Name and Shame-Practical Sharpening (3k VDS)

[Froztitanz]

At this point, I've already written off the sum of money, but I wanted to share my experience with you so that you don't find yourself in such a situation.

Will keep the points short.

1. Bought a 3k grit vitrified diamond stone from @practical.sharpening on IG in August 2022

2. When testing it, I noticed that stray particles (think 80/120 grit scratches) gouged my bevel significantly when the bevel came off his stone

3. I reached out to the maker to find out what was going on and was told to resurface the stone, which I did. All in all, I did this 3 times to the same disastrous results. Refer to screenshot below.

Dec 2022:

4. I then said I have no confidence in the product and requested a refund. After sending the product back to the maker (practical sharpening), there was some tax to be paid on the return shipping. He refused to pay that and let the item lapse the storage duration at the shipping warehouse. I offered to provide any documentation required to assist in the process to ensure that either the tax not be paid or have it be refunded as this is indeed a return of defective goods case.

5. Following that, he just went MIA despite multiple attempts to reach out to him.

6. Because of inaction on his end, the product has been returned to the shipping company I used.

7. I understand that he has health issues from time to time, but I think 2.5 months of waiting from my end is more good faith shown on my end than was deserved.

8. As I've stated at the start of the post, I've written off this sum (about 300 usd) as I feel that I'll never get my money back from the maker. That being said, I hope that those of you considering a purchase from him would learn from my experience. Do so knowing that there will be delayed responses and that you might not get your money back if there are issues with the product.

 

[Bolek]

I am sorry to read your story.

On the contrary I am very happy with my #400, #2000 and #6000 from practical sharpening. I only use them for sharpening knives with hard carbides (never polishing); for other knives I prefer natural stones. The #6000 is more difficult to use. From the beginning the stones are right on, never need resurfacing,…
BTW is there anybody who compared vitrified stones from practical sharpening and from BBB ?

 

[Froztitanz]

I am sorry to read your story.

On the contrary I am very happy with my #400, #2000 and #6000 from practical sharpening. I only use them for sharpening knives with hard carbides (never polishing); for other knives I prefer natural stones. The #6000 is more difficult to use. From the beginning the stones are right on, never need resurfacing,…
BTW is there anybody who compared vitrified stones from practical sharpening and from BBB ?

I heard others have had generally good experiences with his products prior (except for slow communications), hence me taking the leap of faith.

I can accept that some stones may be defective. That's fine. Just do a simple replacement or refund.

Asking for the stone back for inspection, only to ghost me and wait so long till the product had to be returned to the sender is not kosher under any circumstances in my opinion.

For a 3k grit stone to be producing what seem like sub- 200 grit stray scratches so consistently... I have 0 faith in his products. The way the situation was handled by him (asking for the return and then doing nothing) despite me giving him months to resolve it (as I took into account his ailing health) makes this quite possibly the worst customer experience I've had in a long time.

That being said, I hope nobody ever encounters the same situation I did. I've paid the price for this debacle. I just hope others are made more aware of what to expect.

 

[msum]

I haven’t heard from Karolis about a stone that seemingly arrived with a chip out of the side that I couldn’t find in the box.

Admittedly, communication from Karolis seems intermittent at times…

I can’t comment on the performance, but I have loaned it to another member of this forum.

I assume this fellow member will use the stone, so I don’t expect to be able to return it, but was hoping for at least some kind of acknowledgement and/or partial refund to cover the loss of material when I aggressively chamfer off the affected edge.

Or should I do something else (like try to fill the chip with epoxy or urushi)?

 

[msum]

First time ever trying to insert a photo… Could be terrible…

 

[captaincaed]

File that under “moving on with life”

 

[Blank Blades.]

View attachment 225734

First time ever trying to insert a photo… Could be terrible…

I think chamfering it would be the best course of action.

 

[sansho]

i probably would have done a credit card chargeback on the last possible day i had the option to do so

 

[Froztitanz]

I think chamfering it would be the best course of action.

When I dare to call somebody out publicly, you can be sure that I've gone out of my way to exhaust the possibility of user error. That includes chamfering.

 

[msum]

Thanks for the chamfering advice, Froztitanz and jwthaparc.

Yes, seems like the best way to go.

Is the chamfering a job for Silicon Carbide powder on glass, or does someone have a better suggestion?

Apologies if I have caused any controversy or been unfair - as it seems that a fair number of people feel I have acted poorly. I just figured it would have been nice to hear back via email.

 

[Justinv]

Just use it. Cosmetic imperfections are irrelevant in a sharpening stone.

 

[msum]

Thanks all.

The KKF consensus seems to be clear that this is a non issue.

I’ll look to chamfer it once the chip gets to the top surface, since it will increase my chance of chipping a blade edge if I make a mistake while sharpening.

I still vaguely feel that, if the chip was sustained in manufacturing or shipping, it isn’t the “expected” condition. But, sure, it’s no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Froztitanz]

Thanks for the chamfering advice, Froztitanz and jwthaparc.

Yes, seems like the best way to go.

Is the chamfering a job for Silicon Carbide powder on glass, or does someone have a better suggestion?

Apologies if I have caused any controversy or been unfair - as it seems that a fair number of people feel I have acted poorly. I just figured it would have been nice to hear back via email.

I agree with you. It would have been nice to hear back via email but alas, we know that's not going to happen. It's always on the shipper to ensure that products are well-packaged before sending them out. My 2 cents.

 

[msum]

To be fair to Karolis, I thought the packaging/padding was probably okay. My fear is that the chip was there prior to shipping, since I haven’t found the fragments of the chip anywhere. However, I, of course, can’t be entirely certain.

Hopefully the performance will be good. I only need it for edge work, not polishing.

 

[Froztitanz]

Either way, I doubt you'll have any recourse with him so using it after chamfering seems your best option.

 

[captaincaed]

People polish on jnats with a wide variety of funky shapes. The key is making sure there isn’t a harsh ridge around the chip. Sometimes I’ll wrap a little sandpaper around a pencil and just round the corner a bit. As long as there’s no ridge, won’t hurt your edge or bevel even if you pass right over it.

It’s disappointing to have a ding, but something that small won’t reduce the function of the stone. Happy sharpening.

 

[Blank Blades.]

When I dare to call somebody out publicly, you can be sure that I've gone out of my way to exhaust the possibility of user error. That includes chamfering.

I wasnt replying to you

 

[ian]

When I dare to call somebody out publicly, you can be sure that I've gone out of my way to exhaust the possibility of user error. That includes chamfering.

(Don’t think the chamfering advice was meant for you.)

Edit: sorry, redundant