A mad idea? Reducing my stone collection in 2021.

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Kitchen-Samurai

Kitchen-Samurai

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Joined
Mar 30, 2019
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Location
Germany
Hello everyone,

So, here are two thoughts that brought me to this 'mad' idea of reducing my stone collection in 2021:
  1. I have acquired quite a lot of stones within the last years of my sharpening journey. I very much enjoy testing out different stones and finding the ones that work best for me. Unfortunately, I have no friend or relative that shares this hobby, so I can’t exchange or test stones without purchasing them myself. And, I quite like to keep my things minimal, organized, and neat. This seems easier with less stones.
  2. I hypothesized that - having less stones to ‚play‘ with - would give me the opportunity to channel my sharpening energy on refining my technique, rather than comparing stone properties extensively.
Don’t get me wrong - there are a couple of stones I’d love to test out (first and foremost Gesshin synthetic natural, but also Shapton Pro 1.5k and JNS Red Aoto). And at some point, I’d love to try some naturals. But anyway, here’s a list of the stones I own/used to own:

Naniwa Pro: 400, 800, 1k, 3k, 5k
Naniwa Traditional 1k
Shapton Glass: 220, 500, 1k, 3k
Shapton Pro: 2k
JKI Gesshin: 400, 2k, 6kS
Morihei: 500, 1k, 4k
Suehiro: Cerax 1k, Rika 5k
Nano Hone 200
King 800
Spyderco medium, fine, ultra-fine
Norton India coarse/fine
Atoma 140/400

The stones that I’ve already given away are crossed out.

Thinking about it, I arbitrarily chose to reduce my sharpening kit to 5 stones (not counting my Atoma 140 and my leather strop). Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Splash & go set: Shapton Glass 500, Shapton Pro 2k, Naniwa Pro 3k (a 4k stone in my book)
Soaking set: Suehiro Cerax 1k, Gesshin 6kS.

Everything else is in a box in my basement. So, during the next weeks I can think about what I really miss, and what may be gifted or sold to someone else. I already know that I won’t get rid of everything in this box, since some stone have a specific purpose, but are just not getting used very often (e.g. Gesshin 400, Nano Hone 200, Morihei 4k). I only want to keep stones that are useful or bring me joy.

What do you think about my 5 stone sharpening kit?
What kind of kit would you choose from your collection, if you had to/wanted to reduce?
Is this a mad idea?


Wishing you all a happy & healthy 2021,
KS
 
i guess its a pretty good setup. its all personal anyway.

btw why even have soakers and splash/go, if going minimal? just choose 1.
it gets a bit boring to always use the same crap though. or?

my setup would be 220 glass, 500 glass dt. 3k glass, 8k pro. but what a boring set.

lately i've been using imanishi/bester 10k and cerax 8k, i really like those. the bester dries a lot faster so i like it better.

lets not forget that, of course, all stones are equal, but some are more equal than others. just like people...
 
Keep them all so you can give feedback to the stones guide that's currently WIP!
Personally I'm a hoarder so I'd be really hesitant about culling a herd like that.
 
I understand what you are up to and it's not a bad idea ...
but you don't have very many stones, really not! ;)

For example, I have a lot more myself ... and there are still a few on my list ...
 
And I would only classify myself as a "moderately bad" case ... There are certainly much worse cases .. :cool:
 
I read a post here that was talking about someone who did there full sharpening on one stone - a Naniwa Chosera 800 iirc. It was all about learning how to control the pressure to get the edge they wanted.

If you run a reduced kit you have to learn to deal with the gaps via technique on the stones you have. This ultimately would lead you to be a better sharpener if you expand your kit again as you would know have an idea of how to exploit stones differently
 
I don't know what steels you sharpen but me personally, going off of your criteria, I'd ditch the soakers and keep the Norton combo and Atoma 400.

The Norton is such a handy stone for garden tools, reprofiling, etc. and a Fine India edge is pretty nice for a lot of things. It's an inexpensive and forgiving stone.

The Atoma 400 would just make me feel better about dealing with high-vanadium steels.
 
Thanks for you replies so far!

@inferno: Why splash & go and soakers? Good question. Maybe that was my excuse to reduce to 5 stones and not to 3... I tend to use soakers with my carbon steel knives, and splash & go stones with stainless knives. I think it was you who recommended the SG 500 & 3k combo. I like the SG500 a lot, more than the SG 3k. But the combo definitely works and makes a nice traveling kit, though I'm not really traveling these days...! Interesting that you've chosen the 8k Pro. Do you prefer it to the SG 8k?

@KingShapton: How many stones do you own (around)? It's good to know that I am actually not the worst stone hoarder... will tell my wife! ;)

@esoo: That's an interesting thought! And certainly worthwhile exploring. At some point I did mostly use my 1k stone, sometimes even no strops. A good learning experience, but might get a bit boring in the long run.

@HumbleHomeCook: Yes, this would make a nice kit, too. At least with some kind of a strop for a bit more refinement. But, especially for kitchen knives, not my first choice since I don't enjoy sharpening on the Norton India combo as much as on my waterstones.
 
i only borrowed a gray 8k glass and did a shootout vs the 8k pro. and then another 8k (probably a rebranded 8k ss). the pro just felt better in use and it was fairly clog resistant. its basically like a finer shapton pro 2k. and the 2k is my favorite pro stone.

i really like the 3k glass though. i feel its the most usable glass stone. fast enough to take over from a 220 or 500. fine enough to finish on.
the 3k would be completely adequate for 95% of my needs really. it also clogs a lot less than the 4k. 4k is nice too.

i think i'm gonna make a tower of all my home stones and take a picture :)
 
I don’t feel like spending cash on stones as much as on knives or it would be terrible. Because I still have like 15 of them, they are less expensive than knives and easy to add on or to order impulsively. I suspect the crazy ones must stand near 4x that amount, and more is possible if you have room to stock so much. I could readily name 15 others I’d really like to try on the spot. Really thinking about it I guess would yield another 15. And so on...

So no your collection doesn’t seem in the ballpark of crazy yet. When you’ll fill another box of leftovers with 12 stones still in rotation, you’ll be nearing the crazy level I guess.
 
I have been using the same 400, 1000 and 5000 stones since I started sharpening and the only time I have ever wanted to stray from them is when sharpening a Shun Blue as it doesn't like to form a bur easily. There is something nice in being happy and comfortable with a set of stones however variety and options are nice as well :)
 
Kitchen-Samurai said:
Hello everyone,

So, here are two thoughts that brought me to this 'mad' idea of reducing my stone collection in 2021:
  1. I have acquired quite a lot of stones within the last years of my sharpening journey. I very much enjoy testing out different stones and finding the ones that work best for me. Unfortunately, I have no friend or relative that shares this hobby, so I can’t exchange or test stones without purchasing them myself. And, I quite like to keep my things minimal, organized, and neat. This seems easier with less stones.
  2. I hypothesized that - having less stones to ‚play‘ with - would give me the opportunity to channel my sharpening energy on refining my technique, rather than comparing stone properties extensively.
Don’t get me wrong - there are a couple of stones I’d love to test out (first and foremost Gesshin synthetic natural, but also Shapton Pro 1.5k and JNS Red Aoto). And at some point, I’d love to try some naturals. But anyway, here’s a list of the stones I own/used to own:

Naniwa Pro: 400, 800, 1k, 3k, 5k
Naniwa Traditional 1k
Shapton Glass: 220, 500, 1k, 3k
Shapton Pro: 2k
JKI Gesshin: 400, 2k, 6kS
Morihei: 500, 1k, 4k
Suehiro: Cerax 1k, Rika 5k
Nano Hone 200
King 800
Spyderco medium, fine, ultra-fine
Norton India coarse/fine
Atoma 140/400

The stones that I’ve already given away are crossed out.

Thinking about it, I arbitrarily chose to reduce my sharpening kit to 5 stones (not counting my Atoma 140 and my leather strop). Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Splash & go set: Shapton Glass 500, Shapton Pro 2k, Naniwa Pro 3k (a 4k stone in my book)
Soaking set: Suehiro Cerax 1k, Gesshin 6kS.

Everything else is in a box in my basement. So, during the next weeks I can think about what I really miss, and what may be gifted or sold to someone else. I already know that I won’t get rid of everything in this box, since some stone have a specific purpose, but are just not getting used very often (e.g. Gesshin 400, Nano Hone 200, Morihei 4k). I only want to keep stones that are useful or bring me joy.

What do you think about my 5 stone sharpening kit?
What kind of kit would you choose from your collection, if you had to/wanted to reduce?
Is this a mad idea?


Wishing you all a happy & healthy 2021,
KS
Click to expand...
If I had to suggest, I'd say keep the naniwa and Shapton stones. From my experience (take it with a grain of salt, but I've been running a small sharpening business out of my house for the past 4 years) they are generally the best stones to use. As long as you keep a course, medium, fine. And super fine grit polishing stone (or strop, whatever you prefer) you're good to go. And perhaps a couple cheap in between stones for flattening only
 
these are my current home stones. :)
i have some at work for coworkers crap knives.


abrasive tower of power.JPG


i usually dont have them arranged as a tower though.

my "system" is this:
diamond plates and other flatteners/surface conditioners.
coarse 0-500
medium 1-3k
fine/finishers 4-15k
soakers/kasumi stones.
j/b-nats

new stone order.JPG
 
Kitchen-Samurai said:
@KingShapton: How many stones do you own (around)? It's good to know that I am actually not the worst stone hoarder... will tell my wife! ;)
Click to expand...
I have (roughly estimated) between 40 to 45 synthetic stones, more rather than less. And over 20 (there could be more) natural stones. The number of natural stones is very roughly estimated, at the moment I only use synthetic stones.

And I have to say that I prefer a 2 to 4 stone setup ...:)

For me it is like that, I have a few favorites, of course, I rotate with the stones used, it depends on my mood, my available time, on the respective knife (condition, steel, purpose).

In addition, I like to try out new stones and get to know them. To really get to know a stone you need time with the stone (at least I do). A first impression is all well and good, but with enough time and application you often get completely different results. The same applies to the combination of different stones or the technique used. Your own technology changes and improves over time, well-known stones suddenly show completely new facets. There are so many possibilities ... Sharpening is a journey, I am enjoying this journey very much and I want to savor it, discover every single stop on this journey. And I hope this trip never ends !!

"Catch and release" with stones is almost out of the question for me, for the simple reason that I would only give a stone away if it is really not good, but precisely for this reason I could not sell it to someone else. It wouldn't be right for me.

Now you should be able to credibly assure your wife that you are not the worst stone hoarder. In fact, you have (almost) no symptoms of this disease, at least at this point in time ...:cool:
 
ModRQC said:
I don’t feel like spending cash on stones as much as on knives or it would be terrible. Because I still have like 15 of them, they are less expensive than knives and easy to add on or to order impulsively. I suspect the crazy ones must stand near 4x that amount, and more is possible if you have room to stock so much.
Click to expand...
I really have to disagree!;)

I still claim that I am only a "moderate" case and that there are much worse cases ....:cool:

I'm just curious and there are so many stones out there ... And (now) I make sure that I only buy about 2 to 4 a year. And I don't buy every stone after it is used up.

My wife also thinks that I'm not crazy ... I'm glad to have her (no, not just because of that) !!!:)
 
I'd suggest to keep them. You might find that after you have been progressing in skill they are suddenly just what you looked for when you drag the out of hiding again.
 
Tnaquin35 said:
If I had to suggest, I'd say keep the naniwa and Shapton stones.
Click to expand...
They are both very good manufacturers, but if I had to make a decision then I would choose the Shaptons anytime and immediately. Partly because I don't like Naniwa's pricing policy.

Tnaquin35 said:
they are generally the best stones to use.
Click to expand...
I have to disagree, there are a lot of other stones that are also very, very good.

Tnaquin35 said:
As long as you keep a course, medium, fine. And super fine grit polishing stone (or strop, whatever you prefer) you're good to go. And perhaps a couple cheap in between stones for flattening only
Click to expand...
:Iagree:
 
KingShapton said:
I have (roughly estimated) between 40 to 45 synthetic stones, more rather than less. And over 20 (there could be more) natural stones. The number of natural stones is very roughly estimated, at the moment I only use synthetic stones.

And I have to say that I prefer a 2 to 4 stone setup ...:)

For me it is like that, I have a few favorites, of course, I rotate with the stones used, it depends on my mood, my available time, on the respective knife (condition, steel, purpose).

In addition, I like to try out new stones and get to know them. To really get to know a stone you need time with the stone (at least I do). A first impression is all well and good, but with enough time and application you often get completely different results. The same applies to the combination of different stones or the technique used. Your own technology changes and improves over time, well-known stones suddenly show completely new facets. There are so many possibilities ... Sharpening is a journey, I am enjoying this journey very much and I want to savor it, discover every single stop on this journey. And I hope this trip never ends !!
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing! You are right, sometimes when you go back to a stone after a while, you can really re-discovered it. And learn new aspects about it, maybe appreciating it much more than initially thought. I might have a lot of re-discovering to do, when I go back to my box in the basement. :)
 
KingShapton said:
I really have to disagree!;)

I still claim that I am only a "moderate" case and that there are much worse cases ....:cool:

I'm just curious and there are so many stones out there ... And (now) I make sure that I only buy about 2 to 4 a year. And I don't buy every stone after it is used up.

My wife also thinks that I'm not crazy ... I'm glad to have her (no, not just because of that) !!!:)
Click to expand...

Man, if you have 60+ stones and still consider yourself moderate, surely you're looking into repaving your alleyway with these... :p

Good wife you have! :D
 
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