How sharpenable is Z-Wear with conventional abrasives?

[Qapla']

How sharpenable is Z-Wear (or its equivalents, e.g. CPM CruWear, etc.) on alumina stones and silicon carbide stones? Is CBN or diamond required to get it done reasonably well/quickly?

 

[enrico]

@HSC /// Knives

 

[Barmoley]

Not required if the grind is pretty thin. I‘ve been successful with gesshin stones as well as king neo.

 

[daveb]

Not sure of composition but I've been able to sharpen ZWear with Shapton Glass and Nanohone stones (prefer Nanohone). Trying the Gesshin soakers (G2K, G4K) did not work as well for me.

 

[M1k3]

Very.
SG 500 > SG 4k.
Done.

Although I much prefer Venev 400 > Coticule.

 

[Qapla']

Not sure of composition but I've been able to sharpen ZWear with Shapton Glass and Nanohone stones (prefer Nanohone). Trying the Gesshin soakers (G2K, G4K) did not work as well for me.

Very.
SG 500 > SG 4k.
Done.

Although I much prefer Venev 400 > Coticule.

Would Naniwa Pro's or JNS Matsukusuyama's also work?

Venev's are diamond stones if I remember correctly?

 

[M1k3]

Would Naniwa Pro's or JNS Matsukusuyama's also work?

Venev's are diamond stones if I remember correctly?

I'm not sure about the Naniwa Pro and JNS stone. I'd assume the Naniwa Pro would work.

Yes, the Venev is diamond. Here's the thing though, they come double sided. 2 grits for about $100. So about $50 per grit. About the same as a lot of water stones.

 

[HSC /// Knives]

King neo works as mentioned. I like the Shapton pro 1000

I get to sharpen z wear in the thinnest condition so it’s no problem. Users will have better advice.

 

[Nemo]

I'm not sure about the Naniwa Pro and JNS stone. I'd assume the Naniwa Pro would work.

Yes, the Venev is diamond. Here's the thing though, they come double sided. 2 grits for about $100. So about $50 per grit. About the same as a lot of water stones.

Has there been any limitation to the supply of Venev due to the conflict in Eastern Europe?

 

[M1k3]

Has there been any limitation to the supply of Venev due to the conflict in Eastern Europe?

Not that I'm aware of. Ordered a stone in April without issue.

 

[captaincaed]

I've sharpened mine on a Gesshin 2k, very happy with results. I think going above 4k would show diminishing returns. Really a 1-2k stone with a light strop will give a very good general purpose edge.

 

[Troopah_Knives]

It's not too bad when the knife is thin but it can start to get challenging to keep the bevel flat as the knife gets thinner which leads to some issues. I'd recommend starting with a coarser stone then you would expect is needed for the degree of dulling. The faster material removal rate can help with apexing.

 

[blokey]

I find sharpening thin BTE high alloy knives to be not bad, with good thin edges most conventional stones still work, the real challenge is thinning or polishing the bevel, even with diamond stone it is very unpleasant

 

[HSC /// Knives]

checking in if anyone has new input on this thread?

 

[captaincaed]

I'm still having trouble wearing mine down enough to need sharpening. I'll try to cut more like @M1k3 and @stringer

 

[blokey]

Same, stay stone sharp for quite some time. But I did sharpen it before, normal stone is bit too slick, diamond stone produce a much better edge over all. But like MagnaCut you can sharpen it with conventional stuff as long as the edge is thin

 

[stringer]

checking in if anyone has new input on this thread?

I have touched up my zwear petty and paring knife from you once each. Pretty respectable because they mainly get used by my wife. Several times per day. And she's much harder on tools than I am with bumping them into the wall and dropping them on the floor and leaving them dirty in the sink. Touching up on novaculite did not work at all. My usual washita / soft ark / translucent stones didn't do much of anything to improve the edge when it finally started to slip. So I went to Naniwa Diamond 600 and deburred on a coticule. The coticule seems to cut just fine, especially with a little slurry. I haven't tried any traditional water stones. And it will be along time before they need any thinning. Which would be my normal use case. I will touch back in 3 or 4 years when that has to happen.

I am going to have to get a 250 zwear gyuto from you too at some point. I am really jealous of @M1k3 's.

 

[Deadboxhero]

How sharpenable is Z-Wear (or its equivalents, e.g. CPM CruWear, etc.) on alumina stones and silicon carbide stones? Is CBN or diamond required to get it done reasonably well/quickly?

King Neo 800