Oh yes, the King 1K is King....

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Oh absolutely! Yeah the Shapton 1k and 2k would be all I bought aside from a flatten plate if I was starting over or starting fresh
 
So. I ended up taking up solidsnake03 up on his offer to sell a king hyper 1k soft. And guys. Guys. This thing is great. To all of you king 1.2k lovers, you know who you are. Go get one of these stones. It's like the 1.2k, but it eats metal for breakfast. The first knife I sharpened on it was a buck vantage in s30v steel, and it was no problem. This is my new favorite mid grit stone. Its faster than my shapton 1k, from what I can tell may leave a slightly finer finish. Oh yeah, and it has the same feedback of the king 1.2k post permasoak. (Without needing to permasoak the hyper)

Edit) and it wears at about the same rate as the 1.2k as well.

Maybe I'm in the honeymoon period with this stone still, but man. This stone is good.
 
I dont like how kings have a bad reputation. I've read multiple times that they're a waste of money and one needs to get shapton etc or you'll be back buying them anyway after you throw your mud brick out the window. I love my king 4k. It is slow, clogs quickly, has poor feedback, but for the 4 minutes that I need to use it, it gives a great finishing edge and the cost cant be beat for someone wanting their first couple stones. I have a more expensive arkansas stone that I finish on now, but I am totally happy with that 4k edge over much more expensive stones in the same ballpark.
 
So. I ended up taking up solidsnake03 up on his offer to sell a king hyper 1k soft. And guys. Guys. This thing is great. To all of you king 1.2k lovers, you know who you are. Go get one of these stones. It's like the 1.2k, but it eats metal for breakfast. The first knife I sharpened on it was a buck vantage in s30v steel, and it was no problem. This is my new favorite mid grit stone. Its faster than my shapton 1k, from what I can tell may leave a slightly finer finish. Oh yeah, and it has the same feedback of the king 1.2k.

Maybe I'm in the honeymoon period with this stone still, but man. This stone
JakeLoveshighCarbon said:
I dont like how kings have a bad reputation. I've read multiple times that they're a waste of money and one needs to get shapton etc or you'll be back buying them anyway after you throw your mud brick out the window. I love my king 4k. It is slow, clogs quickly, has poor feedback, but for the 4 minutes that I need to use it, it gives a great finishing edge and the cost cant be beat for someone wanting their first couple stones. I have a more expensive arkansas stone that I finish on now, but I am totally happy with that 4k edge over much more expensive stones in the same ballpark.
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I personally love my king stones. I think that reputation is slowly turning around, which I'm glad about.

On the topic of arkansas stones. I got my first one ever about 2 weeks ago, after years of using Japanese stones. It's a hard Arkansas. I actually like it. Though it is a bit weird. It feels like the stone is doing absolutely nothing when I sharpen on it, but in reality its removing metal. It's odd not having the feedback that I'm used to from stones.
 
Glad more folks are getting the chance to try the King Hyper stuff again and especially the 1k soft. The combination of feel, cutting speed and finish is outstanding if you can tolerate a soaking stone. Yup it’s definitely faster than a Shapton 1k and it’ll eat anything you throw at it.

Kings got a bad rep for a while that seems a bit undeserved I’d say. They are still great stones (yes even the deluxe line) and work well on anything up to PM steels. If you have the Hypers you can cut whatever excluding like Maxamet or probably some of the Rex stuff. Shoot even the King 300 is a really nice stone for how cheap it is. Cuts bevels fast and you can finish on it easily especially for family or friends knives. Edges last a long time too being a bit coarser. Just strop after using it or run it through some cork or wood to clean up any burr remains
 
SolidSnake03 said:
Glad more folks are getting the chance to try the King Hyper stuff again and especially the 1k soft. The combination of feel, cutting speed and finish is outstanding if you can tolerate a soaking stone. Yup it’s definitely faster than a Shapton 1k and it’ll eat anything you throw at it.

Kings got a bad rep for a while that seems a bit undeserved I’d say. They are still great stones (yes even the deluxe line) and work well on anything up to PM steels. If you have the Hypers you can cut whatever excluding like Maxamet or probably some of the Rex stuff. Shoot even the King 300 is a really nice stone for how cheap it is. Cuts bevels fast and you can finish on it easily especially for family or friends knives. Edges last a long time too being a bit coarser. Just strop after using it or run it through some cork or wood to clean up any burr remains
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Yeah the king 300 has been in my progression for a while now. Great stone, is splash and go, cheap, and does a great job, up until the high vanadium carbide stuff. As far as the 1k hyper goes, cant wait until work Saturday, gonna put it to the test.
 
jwthaparc said:
Yeah the king 300 has been in my progression for a while now. Great stone, is splash and go, cheap, and does a great job, up until the high vanadium carbide stuff. As far as the 1k hyper goes, cant wait until work Saturday, gonna put it to the test.
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Worked today, had one knife in s30v, and in s35vn it ate right through them. As well as the cheaper stuff too.
 
Yup! If someone wanted to go real cheap for a 2 stone combo that performs great and punches way above its weight and works on everything minus some of the really tough pocket knife stuff (Rex and Maxamet in my experience ) I would often recommend either the King 300 and Hyper 1k normal or soft. Or Shapton Pro 320 and Pro 1k/1.5k/2k depending on personal preference or steel type you most see/use.

The kings get slept on and I keep a 300 and Hyper 1k soft kit at the in-laws along with a crystolon coarse and fine combo stone. All I’ve ever needed for a variety of their knives and outdoor tools/blades
 
Around the 1K range, I have the Chosera 800, King KD 800 and KD 1k, Nubatama Ume 1K, Nubatama Platinum 1K, Shapton Glass 1k, Bestor 1.2k, King KD 1.2k, Nubatama Platinum 1.5K.

Of that lot, for absolute convenience, the Shapton Glass 1k is hard to beat. Its compact, totally splash and go, reasonably fast, low maintenance and leaves a nice edge. On the down side and this is subjective, its pretty meh to sharpen on.

For that "love to sharpen" experience, the Nubatama Platinum 1k easily wins. Its a big stone, has a lively feel with clear feedback and it's the fastest of the group. While its close to a splash and go, it benefits from sitting in water for 5 minutes. Another plus is it doesn't get glassy feeling with high rockwell knives. Second to that would be the Platinum 1.5k. Its a little more subtle than the 1K but has all the other attributes.
 
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For soakers I like the King Hyper 1k soft and the King Hyper 1k regular more but that’s about it for soaking stones.

for splash and go I really liked the Morihei 1k, Chosera 800 and 1k more than the King 1k. I like the Shapton and Nanohone 1ks too but it’s more about working fast than it is liking them more.
 
IDK if the king 1k leaves the best edge at the 1k level but I do love the feel and experience it provides, its the closest thing to sharpening on a natural Waterstone IMHE and there's just something nostalgic about it, besides learning to sharpen on it was cool.
 
memorael said:
IDK if the king 1k leaves the best edge at the 1k level but I do love the feel and experience it provides, its the closest thing to sharpening on a natural Waterstone IMHE and there's just something nostalgic about it, besides learning to sharpen on it was cool.
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I know what you mean. It may not be the best medium grit stone at anything, and yet, there is something about it that makes it a permanent staple. Something that no other medium grit stone has.
 
shinyunggyun said:
What medium grit stones do you like more than king 1000 and why?
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Naniwa Hibiki feels, to me, very similar in use to the King 1000, but dishes slowly. The Gesshin 1000 soaker brick has the best feedback I've ever experienced; that whole line of soakers does. But my favorite 1000 is Shapton Glass. I like hard stones that are dense with abrasive. Many JNats (in somewhat higher grits) are like that, too.
 
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