New to Sharpening, New Knife

Hi,
I recently found this forum and have been learning lots about knives, and admiring some of your collections. I work in a fast-paced kitchen and wanted to upgrade my knife care knowledge and get something that fit me well. I'd love to eventually get something made in America, but see how expensive those can be and rare too. For now i've invested in a Robert Herder Lingnum 3 HRC 60 Santoku knife, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Robe...p=52&ved=1t:429,r:49,s:200,i:151&tx=135&ty=92
I've somewhat invested in a knife, and want, also, to be able to sharpen it myself. I understand the preference for stones, and am starting to get technique from the JKI videos. Are there some good middle of the line stones I'd benefit from learning on that will last a while, and keep my knife sharp. I've been considering the Rika 5000 and the Bester 1200 as were suggested to another newb. I've noticed 3 different grits are often recommended? I also see references to "stone flattening" but don't understand what that is or how you do it. I'm guessing that involves another special piece of equipment? Anything else to consider?
Thanks for your help. I've enjoyed learning about the tools I use daily!

I'm quite sure you will enjoy your Lignum 3! One of my favourites, but it seemed to me it was almost unknown by the American public.
3 stones? Yes, you may add a coarse stone for reprofiling and chip repair. For incidental use you may replace it by sandpaper in the P320-700 range.
An added intermediate stone between the 1.2k and 5k is possible but all but necessary. Especially with the finely grained steel of the Lignum 3 you will probably prefer a somewhat toothy edge, and avoid a very polished one.
Stone flattening: a lot of people use diamond plates to keep the stone flat, avoid dishing and ease the edges. Most new stones do not come entirely flat and need the removal of a small layer of 'crust' that hides active particles. Instead of a diamond plate you may use sandpaper on a piece of glass as well, but it's a little messy.

also, i put up a video on flattening in my sharpening playlist, so if you're looking at those videos anyways, check that one out to see how it is done

Thanks. I think i'll go with those stones then and keep watching J's videos!

pignolius said:

Thanks. I think i'll go with those stones then and keep watching J's videos!

Click to expand...

Good both choices.

welcome!

As you use your stones , you will remove material from the stone and create a hollow. You can't produce an exact edge without a flat stone. From time to time, it's wise to use one of the methods suggested on this forum for flattening your stones before sharpening. I sharpen a lot of knives , I flatten my stones often. If you are only sharpening your own knife, probably not often at all.

Thanks for the advice. My robert herder knife finally arrived from the Netherlands and i'm very happy with it so far. It is light and small - perfect for chopping fresh herbs quickly and evenly. Stones on the way and i'll be sure to practice on some old stainless steel home kitchen knives first.

Good stuff.

Welcome to the forum!

So much knowledge on this forum and the members are the nicest around.

just ordered my 240 carbonext, already have a 220/360 (i think, cant find stats so will call manufacturer this week) combo stone here but I know that i need a higher grit stone. I am looking at a 1000/4000 combo stone at the moment, with my new blade in mind, what would you suggest for me? I am very new to the knife world and will be spending a lot of time watching your videos to learn what i can. In the interim I want to place the orders I need to get my stuff on route. Thanks in advance

was that question directed towards me? If so, i tend to stay out of recommending products in these kinds of threads. I may be a little biased when it comes to that kind of stuff

That being said, i'm sure many others will chime in soon.

Well not solely directed at you, just in general. You don't need to answer your specific name brands or kinds of stones, just looking at what grit levels and how many I need. For me, it's just home use so I'd assume 2-3 are ok. Such as the coarse as mentioned and ideally a 1000/4000 combo stone since that ones on sale locally lol.

yeah... really all you will ever need is a good coarse stone (400-600 grit), a good medium grit (800-2000 grit), and a good finishing stone (4000-8000 grit). Also, something to keep them flat is probably a good idea.

Awesome. I thought I was somewhere in there. Thank you. So I guess my 1k/4k combo stone will work then. I look forward to staring at the videos many many times to learn.

Might want to start with the 4k and go from there...

I would rather propose to stick with the 1k till you've acquired the basics...

I wouldn't really even go below the 1k unless something drastic happens, and then I'd likely have it fixed professionally. Mainly I just to have the stuff I need to help my situation, while respecting the fact I can hinder it easily too

But I wouldn't get any higher, neither, yet. With higher grids burr recognition becomes quite hazardous.

Fair enough. I will be picking up my new sharpening stones this set of days off then I will grab the garbage knives and watch some vids to learn the methods