Farberware stone mat (okay..sponge mat)

[K813zra]

So I had to make a quick run to walmart (it is all we have here in cow town) and I came across this silicone sponge holder that is just perfect for keeping stones in place if you want to do a quick touch up at your station rather than breaking out all of your gear. Yeah, it is not as big as the suehiro sharpening 'pond' but it was only a little under $4 too. I got two of them, one for my travel kit! I have been looking for a stone holder that was easy and weightless to stick in my knife bag and I found it! They come in different colors too.

In the photo you see a small Takashim but it also fits my shapton and other sytnetics just fine. It is about 8.5x3.5 inches inside so many normally synthetic stones will fit. Some larger ones like the pink brick will not. My Monzen-to won't even fit in the Seuhiro pond. :lol2: It isn't going to hold a ton of swarf or mud either so more for splash and go stones. As I said, a solution for a quick touch up or for travel.

Of course my wife said "only you would see that and think of your damn sharpening stones" or something like that. Anyway, I just thought I would share. Of course a chunk of horse stall mat or a bar mat will work too. But it made me giggle and I had to bring it home for under $4.

I am very cheap as you can see by the photo. Cheap tojiro beater, cheap project cutting board from amazon, cheap small cut and broken Takashima (one of my favorite stones though), cheap tomo and now a cheap stone mat.

 

[nevrknow]

You're not cheap. You're practical.

( cheap ass ) Was that out loud? LOL

Good find tho for a travel kit. KIT......see what I did there? LOL

 

[K813zra]

You're not cheap. You're practical.

( cheap ass ) Was that out loud? LOL

Good find tho for a travel kit. KIT......see what I did there? LOL

I am big into thrift store, flea market, 'junk' auction, garage sale etc fan too!

And yeah, I see what you did...

 

[PalmRoyale]

Here in the Netherlands we have a store called Blokker that sells all kinds of house hold items. One of those items is a plastic storage box with a lid that has a raised edge and a 210x70mm stone fits it perfectly. I put 4 anti-skid feet on the bottom, filled the box with sand and this way you have a super cheap raised sharpening station for just €3 :biggrin: https://www.sunware.com/nl/q-line-mix-match-opbergbox-09-l-transparant-metallic.html

 

[K813zra]

Here in the Netherlands we have a store called Blokker that sells all kinds of house hold items. One of those items is a plastic storage box with a lid that has a raised edge and a 210x70mm stone fits it perfectly. I put 4 anti-skid feet on the bottom, filled the box with sand and this way you have a super cheap raised sharpening station for just €3 :biggrin: https://www.sunware.com/nl/q-line-mix-match-opbergbox-09-l-transparant-metallic.html

Pretty cool. We have boxes similar to that too but I had never given them any thought for such a use.

 

[hmansion]

Great idea, but i can’t find that silicone mat anywhere! Not Amazon, Walmart.com, not even a pic on Google images. Anyway, I did just find this one on Amazon and decided to give it a try...

Sponge Holder - kitchen Sink Organizer - Sink Caddy - Dish Soap Holder - Silicone Sink Tray (Grey) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTS28FV/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It’s nearly 4x more expensive, but still about half of the price of the Suehiro Stone Pond, which appears to just be a similar slab of silicone. Should be a nice, tidier alternative to the kitchen towel. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[K813zra]

Great idea, but i can’t find that silicone mat anywhere! Not Amazon, Walmart.com, not even a pic on Google images. Anyway, I did just find this one on Amazon and decided to give it a try...

Sponge Holder - kitchen Sink Organizer - Sink Caddy - Dish Soap Holder - Silicone Sink Tray (Grey) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTS28FV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_4tKFAbB0ZNFKE

It’s nearly 4x more expensive, but still about half of the price of the Suehiro Stone Pond, which appears to just be a similar slab of silicone. Should be a nice, tidier alternative to the kitchen towel. Thanks for the inspiration!

Well that sucks but at least you found one, and larger than the one I bought. However, if you look around there are cheaper ones.

https://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-...sc=1&refRID=YZ8QWXCBDRKFD5QQ709Z&tag=pda0e-21

I can not find the one that I bought online either, weird. I found it on one of those hangers in a random isle. You know like when they have ping pong balls hanging with the dog food? Or aprons with the lamps...Never made sense to me but since I bought it, they must know what they are doing.

 

[hmansion]

...like when they have ping pong balls hanging with the dog food? Or aprons with the lamps...Never made sense to me but since I bought it, they must know what they are doing.

:lol2: The randomly placed parachute men by the condiments, shark-shaped goldfish cracker containers by the laundry detergent...someone is a strategic targeter and it gets my kids every time!

 

[nevrknow]

Well that sucks but at least you found one, and larger than the one I bought. However, if you look around there are cheaper ones.

https://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-...sc=1&refRID=YZ8QWXCBDRKFD5QQ709Z&tag=pda0e-21

I can not find the one that I bought online either, weird. I found it on one of those hangers in a random isle. You know like when they have ping pong balls hanging with the dog food? Or aprons with the lamps...Never made sense to me but since I bought it, they must know what they are doing.

Thanks for that link Kit!

I was looking and didn't find the one you got either. 2 on the way.

 

[K813zra]

:lol2: The randomly placed parachute men by the condiments, shark-shaped goldfish cracker containers by the laundry detergent...someone is a strategic targeter and it gets my kids every time!

Hah, good point. It does work on adults too it seems.

Thanks for that link Kit!

I was looking and didn't find the one you got either. 2 on the way.

Hah, cool. I am really liking mine for quick touch ups on naturals. I can just stick that to the board, throw my Takashima in it and go. I picked up a second one for my knife bag. I have seen these in two walmarts now. Wonder why they can not be found online.

 

[DaveInMesa]

Got me curious. This is the cheapest I could find on Amazon. They also have a "clear" one for 16 cents more.

 

[TheCaptain]

Well that sucks but at least you found one, and larger than the one I bought. However, if you look around there are cheaper ones.

https://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-...sc=1&refRID=YZ8QWXCBDRKFD5QQ709Z&tag=pda0e-21

I can not find the one that I bought online either, weird. I found it on one of those hangers in a random isle. You know like when they have ping pong balls hanging with the dog food? Or aprons with the lamps...Never made sense to me but since I bought it, they must know what they are doing.

Thanks Kit for the link! Mine arrived Sunday (only ordered one to try) and I love it! Will pick up a few more. It's much better than a towel on a quartz counter.

 

[hmansion]

FYI - The one I purchased is 10”x5.3” and has a nice bit of gap around a normal-sized synthetic stone. Here’s a pic of my silicone holder with a Naniwa Pro 3k. This is my thinnest stone and it still sits proud of the lip of the holder by 1/2 of its (the stone’s) thickness:

https://flic.kr/p/24wSsLD

 

[Marek07]

Don't have Walmart here but I saw this one: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01C5TC7NG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
A bit more cash but looks good. Any one tried it?

 

[K813zra]

No problem. Glad everyone is liking their sponge mats.

Sorry, I have not tried any of them other than the one I got at walmart. I don't imagine they differ much from brand to brand.