Best all purpose whetstone?

Anyone have a stone they couldnt do without?

Currently I am using this progression but am looking to switch it up a bit as I think I want to add a medium grit stone between the 1200-5000.

Beston 500
Bester1200
Suehiro Rika 5K
Kitayama 8K

i wouldn't bother. i've used Rikas after 1000 stones, they do just fine. in fact, i've used a Kitayama after 1000 stones, with good results. more stones = more chances to mess up and more metal removed.

Bechler, I use the same progression, except my 8k is Takenoko I thought about adding something in the 3k range, but like Edipis says, there's really no need.

I added a synthetic aoto and its great to finish my stainless but for carbon I skip right over it straight to the 5,000

King 1000?

Bester1200
Suehiro Rika 5K
Kitayama 8K

I got the same setup :doublethumbsup:

i stop at 5k with double bevel knives.

Bester 1200
Gesshin 4000

Sometimes wt double bevel just the Bester,Tho the Gesshin 4K has got me spoiled at the med. polishing stage.

Probably Shapton GlassStone #1000. Unfashionable, I know. Also been getting a lot of mileage out of my Shapton M5 #5000 lately (a stone that I have slagged off many times in the past, but truth is I didn't have the skill or patience to get the most out of it).

Gesshin 4k no doubt most stone I use, cuts fast enough to remove fatigued steel and leaves a good enough edge to shave easily plus enough tooth to last a long time.

There's really no reason to put something between the 1k and the 5k but my favorite stone in the 2-4k range would be the Gesshin 2k or 4k. If you go for the 2k, I'd lose your Bester. If you go for the 4k, you really don't need your Rika, IMO.

I'm weird. I really enjoy my King 1k. But, the again, I'm a sharpening minimalist.

tk59 said:

There's really no reason to put something between the 1k and the 5k but my favorite stone in the 2-4k range would be the Gesshin 2k or 4k. If you go for the 2k, I'd lose your Bester. If you go for the 4k, you really don't need your Rika, IMO.

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Exactly TK59 I was using the 2K Gesshin so much in classes & sharpening a bunch of knives that it was getting thinner over time,so I now use the bester 1200 that I like as well.I have gone thu 2 rikas over last 8 yrs.One I have left is well worn down.

The Gesshin 4K is a great stone.

bechler said:

Anyone have a stone they couldnt do without?

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Bester 1200, with my Suehiro Rika 5K a close second.

bechler said:

Currently I am using this progression but am looking to switch it up a bit as I think I want to add a medium grit stone between the 1200-5000.

Beston 500
Bester1200
Suehiro Rika 5K
Kitayama 8K

Click to expand...

I've used a Natural Mountain Blue Aoto ($75 from EE) between my Bester 1200 and my Takenoko 8K (6K). I've also tried it between the Bester 1200 and Rika, but as everyone else has already said, there's no reason to use anything between those two. I still like that Aoto and I'll occasionally start with it depending how the edge feels. It is an extremely soft and muddy stone which you may or may not like. I haven't tried any others in this range, but if I were in the market I'd look at the Naniwa Aotoshi (classic) JKS 3K (can't ignore JKS), Gesshin 2K (top reviewed), or the JNS Aoto (eclectic).

If you are open to switching up your lineup in other ways, I prefer the Takenoko following the Rika instead of the Kitayama. I've tried both, but I'm even more likely to just finish with Rika. I also have the Beston 500, but my next stone purchase will be to try to replace it, probably with the Gesshin 400. The Beston is on the top of my list of stones that I wish that I could live without.

Lefty said:

I'm weird. I really enjoy my King 1k. But, the again, I'm a sharpening minimalist.

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Same here man. Haven't experimented to too many stones. Started off with the Naniwa Super Stone 800 and didn't like it so I just got a King KDS 1000 as it was cheap. Really enjoy using it! Lots of tactile feedback and just enough mud and not muted. I have the Naniwa Lobster 1000 on it's way and heard its similar to the King 1000 but a tad better.

Wise fwom youw grave!!

[video=youtube;EOQcnliEjXM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOQcnliEjXM[/video]

There's got to be a newer version of this semi-annual (semi-weekly?) thread going around. 2013???

Though admittedly the answer is still Bester 1200. Or JKI 2K.

ThEoRy said:

Wise fwom youw grave!!

[video=youtube;EOQcnliEjXM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOQcnliEjXM[/video]

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Newbie first post! Didn't look at the date. I'll try to not bring 3 year old posts back from the grave any longer.