Do I need natural stones

[valgard]

Just want to make sure my analogy wasn't misunderstood. I was referring to softer stainless with the rubber thing. I only have (very) limited experience with harder carbon and stainless, a bit more with soft stainless but not even trying to pose as an expert or anything. I just thought that analogy would make things clearer, not bring you even more confusion. From what I have read on the topic there is much more to ease of sharpening and apparently some stainless steels can be very easy to sharpen as well. One that gets mentioned often in that category is AEB-L, while other hard stainless are very abrasion resistant (no experience here, just from reading so don't quote me) thus hard to sharpen for different reasons than softer steel.

 

[foody518]

I have a HSS gyuto that I think uses a fairly wear + abrasion resistant steel...my finer Jnats are quite slow to abrade it

 

[ABranson]

Just want to make sure my analogy wasn't misunderstood. I was referring to softer stainless with the rubber thing. I only have (very) limited experience with harder carbon and stainless, a bit more with soft stainless but not even trying to pose as an expert or anything. I just thought that analogy would make things clearer, not bring you even more confusion. From what I have read on the topic there is much more to ease of sharpening and apparently some stainless steels can be very easy to sharpen as well. One that gets mentioned often in that category is AEB-L, while other hard stainless are very abrasion resistant (no experience here, just from reading so don't quote me) thus hard to sharpen for different reasons than softer steel.

Awesome. That is actually really helpful. One of the knives i mentioned in this, i looked up, and it is AEB-L steel. so thanks for connecting those dots. I guess its really gonna come down to experimentation.

probably safer to go with a synth than a natural at first if working with softer german steel?

 

[K813zra]

That clears it up some! So For a german stainless, or other stainless of the like, keep it low grit for the most part, simply because a 4k or 6k wont do much for it. So my next question is, If i wanted a Jnat stone, in attempts of using it on a softer german metal, are there Jnat stones that are either softer or lower grit. I know their grit specificity is a little different which is why I ask.

My Ikarashi is my go to for German stainless. I honestly think this stone works better with stainless than it does with carbon but that is a mere feeling with no evidence other than the fact that it seems to cut faster. If I were to compare the edge to my Shapton Glass 2k I would say the Ikarashi leaves an edge with similar bite but cuts cleaner. For what it is worth, the Ikarashi that I have is in the middle range of hardness listings on Watanabe's Ikarashi page. I would love to try one that is softer as this stone is more of a 2k replacement than a 1k like I thought it would be.

My softer Aizu works well on a range of stainless but its harder big brother, not so much.

 

[foody518]

Awesome. That is actually really helpful. One of the knives i mentioned in this, i looked up, and it is AEB-L steel. so thanks for connecting those dots. I guess its really gonna come down to experimentation.

probably safer to go with a synth than a natural at first if working with softer german steel?

Recently been finishing soft stainless on a Thai Orange Binsui (leftmost stone in my avatar), but would only suggest this if you're setting yourself up with a clean bevel cut from a coarse or medium synth, not necessarily as a one stone solution. It's just felt like I have better success getting a cleaner final edge this way, minimal lingering burr

As dwalker mentioned, Jnat white Binsui probably could work in a similar fashion
These are both <100$ options for quite good dimension stones, excluding shipping (dunno your location)

 

[K813zra]

Recently been finishing soft stainless on a Thai Orange Binsui (leftmost stone in my avatar), but would only suggest this if you're setting yourself up with a clean bevel cut from a coarse or medium synth, not necessarily as a one stone solution. It's just felt like I have better success getting a cleaner final edge this way, minimal lingering burr

As dwalker mentioned, Jnat white Binsui probably could work in a similar fashion
These are both <100$ options for quite good dimension stones, excluding shipping (dunno your location)

That is something that I did not add about the Ikarashi and am glad that foody brought it up. I too would suggest using a medium synthetic stone first. 800-1200 should work fine but you can start coarser. That is not to say that the Ikarashi can not do the job of the synthetic but it is not as efficient. So far the only exception to this I have made is with the Omura stone from Wakayama and even still I will often use a coarse stone before this.

 

[Krassi]

Hi!

@K813zra
I had exactly the same Impression with my Ikarashi (a very good one from Sonnkeisaku also like yours in the 2k range).
This stone is the godfather of german stainless steel.. It cuts so fast that i could not belive it.. You can do even rough rebeveling on german stainless with it.

But as you say.. a good 1k Synthetic first on any other steel is a must. Or if you have lots of time than orange Tnat.

My vintage Aizu is more in the 3-4k Range and teams up great with the Ikarashi (both come from the same region)

So actually nobody needs natural stones below 6k but they are fun and remove less metal and make shallow scratches than the much faster synthetics..
of course a Shapton Glass 2k is crazy faster (i also got one).. but the ikarashi .. ehh .. its green... and thats awesome

Seeya Daniel and happy Easter stuff!