Another newbie needing all-around set of stones

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Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
10
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LOCATION
What country are you in?
U.S.

STONE TYPE
What type of stone are you interested in:
Synthetic or Natural?

Synthetic

Splash and go or soaker?

Splash and go - almost mandatory

What grit range are you looking for?

Not sure. 500 to 2000?

What stone are you replacing if any?
Norton India :) Sharpmaker, 2x72 belt sander, used to have an Edge Pro.

What stones do you currently use in your lineup?
None, except Sharpmaker

What is your absolute maximum budget for your stone?
$100, maybe a little more but would prefer less if I can. I'm very new to decent kitchen knives and not sure how into sharpening I will get.

STONE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home

What type of knives will you be sharpening? (Traditional Japanese: yanagi, usuba, deba or Western style gyuto, petty etc)
Western style


What type of steel will you be sharpening? Carbon, mostly, but I do have a lot of EDC folders with stainless steel that I might try. And I have my eye on something in VG10, so, yes need something that can handle both.


STONE MAINTENANCE
Do you use or have a flattening plate (Yes or no.)
No, but will get one. Recommend me a cheap option.

If not, are you interested in learning how to flatten your stone? (Yes or no.)


SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Because I think it will help me learn to sharpen, I like the idea of stones with a good 'feel' that provide feedback. But I'm brand new to waterstones so I don't really know.

At this time, i don't think I'll be attempting the super refined 6k+grit edges. So if I have to forgoe something to stay in my budget, it's probably that very fine stone. I can always add it later.

So, I reckon I'm probably looking at a 2 stone setup. I'd be fine with a combo stone that gives up a little thickness. I doubt I'll be sharpening enough to wear out any of the stones.

Thanks!
 
I use and like the Shapton Glass Stone 500 and Shapton Pro 2000. Together they will go for a bit over $100. For a bit more money, Gesshin has stones that should work well. I use a Gesshin 6K splash and go as my finishing stone and I like it except for the drying requirements. Mine cracked as I did not know you are supposed to control it's rate of drying if you have soaked it.
 
I'd go with a 220 or 320 instead of the 500. 2000 will give you a nice edge. Take a look at a shapton pro or shapton glass set. You should be able to swing 100 or so if you shop them well.
 
I'll jump in for the G2K. If you can't keep it permanently soaked, toss it in a tupperware w water. Grab some towels, get your sharpening stuff, turn on pandora , cuss at the speaker, listen to pandora, fix a beverage and yr stone is well soaked.

Great stone in every respect including feedback.

The main reason to preclude soakers is not being able to allow them to dry after use. Typically not a factor for home use.
 
I'll jump in for the G2K. If you can't keep it permanently soaked, toss it in a tupperware w water. Grab some towels, get your sharpening stuff, turn on pandora , cuss at the speaker, listen to pandora, fix a beverage and yr stone is well soaked.

Great stone in every respect including feedback.

The main reason to preclude soakers is not being able to allow them to dry after use. Typically not a factor for home use.

Cussing at speaker is the most important part of all of this.
 
I really like my shapton pro 2000/5000, but if it is over the budget Gesshin is a great stone also. Nice thing about Gesshin is that it is little wider.
 
In the 2K range, I agree that the Gesshin 2000 is a corker. Fastest 2K I've used, and it leaves an edge that - whilst not very refined - is wonderfully toothy, and quite usable in the kitchen. Combined with a good 320-400 grit stone, you'll be able to sharpen quite quickly, and even get into some heavier repairs. Soaking stones aren't necessarily something to be afraid of; especially if they can be permasoaked. I find them pretty easy to manage, myself. However, there are a variety of reasons why this may not be practical...

For 'True' splash & go stones, though, the Shapton Glass Stone 500 Double-Thickness, and the Shapton 2000 Pro make a good combo. Not as fast as the Gesshin's, and a little more refined of an edge (Not quite as toothy for its grit.), but they'll do the job quite nicely, and are low maintenance. Feedback on these stones is present but pretty subtle, and as they are fairly hard, your angle control has to be pretty good in order to avoid creating a wire edge (Both hard and soft stones require good angle control; hard ones in order to avoid creating a wire/foil edge, and soft ones to avoid gouging your stone and killing your edge.). However, these are the first synthetic stones I learned to use (Learned how to sharpen on Arkansas and diamond plates before that.), so I can attest that they aren't bad options for a beginner.

If you want to spend a little more money, Naniwa's Pro 600 & 2000 are a good combo, and will give you a much more enjoyable user feel. However, they are a little more finicky, and whilst they can be used Splash & Go really benefit from a short 5-minute soak to help soften them a bit.

For me, feedback is something that I appreciate more with experience; there is a difference between being able to feel something, and actually knowing what it is that you're feeling. Most of what you need to learn when starting out is angle control (Muscle memory), burr-management theory, and how to perform basic edge tests to gauge your progress/proficiency (Cutting paper, cutting paper towels, shaving arm/leg hair, checking against your fingernail, carefully feeling the edge with your fingers, etc.).

Get an inexpensive angle gauge, or make your own to help you check that you are keeping consistent angles until it becomes habit (I still find it useful to check from time to time.), and buy or make a strop pasted with something in the 3-4 micron grit range to help you get a clean edge until you learn how to do it with just the stone or at least minimize it to the point that you can pull it with a piece of cloth, a block of felt, wood, or a wine cork. The strop also takes the place of a fine stone... Both are cheap, and very important tools to your sharpening set. An inexpensive magnifying loupe/field microscope (10-100X; typically <$20.) also really helps you to learn more about your edges, and diagnose sharpening problems.

As for affordable diamond lapping plates, the DMT Dia-Sharp XC (220 mesh) can be had for about $55 if you shop around, and Jon @ JKI also has a 150-grit plate that is supposed to be a little nicer and he sells for $65. There are even cheaper ones, but I have read too many stories about them not being flat to want to risk it, myself.

Hopefully this helps...

- Steampunk
 
Perhaps it would help if the original poster could clear up why he desired splash & go stone?
I don't think it's completely without merit for a home user. I've always lived in a small appartment where permasoaking stones wasn't really an option (both space and mess-wise). Furthermore I just knew I'd forget about changing the water if occasionally I didn't sharpen for a while. And since I'm an impatient *** I always found the extra wait time of soaking stones to be bothersome and causing me to sharpen less often... so I upgraded to splash & go. Worked for me because now I can just jump in and do some sharpening when I feel like it.
I can understand when it's different for other people, but it really depends on the kind of person you are. In a small appartment the neighbours tend to object when you do your weakly soak-and-scream-session. ;)

Considering the poster lives in the US I'd forget about Naniwa though...I've never seen a cheap retailer for them in the US and even ChessKnightsToGo sells them at very high prices. They're actually one of the very rare few things that are cheaper in Europe.
 
Gesshin 2k!

:plus1: Pretty much my go to stone if I need to really sharpen a knife. For German steel it's all you need. Faster than a Shapton Glass 1000. I perma soak mine and it's always ready to go. Worth the extra bucks. Only time I could see needing something coarser would be if you need to repair or thin a knife. If I could only have one stone it would be the Gesshin 2k.
 
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