Uniform sizes and 8×3 at that... Away from home during the week days you say? ...
Jokes aside, how is that dan's washita treating you? Also, are you using an oil for a lubricant on them? Also, what type of cutlery are you sharpening?
I have a much smaller version of that 'washita' I'm still trying to figure out.
Dan’s Washita is part of my “essential 3” knife finishers. The other two being a Dan’s Hard and an Ohira Suita. The Washita gets the most use because for cheap stainless, which needs frequent sharpening, there is simply no better edge to be had by any stone.
First, it does have its limitations: it is a slow stone, it will half burnish and half cut, edge geometry needs to be done on a faster synthetic, and it does need significant practice time put in. It isn’t nearly as plug-and-play as many synthetics.
Next, the surface needs to be set properly. I like all my edges well beveled, especially the top and bottom. This is to avoid any high spots that could quickly ruin a lot of hard work if hit in a bad way. After that, one side I will finish with 60 to 120 grit SiC, no higher. It needs to be coarse to help it cut. The other side I will finish to around 240 - 400 grit SiC or use a nagura or other stone to achieve a bit of a smoother surface. This side is used for any slight refinement from the coarser side. However, this side will generally be skipped if the plan is to finish on the Dan’s Hard with higher quality steels.
Due to the slow cutting, about half the time, I will use this stone dry as it cuts a little faster dry. Also about half the time I will use an improvised “Cliff Stamp” style of in-hand sharpening.
Here is my wife’s cheap stainless Wustoff, her favorite and most used knife. The edge geometry is set well and it has been thinned. The edge does not last very long at all and it needs to be touched up weekly.
Here is the in-hand dry sharpening on the 60 grit side only:
And here is the result:
The other half of the time I will use it with soapy water. Recently have been using water and instead of soap, a few drops of Smiths Honing Solution:
The Smiths just somehow bumps up the sharpness of edges a tad. I don’t know how but it is consistent and the stuff just works.
This is my Dalstrong Shogun Kiritsuke in Aus-10. I had a screaming edge on here before but I made some smoked pork shoulder and cutting into it and contacting the bone deformed the edge.
Here is the edge **after** work on both sides of the Washita with Smiths and a quick strop on pasted balsa. Note the remaining VISIBLE artifacts on the edge:
But it is back to being functional:
Lastly, for clean up, use a brush and a powder. I recommend Bar Keeper’s Friend. Unfortunately, someone moved mine and I don’t know where it is at now. Baking Soda will also work. Do not use a nagura or flattening plate or diamond plate. The surface needs to remain rough and coarse to do it’s best work.
