Recommnend a stone to go with a gift knife?

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Marko Tsourkan

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If I were to include one stone along with a knife as a gift for somebody who is not a knifenut, what stone should I consider and in what grit? I was thinking a Shapton glass stone,(doesn't require flattening), or a fine diamond plate.

M
 
I'd go with a King 1k. Sure it dishes, but of they find they want to sharpen, I can't help but think they'll learn to/eventually want to have a flat stone.
It's a classic for a reason, and the price is right.
 
I have no experience with Shaptons, but the fine DMT is a pretty good tool.
 
Not a stone but a ceramic hone/steel. TK59 has me convinced I need one for mid service...
 
For a first beginners set up Ive recommended the tri-hone here and it has been warmly recieved. It includes an india stone for repair bevel setting, med arkansas, and hard arkansas and honing oil for a little less than the king 1000k. The king is a good all aound stone BTW.
 
I like the idea of the Shapton, but if you are gifting one of your knives, which I bet already has a spectacular edge set, maybe skip the 1000 and go with a 4000, especially for a noob????
 
I like the idea of the Shapton, but if you are gifting one of your knives, which I bet already has a spectacular edge set, maybe skip the 1000 and go with a 4000, especially for a noob????

Interesting. Keep it coming, guys. I will pass on King combo. Not my favorite.
 
How long can you maintain the knife on Idahone before it needs resharpening?
 
Depends on the knife and how much you use it. I sharpened a Chicago Cutlery for my boss at work and it got a few months of light work use. It basically is like touching up on a lightly aggressive 1200 grit stone--a hairy(wouldn't say "fine"), shiny, even scratch pattern.. It can be the end-of-the-line for a tougher, more abused knife.

Knowing you, I am guessing you didn't get them a brand new Forschner, so if it's a laser in high-performing heat treat, I would consider a fine grit stone instead(Like a Rika 5k...tell Dave to order those too, I need one meself). I learned to sharpen by doing edge maintenance touch-ups on a stone, so it's a good way to go if they want to learn to do it.
 
I would go with a naniwa SS 1k. People keep saying its slow and what not but I think its awesome. Leaves a really good edge, doesn't cut too fast (I really don't care as much if it cuts fast or not, I am not sharpening 500 knives a day) and is soft enough that it is forgiving on not so perfect sharpening skills. Plus the softness makes the stone a good learning stone, and it costs about the same as a king 1k nowadays. A king 1k would be nice too btw. I wouldn't give someone anything finer the a 1k since it makes up for ****** skills easily.
 
I was set on Shapton glass stones or Diasharp diamond plates as they don't need to be flattened. Now I am seriously considering a honing rod, as this might be easier to use while maintaining the edge than the actual stone.

The knife (by me) will be for a friend of mine in Ukraine. She would have to maintain the edge herself and I am not sure how well she can do it on the stones anyway. The closest knife nut that I know of (Vladimir) lives hundreds of miles away.

Dave you need to start a JKS franchise world-wide. :)

M
 
I was thinking a Shapton glass stone,(doesn't require flattening)
I was set on Shapton glass stones... as they don't need to be flattened.
While Shapton Glass stones do have great wear resistance, they are not immune to dishing and still require the occasional flattening. They're bonded ceramics mounted on tempered glass, so they're less prone to cracking, but not at all the same as a diamond-plate.
 
+1 King or other 1K. If the person isn't a hardcore blade freak, that's going to get the knife sharper than anything they've ever used and they'll swear allegiance to it.
 
A nice gift!
A Shapton Glass Stone has much to recommend it, but the issue is not so much uneven wear as it is glazing. You would have to also provide a diamond plate of some sort to address this, so the recipient would then have two stones, of different fineness; perhaps more than you might have intended, but very handy . . .
 
A ceramic honing rod wouldn't be a bad idea. If you aren't super fussy about your edges you can maintain edges for quite a long time with them. What about a rod and a leather strop? Could go for quite a long time with those
 
Yah, I like the rod idea better than a 1000 grit for a noob (seems too easy to mess up on a 1000 grit), and some rods actually remove a little metal, as apposed to just honing. I like the Mac black ceramic... intrigued by the DMT's especially since they have different grit levels.
 
A ceramic honing rod wouldn't be a bad idea. If you aren't super fussy about your edges you can maintain edges for quite a long time with them. What about a rod and a leather strop? Could go for quite a long time with those

I like the idea of a rod and a strop. I can make a four-sided strop.
Also intrigued by diamond vs ceramic comparison.

M
 
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