Lets see your sharpening stations

[samuelpeter]

I'd bet that is far more functional, and stable, than it looks from here. I like it.

 

[Chef Niloc]

I'd bet that is far more functional, and stable, than it looks from here. I like it.

The things solid! Its like The bucket was made to hold a Todai-makura Block.

 

[Sambal]

What's the advantage of a sloping-away-from-you platform? Wouldn't a level platform give a more neutral feedback on hand/arm movements? How are the ergonomics of a tilting platform better?

 

[stereo.pete]

What's the advantage of a sloping-away-from-you platform? Wouldn't a level platform give a more neutral feedback on hand/arm movements? How are the ergonomics of a tilting platform better?

Ditto on the above questions, I almost feel if the sharpening surface was tilting away from me that it would cause my wrists to lift the blade knife up on the way down almost like a bad stropping motion.

 

[Patatas Bravas]

What's the advantage of a sloping-away-from-you platform? Wouldn't a level platform give a more neutral feedback on hand/arm movements? How are the ergonomics of a tilting platform better?

No special reason for this personally. Just feels better. However, I also reason that especially if you're standing and looking down on what you do it's easier to be consistent if the stone has an angle making it slightly more parallel to your line of sight. Easier to keep an eye on the angle this way.

 

[JBroida]

i sharpen with the stone on a tilt away from me... it helps out with a few things including water control and ergonomics. Oddly enough it turns out that on a flat plane, your wrists have more of a tendency to turn up as you move away from yourself, so the angle helps a bit with that. Try it one day and see.

 

[labor of love]

jon, this tilting the stone away from the sharpener can be achieved with the stone bridge(you carry)/cambro set up correct?

 

[JBroida]

thats what i use, but there are many ways to make it happen

 

[GlassEye]

I made my own stone holder with an optional tilt, but once I tried the tilt I haven't gone back.

 

[tk59]

I use Jon's Suehiro set-up with the tray on a flat countertop. I've tried playing with the different tilts and in the end, I decided it doesn't matter and no tilt is easier to do since I sharpen wherever I happen to be, it's easier to take a stone or plate along and find a flat place to work. Maybe if I was sharpening all day, it would make a difference... :dontknow:

 

[Patatas Bravas]

Yes, although I disagree on the water control point, which also makes me think of 'slurry control' too. (All this lingo we come up with here...) The stones tend to dry out at the higher end, obviously, and the slurry collects at the lower so I find I have to even things out, spread some slurry back up, and I add water at the top part as some will run down. This seems less convenient than if the stone were flat, but as I said for me the incline makes the sharpening motions and angle control easier.

 

[panda]

love jki's stone bridge thing, it's adjustable and fits perfectly in a hotel pan. interestingly enough, all my metal pans are warped on bottom and dont sit flat where as the plastic ones are nice and flat. i too use it on a tilt. would have been nice if it came with a non slip mat to put over the surface though.

 

[panda]

my latest setup:
converted to splash n go from
naniwa 150 - bester 1200 - rika 5000
to
chosera 400 - jns 1000 - jns synthetic aoto

freaking loving the chosera.

 

[K-Fed]

my latest setup:
converted to splash n go from
naniwa 150 - bester 1200 - rika 5000
to
chosera 400 - jns 1000 - jns synthetic aoto

freaking loving the chosera.

+1 on that chocera. Glad you like it. Pretty sure I may have recommended it. I love the choseras that I've got.

 

[panda]

Yeah you lead me to go chosera over gesshin, glad. I love this stone. The jns 1000 is awesome too, not loving the synthetic aoto as much but it gets the job done. jks 3000 feels nicer feedback wise, but the edge is better from the aoto.

 

[Patatas Bravas]

I noticed all those 'want to buy ...' stone messages of yours. Were these 3 an upgrade for you, or more just a change? Glad to hear about the Chosera as I plan on replacing my current 400 with a Chosera at some point.

 

[panda]

chosera was a huge upgrade, the 1k and aoto were more side steps (funny i got them both from mainaman who has a gazillion natural stones). honestly i think the rika feels best on stones and leaves the best edge, but i am glad i made the moves that i did.

 

[Ruso]

This is my ghetto setup that I build based on videos/pics of other users.
It's a plastic paint pan. The holder for the big stones has 2 legs at that bottom that match the pan width (not appreciated in the pic). And the stone is locked with the wedge at the top.
The smaller holder fits perfectly in to the groves somehow and I use for the low height or narrow stones like Naniwa SS in the pic.
Also, with time I added 2 magnets at each side and equipped my handmade strops with 2 metal something at the bottom so it would not glide back and forth on the pan.
So far it has been working

 

[Asteger]

Just found this thread, thought I'd post.

Recently moved most of my stone & mantenance stuff to this cosy top shelf in our living room adjoining the kitchen, too high for my daughter to grab. Never had enough room in the kitchen and so most of the stuff had been in my office. I'd sharpen and thin either at my desk (messy) or over in the kitchen.

Sorry as it's hard to make out details - things are compact - but you get the idea.