What stone line up are you using these days?

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Since we have a Knife Progression thread, I thought it'd be good to have one on stone progression too.... So, what stone setups have you guys had over the years?

- King 1k
Basic, classic, can't go wrong as a beginner's stone.

- Beston 500
- Synthetic Aoto
Bought on recommendation from forum members, I didn't like either of these. Too hard and too soft, too fast and too slow. At least I learned I don't like muddy stones.

- Sigma Power 1k hard
- (Synthetic Renge)
- (Belgian Blue)
- Arashiyama 6k
Once I got the Sigma Power, I knew I was set for my low-grit stone. I switched out a Synth Renge (too hard and not all that fast) and a Belgian Blue (too hard and way too slow) before settling on an Arashiyama 6k.

- Arashiyama 1k
- Arashiyama 6k
Got tired of soaking (and more importantly drying, which would take almost a week) the Sigma Power, so I tried the Arashiyama 1k on a whim. Worked well, decent combination, but I always thought the jump from 1k to 6k was just slightly too far, and I'm an obsessive minimalist, so...

- GlassStone 2k
- Yellowstone loaded strop
It just works, that's all you can say about the GS. I can be pretty dense at times, and I still hadn't accepted the fact that I don't like too-hard stones either. I guess the allure of splash & go was too tempting that I ignored the warning signs.

Currently:

- SuperStone 2k
- baseless Suehiro Rika
- 1.0u BC loaded strop
I ordered the Rika intending to get another perma-soak stone to compliment it, like maybe a Sigma Power 1k soft. In the meantime, I got a deal on a used SS2k, thinking maybe it would fill the same niche as the GS2k but softer. Now I'm liking it a lot as a single stone followed by the strop, gives a nice toothy edge. Currently debating which to keep.
 
I started with what Cdawg had ,because I was fascinated by the way he sharpenid.
DMT 120, 220, 1.2k , king 6k, Kitayama

After that I got King 1k big brick, King 8k, Naniwa SS 10k, Rikka 5k, shapton 16k glass, chosera 600,1k/3k
When I got into razors all hell came loose on me...
Naniwa SS 5k, SS 12k
Norton 1k, 4/8k

And the inevitable dive in natural stones:
right now I have 27 Natural stones most of them Japanese.
 
I started with a Suehiro 1200 and 6000 from Amazon. Added a DMT D8XX for flattening.

Picked up and Edge Pro Apex and some aftermarket stones - Shapton Pro 220, 1k, 2k, 5k, 8k, and 15k, plus Chocera 400, 1k, 5k and 10k.

Then an Omura 150 and Naniwa "green brick" for single-bevel knives.

Moved on to try "splash-and-go" with a set of Naniwa Superstones - 400, 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k.

Dipped my toe into naturals with a Yaganoshima suita (Dave, you'd remember that one), then a Shoubu awasedo, Shoubu akapin and a Shoubudani shiro suita.

Latest acquisition was a pair of Gesshin stones, 1k and 5k, from Jon.

Not to mention strops, pastes and sprays...
 
Started very simple (as you should when you first get into sharpening)

King 1k/6k. Great for babies first intro to this world. Still to this day use the 6k side but soon I am going to have to replace it.

Second was the 2k Green brick. Talk about a beauty. Leaves a hazy almost mirror shine and if you are looking for a good stone for non Japanese knives this would be it.

Last in my small line up is a small 8-10k natural. Can't remember the name but doesn't do that well on SS or such, but the finish it puts on carbon is very very good.
 
Pensacola Tiger said:
I started with a Suehiro 1200 and 6000 from Amazon. Added a DMT D8XX for flattening.

Picked up and Edge Pro Apex and some aftermarket stones - Shapton Pro 220, 1k, 2k, 5k, 8k, and 15k, plus Chocera 400, 1k, 5k and 10k.

Then an Omura 150 and Naniwa "green brick" for single-bevel knives.

Moved on to try "splash-and-go" with a set of Naniwa Superstones - 400, 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k.

Dipped my toe into naturals with a Yaganoshima suita (Dave, you'd remember that one), then a Shoubu awasedo, Shoubu akapin and a Shoubudani shiro suita.

Latest acquisition was a pair of Gesshin stones, 1k and 5k, from Jon.

Not to mention strops, pastes and sprays...
Click to expand...
by any chance is that yaginoshima from Adam who got it from So?
 
Pensacola Tiger said:
That's the one. Nice stone, just a little small.
Click to expand...

it is not suita stone, I have similar stone from the same batch I think mine was #3 or #4 it is written on the back.
The grean color is typical fro Tomae strata not suita. Anyway it is a superb stone with great cutting ability for the grit range and very nice finish.
This stone was the reason I asked Max to find a bigger one which lead to him getting me the Yaginoshima he reviewed briefly recently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVQ4SQ7zxpU&feature=player_embedded
it is the weirdes Jant I have seen so far, ~8k by feel when I shaved off it, but leaves mirror finish on hard steels much like super fine and ultra hard finisher.
 
Who needs a huge stone line-up?
King 1k
800 grit wet/dry (sometimes)
1500 grit wet/dry
2500 grit wet/dry
Strop on the inside, then outside of the yellow-pages, or the 2500 wet/dry.
I would guarantee, for any "typical" stainless j knife, this will give you an absolute razor!
 
Here's a pic of the back of mine:

2cabfa0c.jpg


Adam called it a suita, but whether it is a tomae or suita it is, as you say, a superb stone.
 
first stone was a tiny king 1000/6000 combi

after that I got shaptons first a 1000 then a 5000 both pro line

when I got more confident i purchased a 320 shapton pro

soon after I also got a kitayama and used that as a finisher at times depending on the knife

After that I purchased a Hand American strop and loaded it with chromium, I honestly never fell in love with it. Chromium was a little slick for my taste and the leather soon warped.

This line-up lasted a while and served well, I would also use some king 1000 and 6000 at work that other people owned and left at work.

A while ago I made some big changes,

First was a 1000 bester, 500 beston, and 6000 takenenko, and a strop and felt set from Dave with diamond spray

great line-up and served me well

next came the Rika and an immanishi 10k

after that I picked up a JKS 10k through a trade to play around with

I think that is where I am at right now

so the lineup depending on the knives and sharpening needs are

500 beston, 1000 bester, Rika, Kitayama, JKS/Immanishi, Strop w/ diamond, and felt all in between

but I have been getting in itch for naturals/ some Gesshin stones, but a las the money is not there for those purchases and my current stones are great, plus I rather focus more on my technique.
 
DMT xxc/xc
Shapton Glass 500
Shapton Pro 1K
Shapton Pro 2K
Shapton Pro 5k
Naniwa Superstone 10K
Shapton Glass 16K
Stropping w/diamond pastes on MDF followed by leather.
I use the felt block and pads between grits.

Admittedly, the DMT stones and the Shapton 16K don't see as much use as the others. But Shapton stones are still the core of my kit. I've tried some of Chef Jeffrey's stones with great enthusiasm, but for me, the Shaptons still make quick, predictable, and consistent work of anything I throw at them. I just haven't found myself to be all that tempted to try out anything else.
 
aaronsgibson said:
Started very simple (as you should when you first get into sharpening)

King 1k/6k. Great for babies first intro to this world. Still to this day use the 6k side but soon I am going to have to replace it.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I've looking to buy a konosuke HD Gyuto soon and a couple stones for keeping it sharp. I don't intend to be buying large amounts of knives in the future. I've read a lot of recommendations for the Beston 1200 and a Rika 5K.

Do you think it is prudent for someone like me to start with a "beginner" 1k/6k like you suggest or would the Beston/Rika combo do just fine? Or, would the King 1/6 do just as well for me to keep for good? I'm looking to buy one set of stones and thats it (well, for the near future anyways).
 
I have about 25+ stones,but this is what I am using now.

400 cho
1k cho
Syn Aota
5k cho
10k cho
and every strop option under the sun.
 
beston 500, suehiro 800, synthetic blue aoto, kitayama. i rarely put my edges on anything other than the kitayama, anymore. and usually not even that, as i find CrO on balsa works great for edge maintenance. that 500 sure comes in handy for flattening blade roads on single bevel knives, though! i have half a dozen other stones, but they typically stay in a box unless i have a specific use for them.
 
Shaptons! I use the 500 glass, Pro 1k, 2k, 5k. Then I strop on Silicon Carbide, Boron Carbide, and Chromium Oxide. I have a 150 grit Omura, because I can't have a belt sander around. May not be super traditional, but these stones were designed to work together, and they work great together! If I could afford a full set, I would have one! That means my grit sizes, in microns, is 150, 80, 45, 15, 7, 3, 2, 1, .5. I also would like better stones that work up good slurries for traditional blades, but I rarely ever even see those(mine is the only traditional single bevel I ever come into contact with...even my old job only has like 5 or 6).
 
Pensacola Tiger said:
Not to mention strops, pastes and sprays...
Click to expand...

Why's that sound dirty?

I just found my combo stone broken at work... I only really used the 6000k on my single beveled knives, and although the other side of my combo stone was 1000, I always prefers the feel of a king, and there is a 1000 king in ever kitchen in new york. Looking to replace. I'm sharpening only shirogami on these stones. I like the 1000 king to start a knife after a rough day, it gives me a burr quickly. Looking at kitayama 8000, geshin 5000, or a shapton 4000.... What do you think? I don't know... *** is a glass stone like...?
 
I posted on this thread about three months ago and I think I'm settled in. For damaged edges, I start on the Gesshin 400. It works like the Beston 500 but it just feels and sounds great. For most edges, I start on Gesshin 1k, Gesshin 5k and strop on Dave's strop loaded with 0.25 micron diamond. When I really want to get sharp, I go up to 8k SS and then strop. This isn't the fastest set-up for grinding off metal but I can take out a few dry stones, throw some water on them, work for 10 min (on most steels) and get a ridiculous edge. The next morning, the stones are dry and I put them away, good to go. I love this set-up for everything from cheap (but good) carbon, to Hitachi steels in any form (honyaki included), any semi-stainless or conventional stainless. PM steels (zdp-189/sg2) were a bit of a problem for the older style 5k, the way I use it (no-soak) but it's significantly better with the new improved version. If you're into finish, they leave a nice finish somewhere between the rika and SS but closer to the SS, ime.
 
@TK How do you like you gesshin compared to other stones you have used?
 
For stainless:

DMT XXC
Beston 500
Bester 1200
Synthetic aoto
Arashiyama 6000
Imanishi 10000
Chromium Oxide

For carbon:

DMT XXC
Beston 500
Bester 1200
Goma aoto
Ohch
Takashima
Chromium Oxide (only for touchups)

I have too many other stones that I've tried, Nakayamas, aotos, Iyotos, Belgian blues, etc. I've found these lineups work best for my knives. I only really have one stainless knife though, so the synthetic lineup doesn't get used often. I would like to try the Gesshin 400. I like, but don't love, the Beston.
 
My current four-stone setup is:
1. Sigma Power Select II #220
2. Chocera #400
3. Sigma Power Ceramic (soft type) #1000
4. Sigma Power Jinzo (synthetic) Renge Suita #6000
-- de-burr on felt or newspaper

I am currently going through a no-strop, no ultra-high-grit stone phase.
 
Beston 500,
Bester 2k
Arashiyama 6k
De-burr on newspaper or cardboard

This is prolly gonna be my permanent setup. I'm from the minimalist camp :)
 
mattrud said:
@TK How do you like you gesshin compared to other stones you have used?
Click to expand...

Best coarse stone I've every tried is a Gesshin(?) 500 diamond plate that I lust after but I can't have because I'm still in knife acquisition mode. After that, I used the Beston for a long time until I tried the Gesshin 400. It just feels great, in my opinion. It grinds about the same rate as the Beston. The finish doesn't matter to me at that grit but it's a little nicer looking, maybe. I don't use a ton of pressure. The Gesshin 1k is a pretty much perfect stone. It isn't as fussy and soft (or slow) as a superstone (which I also really like and I don't find all that slow), has a great feel but isn't as fast as a Chosera for example. The newer 5k Gesshin is harder and less muddy than a Rika or SS but still has that nice feel to it and is a little slower than the Rika and quite a bit slower than the Chosera. I guess if I had a pile of pm steel blades to work, I might go with something faster but really, I don't try to completely remove my 1k scratches when I move up to the 5k. If I can go the 8k SS for a few passes and strop a few passes and pass the Salty touch test, I'm satisfied. I highly recommend these stones for kitchen knife edges. I can't wait to see what Jon brings in for an 8-12 k splash n go. I love SS but they gouge too easily unless you cheat and hit the edge only on the backstroke (ie stopping on stone).

Deburring: I'm pretty much burr free after the 5k. Any stragglers come off with stropping. Newspaper works fine but I have some nice strops and I like the result better.
 
I just wanna add that, imo, that fad/craze from about two years ago for removing all the scratches and attaining that perfect mirror polish was a dead-end. At one point, the recommended progression included Arashiyama 6K>>Kitayama 8K>>Naniwa SS 10K: nuts to that.

Those mirror bevels are pretty and sexy and all but, for practical purposes, I tend to agree with the current thinking that a good #5 or 6K makes the ideal finishing stone.
 
I thought the Arashiyama and Kitayama are the same stone? But anyways, I can get a nice mirror polish out of my 6k
 
MadMel said:
I thought the Arashiyama and Kitayama are the same stone? But anyways, I can get a nice mirror polish out of my 6k
Click to expand...

It's alleged that the Arashiyama and the Takenoko are one and the same.
 
I'm pretty simple with my setup.

DMT XXC (For Flattening)
Shapton Pro 1k
Shapton Pro 2k
Shapton Pro 5k
 
A quick question in between: I've just started learning how to sharpen things, but I don't think I'm getting the best out of a Naniwa SS 3000/10000 stone. Is it just me or is the mud non existant / is there a trick to it? Another thing: how do you use a chosera 1000 (+the nagura stone) with it optimally?
 
500 Beston if needed
One of either the King Hyper 1k or the Bester 1,200
Suehiro Rika
Naniwa 10k Superstone
Felt from Dave for deburring
 
Booink said:
A quick question in between: I've just started learning how to sharpen things, but I don't think I'm getting the best out of a Naniwa SS 3000/10000 stone. Is it just me or is the mud non existant / is there a trick to it? Another thing: how do you use a chosera 1000 (+the nagura stone) with it optimally?
Click to expand...

To get the best of Naniwa dont use any pressure at all. Its more of a polishing stone and 10k will leave you a edge feeling like Thai Airways[silky smooth].
Some steels will block the stone up so use that nagura when you feel the knife is sliding on the stone and doesnt leave grey trail behind.

My setup contains now
Tempered 5mm glass sheet and wetpapers for flattening
Noname 240
Bester 700
King 1200
Suehiro 6k
Naniwa SS 3k
Naniwa SS 8k

Deburr with wooden spoon bought at Ikea :D
Stropping with super-ultra-extreme-8mm felt loaded with chromium oxide.
Then back on suehiro and strop on newspaper.
 
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