Which Stone for Which Purpose?

[Trout Hound]

Howdy Y'all,

This has been touched on in a few recent threads, and it got me thinking. I'd like to hear some opinions on the strengths and best uses of different types of sharpening stones/media. For example, I recently saw Jason say that diamond hones may leave an edge that is a bit too aggressive for a kitchen knife in a simple steel, whereas a waterstone might be a better choice.

So, I have X knife to be used for purpose Y made out of steel alloy Z. Let's assume that I have my choice of any sharpening stone I want; diamond, ceramic, oil, water, sandpaper, you name it. I can probably get good results with any of them, for sure, but why should I reach for one instead of the other to get the very best results?

Also, assuming that I were on a much smaller budget (and aren't we all), which type, or combination of types, would give me the best results with a wide variety of applications?

I'm looking forward to hearing from the experts. Thanks guys!!!

 

[DeadboxHero]

Just curious, what kind of steels do you sharpen?

 

[Trout Hound]

I don't currently own any low-wear steel blades, such as S30V, etc.

Edit: That means I'm mainly sharpening stainless alloys like 440, 420HC, and VG-10, or carbon steels like 1095 or CV.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I don't currently own any low-wear steel blades, such as S30V, etc.

Edit: That means I'm mainly sharpening stainless alloys like 440, 420HC, and VG-10, or carbon steels like 1095 or CV.

That closely mirrors most of the blades I sharpen regularly. For the 420HC, 440(A/C), 1095 and CV blades, a simple SiC stone works very well with them. In double-sided versions, I've almost exclusively relied on the 'Fine' side of the SiC stone (Norton 'Economy' stone), as it's plenty aggressive for these steels for most tasks.

I WILL say this, however. With appropriate time spent in developing one's skills, most any stone type can be used to great effect on most mainstream cutlery steels; it's just a matter of learning how the stone works with a given steel, and adapting one's technique and touch to make the most of it. Aside from the SiC stone I mentioned above, I've also very much liked using diamond hones on the same grouping of steels, and they are actually my favorite method overall. Just today, in fact, I've been using a Coarse DMT Dia-Sharp plate to put a killer edge on a Buck 111 folder (same blade & steel as the 110 models, in 420HC). Shaved hair from my forearm after using nothing more than the stone and some light stropping on my jeans afterward. I also used the same hone to put a nice edge on an inexpensive, imported 'mystery steel' Santoku kitchen knife, purchased at Walmart several years ago. Those two projects were inspired, in fact, by recently reading one of Jason's posts in another thread, in recommending a Coarse DMT as a starting point in acquiring some sharpening gear; it's extremely versatile for most any sharpening task. The 'trick' in using diamond hones on such 'soft' steels (in terms of wear resistance) is maintaining featherlight pressure while using them, going even lighter as you refine the edge. This is what I speak of, in saying that some adaptation of one's technique with a specific stone/steel combination makes the bigger difference in how it'll work, as opposed to just limiting or excluding certain combinations based on perceived ideas about too much aggressiveness or whatever. An aggressive stone will be made less so, in applying it with a lighter touch. Aggressiveness can also be mitigated in using a finer grit for heavier grinding jobs on simple steels, as compared to doing the same job with a coarser grit in a less aggressive abrasive type. For example, on the simple steels, I usually don't feel a need to rebevel with anything coarser than a 'Fine' diamond for most knives, whereas a Coarse or Medium stone in SiC might be used in the same task. Most limitations with certain stone types will be in trying to use abrasive types that aren't aggressive enough for a given steel, like an Arkansas stone for rebevelling an S30V blade, for which no adaptation of technique is going to help.


David

 

[Trout Hound]

That closely mirrors most of the blades I sharpen regularly. For the 420HC, 440(A/C), 1095 and CV blades, a simple SiC stone works very well with them. In double-sided versions, I've almost exclusively relied on the 'Fine' side of the SiC stone (Norton 'Economy' stone), as it's plenty aggressive for these steels for most tasks.

I WILL say this, however. With appropriate time spent in developing one's skills, most any stone type can be used to great effect on most mainstream cutlery steels; it's just a matter of learning how the stone works with a given steel, and adapting one's technique and touch to make the most of it. Aside from the SiC stone I mentioned above, I've also very much liked using diamond hones on the same grouping of steels, and they are actually my favorite method overall. Just today, in fact, I've been using a Coarse DMT Dia-Sharp plate to put a killer edge on a Buck 111 folder (same blade & steel as the 110 models, in 420HC). Shaved hair from my forearm after using nothing more than the stone and some light stropping on my jeans afterward. I also used the same hone to put a nice edge on an inexpensive, imported 'mystery steel' Santoku kitchen knife, purchased at Walmart several years ago. Those two projects were inspired, in fact, by recently reading one of Jason's posts in another thread, in recommending a Coarse DMT as a starting point in acquiring some sharpening gear; it's extremely versatile for most any sharpening task. The 'trick' in using diamond hones on such 'soft' steels (in terms of wear resistance) is maintaining featherlight pressure while using them, going even lighter as you refine the edge. This is what I speak of, in saying that some adaptation of one's technique with a specific stone/steel combination makes the bigger difference in how it'll work, as opposed to just limiting or excluding certain combinations based on perceived ideas about too much aggressiveness or whatever. An aggressive stone will be made less so, in applying it with a lighter touch. Aggressiveness can also be mitigated in using a finer grit for heavier grinding jobs on simple steels, as compared to doing the same job with a coarser grit in a less aggressive abrasive type. For example, on the simple steels, I usually don't feel a need to rebevel with anything coarser than a 'Fine' diamond for most knives, whereas a Coarse or Medium stone in SiC might be used in the same task. Most limitations with certain stone types will be in trying to use abrasive types that aren't aggressive enough for a given steel, like an Arkansas stone for rebevelling an S30V blade, for which no adaptation of technique is going to help.


David

Awesome info, and extremely helpful, as always. Thank you, sir.

One follow-up question: If you are lowering an edge angle on DMT coarse or fine, do you still use just featherlight pressure? Do you ever use a scrubbing stroke? How long does this take? (Okay that was three questions, sorry.)

Thanks!!!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Awesome info, and extremely helpful, as always. Thank you, sir.

One follow-up question: If you are lowering an edge angle on DMT coarse or fine, do you still use just featherlight pressure? Do you ever use a scrubbing stroke? How long does this take? (Okay that was three questions, sorry.)

Thanks!!!

I DO allow myself a little heavier pressure when initially resetting bevels, though it's still lighter than I might use on other stones, for the sake of the hone. A scrubbing stroke is what I prefer for that, as it's much faster. How long it takes depends mostly on the size of the blade & hone. A really big, thick blade needing lots of metal removal always takes a while, and a bigger hone (bench size) helps speed that up. For such bigger blades, I'd also allow myself to take advantage of an XC hone, if it's available. Most of my knives are small-to-medium sized folders, up to 4" blades or so, and those can pretty easily be done on Coarse or Fine. For Traditional pocket knives, I seldom use a Coarse at all.


David

 

[pjwoolw]

For the steels you mentioned the Chosera 800, Shapton Pro 1500 then finishing on a Chosera 3000, Suehiro Rika 5000 or Nubatama 5000 depending on goals are a good combo. This after setting a bevel by other means if need be.