Stones to get started sharpening

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Wens

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I'm looking for recommendations to get set up for sharpening the knives I'll be acquiring in the future. Looking to spend 150ish usd and I'm in the us), but I'd be a bit flexible if I'm going to need to order something in the future and it will keep me from having to pay more in shipping. I currently have a Tojiro gyuto and petty, a Victorinox chef's knife, a few other odds and ends wusthof paring knife/dexter russel boning knife type things, but plan to move towards more J-knives in the future, and want to try out a carbon steel knife in the short-mid term. Only looking for home cooking for 2 usage, so I'm not going to be putting heavy use on the stones. Not sure what other info would be helpful, but I'll answer questions the best I can as they come up!

TL;DR question is what I need to get started sharpening my own knives and have it be a pleasant experience where I'm not fighting my equipment. I don't even know what I don't know, but I've watched the JKI youtube series on sharpening and would be brushing up again before giving it a go and am enthusiastic about learning. If budget is unreasonable, I might buy in chunks or I might be willing to sacrifice other expenses for a bit to make prep work more pleasant for myself.
 
I use the shapton pro line and have had very good results with those products. I would start with a 320, 1000, 5000 grit stone combination. I believe these 3 stones can be purchased for around 150.
 
You will need a medium grit stone (1000 or 1200) and something finer, say 3000 to 6000 to sharpen what you have, and those two stones will do a decent job on just about any kitchen knife.

For more refinement you will need a strop of some sort, and of course if you are using waterstones you will need something to flatten them with.

A very good "starter set" is a Bester 1200 and a Suehiro Rika 5000, plus some drywall sanding screen and something flat to put it on for flattening your stones (a flat tile from one of the big box stores works well, especially a marble one). Most of the usual knife supply places sell these stones, often as a starter set with a stone holder. You won't go wrong with them.

For a strop, I'm currently using a piece of pine 2x4 that has been planed flat and coated with some 0.5 micron chromium oxide in wax carrier from a woodworking suppply, you you can get the same thing at the big box stores in the tool department in small tubes intended for charging buffing wheels, it's the #6 material, green waxy stuff labeled "for high polish of metals" or something similar. Works great, costs a couple bucks.

You can sharpen the soft stainless steel knives on the 1200 Bester and strop, should leave you a good edge for those knives. Harder steels finish well on the Rika.

Soak both stones at least 10 minutes before using, and keep them wet. The Bester wears very slowly but cuts fast, the Suehiro gets "muddy" nicely and dishes faster, but working up some mud will result in a very nice polish.

Don't fall down the rabbit hole of stones too soon -- there is a dizzying array of stones out there, synthetic and natural, and you can get lost easily. The basic set I've described will do you fine until you want to really get into stones.

Eventually you will probably need a coarser stone, but unless you need to grind out chips or thin a knife, you won't need one right away.

Peter
 
Arashiyama 6000 (aka Takenoko 8000) is an excellent fine stone. You can progress to it straight from 1000x, or after a 4000-5000x stone like the Suehiro.
 
+1 to the Bester 1200 + Rika 5k. That'll set you back about $90 though, but you're paying for a better experience; if you want something cheaper, a King Combo stone would be around $40 and give you everything you need.
 
Coarse stones are "you don't actually use it but you'll be in big trouble without it" kind of stones.
If you already have warped/chipped knives a coarse stone is a must, but not something I would recommend as a starter.
A coarse stone plus a honing rod combination can make a passable edge on a cheap almost-disposable knife, but that's not something you want on your Tojiro.

Finer finishing stones are... well, they have many use and are indispensable for skilled chefs, but they won't get anything done if you don't know what they are. Nothing at all.
Even without them and just a mid-grit stone you can make your knives sharp enough for 99% of the home-cooking job.
If you're planning on sharpening wood-working blades or razors too, a fine stone is abusolute necessity, but not as important for a home cook. Also, they are usually more expensive (you don't have much chance to abuse so they last much longer, but still, initial cost is high).

So, the old school basic is just a King Delux 1000 (or any stone around 1000 grit). Though you'll want a finisher soon enough.
 
I'm not a fan of King medium grit stones. The 6000 is great, the 300 Deluxe (bought from Japan, I don't think it's available in the US) is fine, but the medium ones are not so hot.

Soft, dish like crazy, mud like you wouldn't believe. Cut OK, but drove me crazy for woodworking. If you really can't afford anything else, they will sharpen your knives, but the Bester 1200 doesn't cost that much more and is superior in any way you want to measure.

The Tojiro will definitely benefit from a higher grit stone and stropping. So does my cheap Korean Gyuto in carbon steel.

Peter
 
Thanks guys. Ordered the Bester 1200 and Suehiro 5000. Planning on a diamond plate from amazon for flattening (I saw the DMT flattening plate mentioned elsewhere in this forum) and probably the 400 grit from JKI that's been talked up when I end up getting a knife from Jon, I think that should have me in good shape for a while.
 
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