When to graduate to better stones?

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boomchakabowwow

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I bought a very inexpensive King combo stone a long time ago. 1000/6000 if I even remember correctly. I have had it a long time.

Initially; using the stones was nothing more than cussing and giving up. I stayed with it. Practicing.

Recently I have blossomed. My wife is affectionately referred to as the “grim reaper” to knife edges. Boxes, cheese on a ceramic plate, etc. she abuses her 6” Wustof Grand Prix chef knife. ( i’m Kinda luck that is all she likes to use) I just put a zinging straight razor edge on that thing. Paper thin see-thru tomato slices. My EDC pocket knife; S30V steel is also so damn sharp now. I’m getting confident with my budget water-stone.

When to step up? What will a decent set of stone buy me? I NEVER read what you guys write here. You all drop various exotic stone names and lose me in the weeds. I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.

I know I want a course stone.. to fix edges and things.

Any ideas? Just leave well enough alone? .
 
boomchakabowwow said:
... When to step up? ....
Click to expand...

Knife enthusiasts and woodworkers both seem to spend a lot of time agonizing over how to improve their sharpening setups. Usually forgetting all we're really doing is rubbing off the dull bits of steel. I think the best answer to your question is: When there is some task you can't accomplish with your stones *OR* when another stone(s) will bring you joy. Really only you can answer for yourself.

Different people have different reasons, some are: Something to cut steels that aren't handled well on their current stones. A coarser stone for more significant repair or edge shaping. Different stone to leave a different surface finish after sharpening. A finer stone for a more refined / polished result. Something different just to try it (for fun, variety, whatever....) I'm sure I'm missing a gazillion other reasons....
 
When you need to erase the DNA evidence is a perfect time to graduate to better stones in my experience.
 
Honestly it's trial and error, trying different stones both synthetic and natural and playing around with how they act on certain steels etc until you find a progression or combo that you really dig for each of your knives. That said, to me at least it's not only about the stone per se but rather the qualities they have to offer.
 
Better stones don't load up as easily. And they should give you more bite compared to the king.
 
For cheap stainless, i like JNS 300 and King 300 Deluxe a lot. They don't dish fast, but at the same time don't clog. If i had to start again, i would probably get a JNS 300 (or King 300 Deluxe) and a Gesshin 4k (fast for its grit, leave a toothy edge). I haven't yet found a 1k synth that i really loved, though.
 
I'd definitely give something Gesshin a shot...it'll blow your mind coming from the King combo.
 
Marcelo Amaral said:
For cheap stainless, i like JNS 300 and King 300 Deluxe a lot. They don't dish fast, but at the same time don't clog. If i had to start again, i would probably get a JNS 300 (or King 300 Deluxe) and a Gesshin 4k (fast for its grit, leave a toothy edge). I haven't yet found a 1k synth that i really loved, though.
Click to expand...

Watanabe AI 1k!
 
You're damn lucky that the Mrs' leaves your carbon alone and focuses her abuse on the Wustof. Please let me know your secret. I try to set some boundaries and I get accused of being "petty." Lol.
For stones, start reading a bit in the sharpening section and see if you get bitten a bit. There are so many choices that each individual is best served by feeling their way through the maze/rabbithole and going with their gut.
After a day or two of reading you WILL have an opinion of what your next purchase should be.
Imho, nice (synth) stones are just more fun to use and don't have to be terribly expensive. Although, anyone that sharpens with regularity will enjoy having at least one nice Japanese natural stone in the 5+k grit range to end with and/or strop on.
Just add this to the reasons that others might think you are a bit coocoo.
Cheers.
 
For no nonsense and no thought I still like shapton stones. Either pro or glass. I prefer the feel of the pro stones but find most of the glass stones to cut better on more alloyed steel if that is a consideration.
 
Slightly off topic...but I find that overall, natural stones leave an edge that has something any synth cannot replicate, I describe it as polished but still toothy, also seems to stay sharp longer. I'm beginning to reeeaaallllly like jnats for this reason other than their quite obvious polishing/cosmetic properties (and those weird smells too lol)
 
Honestly, I don't think there's much of a reason to wait with 'better stones' when starting your sharpening carreer. Two caveats:

-Starting with some cheap stones just to have a low-cost way to see whether handsharpening is something you are willing and able to do on a regular basis. It's not for everyone... and for a lot of people buying more expensive stones would only mean there's more capital gathering dust in a closet. But it sounds like you already passed this station. :)

-That statement is refined to synthethics; natural stones are their own rabbit hole, both skill-wise and financially and I'd say it's a bit of a waste to dive into it before you really know what you're doing.

But within the area of synthethics, better stones, compared to entry-level stones, will help you get better edges faster, easier, and with less fuss. That's not to say you cannot get the same results with cheap stones. Even with the cheap King stones some people do magical things and better stones won't suddenly make you a better sharpener. If you can't make an edge on a King you probably won't be able to do it on a more expensive stone either. But if you can, there's no reason not to step up and make life easier.

Now which stones to step up to is a more 'personal' question that's harder to figure out. Some prefer S&G stones, some prefer fast stones, some prefer stones with tons of feedback, yadda yadda.
 
StonedEdge said:
Slightly off topic...but I find that overall, natural stones leave an edge that has something any synth cannot replicate, I describe it as polished but still toothy, also seems to stay sharp longer. I'm beginning to reeeaaallllly like jnats for this reason other than their quite obvious polishing/cosmetic properties (and those weird smells too lol)
Click to expand...

I agree but I also think that is why a lot of people like to the AI#1000 to Kitayama 8k jump because it almost replicates that sort of edge in that it is an edge that is polished yet has bite for days. Yet not quite the same. I find it interesting in that I can polish all the way up to 8k and fall back down to something like a Binsui and the results are out of this world. That binsui seems to restore a ton of bite or tooth to the edge without removing all of the polish. The same results are not there when going from, say, a 1k to a binsui. However, if I fall back from an 8k to a 2k synthetic, I am left with a 2k synthetic edge in short order. And we have not even begun to speak of Awase-to yet...lol. Then again, I am team mid grit all the way.

But I think that just goes to further what Jovidah says in that Naturals are a whole other bag. :)
 
panda said:
just get a shapton glass 500
it will blow you away how much easier it is to get back a usable edge.
Click to expand...

Thanks bud, stone is on the way to me. If it’s awesome, it’s a bargain actually.

On the scary side, I have now peeked behind the water stone curtain. Yikes!
 
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