Recommnend a stone to go with a gift knife?

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Marko - you said she isn't a knifenut, so would she even use a stone? If she's going to have to maintain it herself, a strop and a rod might only go so far. Please don't shoot me for suggesting it, but what about a "sharpening system," like the sharpmaker? Easier to use than a stone (at first), and it'll give her a working edge for quite a while, and she'll do minimum damage to the knife when using the system.
 
Just a ceramic rod. Even a strop would be too complicated for the uninitiated. Most people can't even use a rod properly.

A simple sharpening system like unka suggested would be a better route than stones or strops.
 
unkajonet said:
Marko - you said she isn't a knifenut, so would she even use a stone? If she's going to have to maintain it herself, a strop and a rod might only go so far. Please don't shoot me for suggesting it, but what about a "sharpening system," like the sharpmaker? Easier to use than a stone (at first), and it'll give her a working edge for quite a while, and she'll do minimum damage to the knife when using the system.
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You and JohnyChance read my mind. I too am going to throw a bomb here and say that it probably would make most sense to include a guided system like Sharpmaker (as a good friend of mine has suggested this morning), as even a rod will require some learning curve, not to mention a stone.

Most people out there are not like you when it comes to knives and sharpening, so don't be judgmental. :) As long as they get a knife reasonably sharp and enjoy using it, it is all that matters.

M
 
Marko, you know your friend better than we could. But I can tell you that most of my friends don't even bother steeling their blades. So setting up a guided system would be out of the question. It would never come out of the drawer.

Any manual sharpener is going to take at least some minimal amount of attention and technique. While it may not give the best edge imaginable, I think the simplest sharpener I've seen is DMT's triangle rod.



sr.
 
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a good friend of mine asked me to recommend him some knives. i pointed him to the standard Victorinox knives. nothing special there. however, i also pointed him to a ceramic hone (actually, i found some cheapos on eBay, and had him buy several). he isn't a knife guy at all, he just used a couple of my knives once, and wanted something that cut more like my knives than like his (i'm not kidding) Chef Tony knives. he has been able to maintain decent edges on the ceramic hone. that's what i would suggest for anybody who won't be interested in learning real sharpening. it's harder to **** up a knife with a hone (it can be done, but it takes more work) and it's easy to use the hone before every meal, just a few strokes on each side of the edge. doesn't have to be a great hone. they break easily, after all.
 
AFAIK, a sharpmaker is just like having a diamond rod that is placed at a set angle. Never figured out why that was worth keeping up with all those little parts.
 
Marko Tsourkan said:
You and JohnyChance read my mind. I too am going to throw a bomb here and say that it probably would make most sense to include a guided system like Sharpmaker (as a good friend of mine has suggested this morning), as even a rod will require some learning curve, not to mention a stone.

Most people out there are not like you when it comes to knives and sharpening, so don't be judgmental. :) As long as they get a knife reasonably sharp and enjoy using it, it is all that matters.

M
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I suggested to my mother to get a sharpmaker after I bought a jknife for her. She's totally cool with it. It's not rocket science, and she gets a nice edge.
 
99Limited said:
Amazon also carries DMT's honing rods at a better price, well at least when I checked. DMT's pricing on Amazon moves up and down fairly often.
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Yeah. I buy stuff from David, in part because he's a good guy, too.
 
EdipisReks said:
.... he has been able to maintain decent edges on the ceramic hone....

.... doesn't have to be a great hone. they break easily, after all.
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DMT's ceramic hones are "unbreakable."



sr.
 
Dave Martell said:
Is that David from Knife Merchant? Do you know him?
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Yeah, I've stopped by his shop a few times. Back when I was first testing the waters in Japanese knives, I purchased my first knives from him: a Glestain 240 gyuto and a Masahiro MVH petty that I still like a lot. Why?
 
tk59 said:
Yeah, I've stopped by his shop a few times. Back when I was first testing the waters in Japanese knives, I purchased me first knives from him: a Glestain 240 gyuto and a Masahiro MVH petty that I still like a lot. Why?
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He should do more business within the community, seems like he's hardly known by most folks.
 
Dave Martell said:
He should do more business within the community, seems like he's hardly known by most folks.
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Yeah, I've mentioned the forums. I think he does most of his business locally, supplying schools and restaurants, etc. and isn't much of an internet guy.
 
swarfrat said:
DMT's ceramic hones are "unbreakable."
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unless they have changed the product in the last few years, the ceramic surface on that hone chips just as easily as any other ceramic hone. it also wears out relatively quickly, as the ceramic surface isn't very thick, and you end up with a not terribly useful aluminum rod, eventually (ceramic hones have to be sanded occasionally as they accumulate swarf). now whether or not it would actually wear out quickly enough for it to matter, i can't say, as i'm sure it would still last years, if the user manages to not chip it to hell. anyway, i'd rather have a few cheapies.
 
I don't know which stone per se, but if you go with a stone, then one of those dinky plastic/ceramic clip on honing guides wouldn't be a bad idea.


Just as a side note, I was given a gift set today of a knife and a #1000 stone, which is said to be perfectly adequate to keep the knife sharp for most uses.

I dunno what I'm going to do with this set though...

Stu.
 
EdipisReks said:
unless they have changed the product in the last few years, the ceramic surface on that hone chips just as easily as any other ceramic hone. it also wears out relatively quickly, as the ceramic surface isn't very thick, and you end up with a not terribly useful aluminum rod, eventually (ceramic hones have to be sanded occasionally as they accumulate swarf). now whether or not it would actually wear out quickly enough for it to matter, i can't say, as i'm sure it would still last years, if the user manages to not chip it to hell. anyway, i'd rather have a few cheapies.
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Been using mine (at home) for five years, zero chipping.

Never had any reason to consider sanding it. When it gets loaded up I use Softscrub with a stiff nylon brush or Scotchbrite.


sr.
 
A pencil eraser will also clean that type of surface.
 
an eraser or scotchbrite pad is sanding it. you're using an abrasive to remove the swarf. i have tons of fine sandpaper, so that's what i used when i had ceramic rods.
 
I use baking soda to clean my ceramic hones. Works very well. Gets a bit annoying after a while when the rod makes your hands black
 
swarfrat said:
I think the simplest sharpener I've seen is DMT's triangle rod.
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+1 to that.... kind of. If that were just a wee longer than 6" I would whole-heartedly suggest it as well.
I know this is going to seem like I'm crazy, but by far the easiest honing rod I've ever used was this one: Smith Oval Diamond Hone. It seems almost too good to be true at the price, but it has a larger "flattish" surface area that makes it a breeze to use. My father actually gave one to my sister for Xmas about 5 years ago, he just found it locally at Ace Hardware I believe, but it has been so great for her I've given a few more as gifts since (including to him).
She has a Henckels 4-Star set and that diamond hone is match made in heaven for that soft steel. I dunno how high hrc you intend to make the knife for your friend, but I have had bad experience with diamond hones on harder steels. The same company makes a similar product in ceramic if that might fit your application better Smith Ceramic Hone.

If you decide to go with a stone, I like the idea of the 4k glasstone. The fine DMT is still quite aggressive, especially when new, and you could completely blow away a bevel with just a handful of bad passes.

I love my Gesshin 2k, but I don't think its a good starter stone. It's pricey, and it almost REQUIRES to be flattened after every use or two- so a diamond plate would be highly desirable.
 
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