Advice wanted: GS vs Cerax for thinning stainless sanmai

[JKerr]

Title says it all. Looking between a Shapton GS 120 and Cerax 180 for thinning a Tojiro pro cleaver (and some soft carbon clad knives but that’s not a concern).

Looking at these two because I can get either at a good price in Australia but open to other options around the $50-$60 mark, think that’s about $30-40 USD.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[mengwong]

Which way did you go? I reckon both are good choices, neither is to be avoided.

 

[Benuser]

You may consider what is needed after the first stone to get an acceptable result. Not sure what's the benefit of a good very coarse one if a lot of work is needed to get rid of deep scratches. My GS120 doesn't get much use for that reason. I can easily jump from the GS320 to the Chosera 800. The GS120 certainly would require an intermediate stone.

 

[JKerr]

I haven't picked up either yet. Had a hectic couple of weeks between work and guests from interstate so haven't had to free time to tinker. I have a King 400 which I assume would do a decent job of removing scratches.

I'm also still contemplating a belt grinder/multitool for some other projects at home so I might just hold off until something comes up on Marketplace. The knives I want to thin are old beaters that I never reach for so it's more for the fun of it, I don't really mind if they look ugly AF after or I completely mess something up.

 

[mengwong]

I'm also still contemplating a belt grinder/multitool

I'm not the only one finding heavy thinning a painful job.

There really is no replacement for power tools in some situations.

power is the way to go.

 

[Benuser]

I'm not so far, yet.

 

[kpham12]

I have thinned a couple Tojiro pro cleavers, the #6 and #7 variants. It was surprisingly easy to keep the scratches below the bottom half of the sandblasted finish and keep the cleaver looking relatively nice. The main issue is the stainless clad VG-10 is very wear resistant and clogs up stones quickly. Combined with the weight of the cleaver, it makes thinning more fatiguing than working on carbon cleavers like Sugimotos. I have found the Shapton 120 to need frequent resurfacing which slows down thinning. The Suehiro Debado 180 is kind of a crapshoot. Quality control is really bad and some are nice and soft and fast and some are hard and need constant resurfacing like the Shapton. I bought two and both are meh.

I highly recommend the Suehiro Cerax 320, double thick version if possible. It dishes pretty fast, but also cuts fast and constantly releases fresh abrasive so no need to resurface, just be sure to use the whole surface of the stone as evenly as possible. I have found it works about as quickly as a 220 stone since you don’t need to stop and resurface it all the time and it doesn’t clog. It’s usually a bit more expensive than the Shapton but cheaper than the Debado. Just be extra careful not to fully dish the middle of the stone.

 

[JKerr]

I have thinned a couple Tojiro pro cleavers, the #6 and #7 variants. It was surprisingly easy to keep the scratches below the bottom half of the sandblasted finish and keep the cleaver looking relatively nice. The main issue is the stainless clad VG-10 is very wear resistant and clogs up stones quickly. Combined with the weight of the cleaver, it makes thinning more fatiguing than working on carbon cleavers like Sugimotos. I have found the Shapton 120 to need frequent resurfacing which slows down thinning. The Suehiro Debado 180 is kind of a crapshoot. Quality control is really bad and some are nice and soft and fast and some are hard and need constant resurfacing like the Shapton. I bought two and both are meh.

I highly recommend the Suehiro Cerax 320, double thick version if possible. It dishes pretty fast, but also cuts fast and constantly releases fresh abrasive so no need to resurface, just be sure to use the whole surface of the stone as evenly as possible. I have found it works about as quickly as a 220 stone since you don’t need to stop and resurface it all the time and it doesn’t clog. It’s usually a bit more expensive than the Shapton but cheaper than the Debado. Just be extra careful not to fully dish the middle of the stone.
View attachment 341426

Nice one! Thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated.

Great looking siu yuk too!

 

[Strozzi]

No experience with the 2 listed. I have the Naniwa traditional 220, ~30 USD. It is a good low grit soaking stone that cuts pretty well and leaves a manageable scratch pattern that your King 400 would erase pretty quickly. Pretty muddy so not the best for precision, but refreshes grit enough to keep you grinding metal.

 

[Asian8640]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050ADA2U?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
King 300 Deluxe is a fantastic splash and go that doesn't wear quickly and is great for thinning. It might take a tad bit longer than a 120, but it stays much flatter and can also be used as a one stop stone for thinning, sharpening, and finishing as long as you vary the pressure. One of my favorite stones to use, even with much more expensive stones available.

 

[deltaplex]

I haven't picked up either yet. Had a hectic couple of weeks between work and guests from interstate so haven't had to free time to tinker. I have a King 400 which I assume would do a decent job of removing scratches.

I'm also still contemplating a belt grinder/multitool for some other projects at home so I might just hold off until something comes up on Marketplace. The knives I want to thin are old beaters that I never reach for so it's more for the fun of it, I don't really mind if they look ugly AF after or I completely mess something up.

Big crystolon course and a container to dunk it in oil

 

[Benuser]

Big crystolon course and a container to dunk it in oil

Another option were to boil out the oil. I'm sure it works even better with oil, but I find having oilstones close to my waterstones worrying. I would need a second workplace — or kitchen.

 

[deltaplex]

It works so good filled/used with oil though! Just flip it, dunk it, wipe it, dunk it, wipe it, and it's back to cutting as fast as when you began.