Lookin' to grab a new thinning stone right now and I'm stuck between either the Gesshin 220 or the Nanohone 200 (MTC sale lol). Any thoughts? Maybe a different suggestion?
Gesshin 220 or Nanohone 200
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I have not used the Gesshin 220, but have Bester 220 (and my understanding is that these stones while not identical are similar) and I also have a Nanohone 200. I did some comparisons, you can find them here:
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...-shapton-glass-220-and-shapton-pro-120.44423/
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...-shapton-glass-220-and-shapton-pro-120.44423/
What kind of steels are you thinning? I ask because the nano hone has an extremely nice blend of attributes for working on the simpler carbon ( all the Hitachi "paper" steels, 52100, etc.), but it loses steam once you get into higher carbide steels. It cuts really fast, dishes much slower than the gesshin, and leaves a really nice scratch pattern for 200.
The Gesshin doesn't slow down on the high carbide stainless steels nearly as much, and partly this is due to the fact that it spits out abrasive constantly. It cuts most steel really fast, but dishes really fast....like so fast. The Gesshin is much easier to lap, but will dish super fast. If you spend some time with it though you can really pay attention to the parts of the the stone that you use, and that will help significantly to keep it flat.
If I were you and I had mostly carbon steels to sharpen I would snatch up a nano hone for the sale price at MTC. As low grit stone go it is one of the most pleasant stones to use.
If you have a bunch of hap40, sg2, etc. get the Gesshin cause the nano hone won't get the job done. It's cheap and gets work done fast, but it requires a little more attention to make sure it's flat
If you want an alternative, get a shapton glass 220. It cuts as fast as either stone, it's harder so it stays flat longer, and it cuts most steels really well....but the feedback sucks, and probably won't last as long.
The Gesshin doesn't slow down on the high carbide stainless steels nearly as much, and partly this is due to the fact that it spits out abrasive constantly. It cuts most steel really fast, but dishes really fast....like so fast. The Gesshin is much easier to lap, but will dish super fast. If you spend some time with it though you can really pay attention to the parts of the the stone that you use, and that will help significantly to keep it flat.
If I were you and I had mostly carbon steels to sharpen I would snatch up a nano hone for the sale price at MTC. As low grit stone go it is one of the most pleasant stones to use.
If you have a bunch of hap40, sg2, etc. get the Gesshin cause the nano hone won't get the job done. It's cheap and gets work done fast, but it requires a little more attention to make sure it's flat
If you want an alternative, get a shapton glass 220. It cuts as fast as either stone, it's harder so it stays flat longer, and it cuts most steels really well....but the feedback sucks, and probably won't last as long.
Robert Lavacca
Senior Member
I finally caved after trying multiple coarse stones and bought a gesshin 220. I went to Home Depot and bought an extra thick lacquer. I coated the bottom and the sides so it holds water better and perma soak it. I was expecting something that dishes after a few strokes but I got the huge lapping plate JKI has to deal with that. It’s really not that bad. I’ve thinned a few knives on it already and my experience has been way better than I thought it would. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the nano hone. My experience has been that most super coarse stones dish. It is what it is. However, most coarse stones that dish are cheaper than the nano hone. And i’ve heard some pretty experienced sharpeners say the nano hone dishes pretty bad. Others love it.
Don't use something as hard as the Shapton Pro 120 on that plate. The stone is winning
Thanks
I’ll mostly be sharpening carbon knives, with the very occasional stainless. Thanks for the input! Ugh decisions...
I’ll mostly be sharpening carbon knives, with the very occasional stainless. Thanks for the input! Ugh decisions...
That’s what’s so hard about buying stones. Besides from the general few, everything has mixed reviews. Although I have been eyeing that large lapping plate for a while now. I might just have to grab that.
I’m thinking I’m probably gonna do the nanohone from MTC...now to grab something else for free shipping... maybe an atoma 140
There no wrong choice really, but I think for your purposes the nanohone is a bit better. One thing I will say is to use the nanohone effectively, don’t use too much pressure. Too much pressure will make the stone release abrasive but it won’t cut super effectively. Use lighter pressure and the stone will last longer and will hog metal off faster
There is no 'perfect' coarse stone - they are either slow, or dish fast, or both. I have recently got a 400 diamond stone ( that is faster than any of the 200 grit stones I tried. I need to use it more (it is spending time with my friends and I am slowly not sure whether I will ever see it again)
@Alder26 you may have a point about the nanohone 200. I used mine rather little so fas (mainly to get the impression and to compre it to the other stones). Pressure definitely makes it dish much faster.
@Alder26 you may have a point about the nanohone 200. I used mine rather little so fas (mainly to get the impression and to compre it to the other stones). Pressure definitely makes it dish much faster.
Which diamond stone is that?
Practical Sharpening (just look them up on IG).
Agreed, there is no coarse stone that has no compromises. I think the nano hone is a good buy at sale price, but it's certainly not worth the premium over the gesshin. And yes I learned the hard way by blowing through about half of my nano hone by putting too much elbow grease into it haha
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Sigma 240 blows them both out of the water. It’s at mtc
Sigma 240
MTC only source for these?
Lee Valley and Fine Tools
Awesome, thanks a plenty. However, with 20% sale, I admit I must seriously consider MTC.
From the description on MTC, will dish a little faster with soft steels/cladding. In your experience, is that even noticeable? I just do so many of these...
I would just chime in on the Sigma. I have not used it myself, but have friends who are using it regularly (and also higher grits). Yes, it will dish, but it is very fast, so it should make up for it. I would not use Atoma to flatten it, but either SiC on glass or a sandpaper. Also - expect a pretty harsh feedback with it. On the other hand - there really isn't a nice feeling 200-ish grit stone out there. JNS300 feel pretty nice, but is not anywhere close speed-wise.
It will dish. Not nearly as much as Cerax 320 though. I feel it has a Good balance of speed, continuous cutting and dishing. It is somewhat thirsty. Not overly though.
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Sigma 240 feedback is a lot better than most sub 300 imo
inferno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) <*))))><
i'm currently running sigma 240, pro 120, pro 220, glass 220, bester 400.
the sigma is quite hard. if you want it to work fast you have to push hard. and then it will wear quite fast too. like 1mm in the middle of the stone in 300 strokes. its quite fast. dont really feel good. and the scratches are almost as deep as diamonds!! beware. to make this stone work you have to seal it. otherwise you will be splashing every 2 seconds or so. i personally didn't like the feedback on this one. as opposed to labor of love.
the bester is a very muddy stone. its starts mudding as soon as you look at it. it wears even faster if you push hard. its good for covering up shoddy grinds, its the master of this imo. it will conform to any surface with the mud. and bam! youre done
the pro 120 is ultra hard. and with this one you have to push hard otherwise nothing happens imo.
the pro 200 is hard, but it will release mud if you push hard, its semi fast to dish, but not too fast imo. i think it has a very good balance between dishing and its abrasive power, its life, and cost. maybe the best of them. you can run it clean for crisp bevels or muddy.
the glass 220 is fast and good imo. and it dishes the slowest of them all. its also the fastest imo. mine was 7mm thick.
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i'd say it boils down to soaker or not, muddy or not, or semimuddy. the sigma is a bit special imo since its green SiC. i wonder if this is exactly like the green kings and sun tigers (those are cheaper per volume). anyone know?
the sigma is quite hard. if you want it to work fast you have to push hard. and then it will wear quite fast too. like 1mm in the middle of the stone in 300 strokes. its quite fast. dont really feel good. and the scratches are almost as deep as diamonds!! beware. to make this stone work you have to seal it. otherwise you will be splashing every 2 seconds or so. i personally didn't like the feedback on this one. as opposed to labor of love.
the bester is a very muddy stone. its starts mudding as soon as you look at it. it wears even faster if you push hard. its good for covering up shoddy grinds, its the master of this imo. it will conform to any surface with the mud. and bam! youre done
the pro 120 is ultra hard. and with this one you have to push hard otherwise nothing happens imo.
the pro 200 is hard, but it will release mud if you push hard, its semi fast to dish, but not too fast imo. i think it has a very good balance between dishing and its abrasive power, its life, and cost. maybe the best of them. you can run it clean for crisp bevels or muddy.
the glass 220 is fast and good imo. and it dishes the slowest of them all. its also the fastest imo. mine was 7mm thick.
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i'd say it boils down to soaker or not, muddy or not, or semimuddy. the sigma is a bit special imo since its green SiC. i wonder if this is exactly like the green kings and sun tigers (those are cheaper per volume). anyone know?
Feedback is nice. The grinding feeling is meh...
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I permasoak 240 sigma and feed it water careful not to remove slurry during use. With plenty of worked up mud I find that it isn’t thirsty or feels too awful. But complaining about poor feedback on a sub 300 grit stone is like complaining that rain is too wet.
All the pink low grit stones pale in comparison imo.
All the pink low grit stones pale in comparison imo.
I was lured in by MTC sale... until I realized that all interesting knife makers they carry are in the excluded items list. Good thing too, I've been holding out on buying other knives with success so far, although I can feel my resolve waver...
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