to be sorry! Did you do those edges freehand? Wow.
 
cotdt said:
Very nice pictures knifenut! No need to be sorry! Did you do those edges freehand? Wow.
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Thanks, yep all freehand. I use my aligner sometimes when I'm lazy but 99% of the time its freehand.

I should also say that in the last pic the finishing stone was a DMT XX fine before the strop and not the uf ceramic like in the other pics.
 
Sal has said that they only produce the UF stones because he shaves with a straight razor, and uses them for that purpose.

I find the UF stones give a very good edge, well enough to shave with easily without stropping.
 
My Shapton Glasstone 8000 grit(1.84 microns) puts a very mirrored edge on my blades, definately better than my Spyderco UF. The edge is VERY sharp as well. My Norton 8000 was very disappointing as it dished, gouged, left a hazy polish, and didn't leave an edge near as good as the Glasstones or Spyderco UF for me. I have posted some pics of the mirrored edges on my Stretch 2 and a few others over the last couple months. Maybe tomorrow or sooner I can throw a couple pics of the polish the Glasstone 8000 leaves in this thread, but the pictures I take SUCK compared to knifenut's pics. I really need a new camera with a functional macro, as it takes a miracle to get my non-manual focus Kodak camera to focus in on the edge, or especially finely whittled hair.

Anyway, I guess my bottom line statement would be get the 8000 grit Glasstone as it will deal with any steel (my Spyderco has microchipped high RC blades for some reason) as it leaves a beautiful mirrored finish. For 16000 grit and finer I use 3m lapping film in 1 micron, .3 micron, and .05 micron over glass for a real over the top polished edge when that 8000 grit, mirror polished, super hair whittling edge just isn't enough.

Mike
 
Here are some terrible pics of Shapton 8000 grit edges (1.84 micron). For reference, the Shapton 2000 is already starting a real nice mirror before I finish with the 8000 grit. All of these edges are freehand.










 
Nice pictures, gunmike! If Shapton 8k can do that, then 16k should be wicked sharp! I want my knives to be as sharp as my razors, except hold a stronger, harder edge for heavier work.

Judging by the pictures, your edges are even more acute than mine! I use edges down to 16° degrees inclusive, and you've got an even wider edge on the same knives.

This thread has been real useful. I've decided to go with the Shapton 16k.
 
I would stick with 8000 or under waterstones for any functioning work knife. I find a 1000-2000 grit edge is optimal for cutting performance. These will give a misty semi-mirror finish when stropped. Higher grits are great for pushcutting demonstrations or razors but not as agressive in slicing cuts. Something like the 16k only comes into its own when you have a good progression of grits and keep the edge nice and flat.
 
That Stretch 2 is at 14 inclusive. The others are actually around 16-18 inclusive or thereabouts on the main bevels I think (I don't remember the angle I tried for on all of those, but none was over 9 per side as I recall), but those numbers are only approximations. I also microbevel those knives as well for easy touch ups and edge durability. The 16K Glasstone is quite pricy and should give you more shine, but for sharpness, especially for the money, I really like my lapping films. They polish the crap out of your bevel as well, but the shine from the 8K Glasstone is bright enough for me so I only use them on my microbevels. The pictures really don't do the bevels justice as far as the mirroring either, as they look a bit hazy in some of the pictures. They aren't, they are very bright and very clearly reflect things back at you. I just suck at camera work, and my camera sucks as well. I just can't get it to focus in properly on close ups, and it has no manual focus.

Mike
 
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