Question for you Shapton Glass specialists

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branwell

branwell

Straffanforge
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I have a 1K, 2K, 6K, and 16k and for me, the edges they leave at those grit levels are pretty perfect.

That said, I rarely use the 1k and 6K because they feel like what I imagine it would feel like to sharpen on hard bubble gum.
The 2K on the other hand I really like. Its super convenient, needs little to no maintenance, feels amazing to sharpen on and the edge it leaves is about perfect for all the Henkel's that come my way... and its a great transition stone to higher grits for better stainless and carbons.
The 16K feels like gum but gets a pass because the edge it leaves is just so good.

So my question is around the 4K and 8K. I'm super tempted to try them but will end up not using them if they have the same feel as the 1K and 6K, and right now I cant afford to buy stuff that will just sit around collecting dust.
Do any of you have experience with these stones? Are they more like the 2K in feel or the 1K / 6K?

Feel wise, how are the Shapton Pro 5K and 8K ? I've never tried any of the pro line.
 
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My experience does not match yours. I have all of those, and they all seem pretty similar to each other, adjusting for grit. I almost always hit them with a diamond plate before sharpening -- any chance that the ones you don't like are glazed?

The conspicuous omission from your SG collection is the 500, which is one of my favorite synthetics.
 
I'm starting to wonder how much variation there is between individual Shapton stones. I have a 1K that doesn't behave at all as I'd expect. I have the 1500 and 2K too, so I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining things. It feels like it was baked wrong or something
 
Rangen said:
any chance that the ones you don't like are glazed?
The conspicuous omission from your SG collection is the 500, which is one of my favorite synthetics.
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Unlikely to be glazed. I use diamond plates on them as well as trying a ton of different naguras etc.

The 500. Oh yes. That thing's legendary. I'm currently using a Chosera 400 for my low mid grit and am about half way though it. Am planning on giving the SG 500 thick a shot as its replacement when the time comes :)
 
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I've a mix of the Pro and the Glass. Like (almost) all of them. The exception is the SP5000 - don't like the feel, don't like the edge, wondered at times if the stone is just off. Couple combos that work particularly well are the SG500, SP1000 and SP2000 - my first Shapton "set" as well as the SG500, SP1000, SG4000 - a standard for me for last couple years. SG500, SG2000, SG4000 work well together and all fit in the travel holder that Shapton sells. The SG220 is very good for the chitty work - prefer it to the ubiquitous "pink" ceramic stones.
 
daveb said:
SG500, SG2000, SG4000 work well together and all fit in the travel holder that Shapton sells
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I hope I could ask a quick question here instead of starting a new thread, since the subject is related. I have SG320 and SG1000 and was thinking about completing a travel kit by buying SG4000 and the holder. Will it be too big of a step SG1000 to SG4000 or is the sequence not good in some other way?
 
SG 1k to 4k will be just fine. If you were polishing you might want to add a 2k into the mix but I go from 1k -> 4k (or higher) all the time when I'm sharpening with no issues.
Not sure if that would hold true for razors, but for knives it's totally fine.
 
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branwell said:
So my question is around the 4K and 8K. I'm super tempted to try them but will end up not using them if they have the same feel as the 1K and 6K, and right now I cant afford to buy stuff that will just sit around collecting dust.
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If you don't like the 1K and 6K then I would stay away from 4K and 8K. Stones are always a matter of personal preference and in that case it doesn't seem to fit.
 
Bigbbaillie said:
SG 1k to 4k will be just fine. If you were polishing you might want to add a 2k into the mix but I go from 1k > 4k (or higher) all the time when I'm sharpening with no issues.
Not sure if that would hold true for razors, but for knives it's totally fine
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:Iagree:
 
In terms of a quality edge, there is no problem making the jump there, imo. If you're trying to polish a wide bevel or something like that, the sg4k is fast enough to get out the scratches from the 1k, but you'd save yourself some by throwing a 2k in there. But you're probably not thinking of polishing that much since you said 'a travel kit'. You know, some people jump straight from 1k to 8k and like the toothiness that it leaves.

Edit: i guess I'm a slow typer
 
ITKKF said:
I hope I could ask a quick question here instead of starting a new thread, since the subject is related. I have SG320 and SG1000 and was thinking about completing a travel kit by buying SG4000 and the holder. Will it be too big of a step SG1000 to SG4000 or is the sequence not good in some other way?
Click to expand...
I regularly jump from my 500 to 4k without issue.
 
making the 500 to 3k jump is no problem imo. takes about 0,5-1min to erase the 500 scratches. you can go 1k to 12k if you want. takes 2 more minutes.

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my experience with the glass series is that the 500, 1k, 2k, 3k, 4k are extremely similar, they just get finer and slower.
the 220 is different. and its also light purple.
my 6k hc is also different and i like the white stones feel better. but its forgiven because its a very good mirror polisher.
had the 8k hc on loan and i much preferred the 8k pro in feel.

for me there is a sweetspot where the stones feel the best. and its between lets say 800 to 3k. my favorites seems to be the 2/3k stones from all brands. almost all stones i've tried in this grit range will feel very good. you feel that something is happening. and it doesn't feel like an 80 grit paper.

i think my 3 favorite stones are the pro2k, pro2k glass 3k. even though i have basically very little use for these anymore. they are fast enough to get **** done and fine enough to finish on. what more could you ask for?

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regarding the 4k and 8k glass. the 4k is good. i have it. its my preferred finisher for all quality knives. get it! i also like the 3k glass. super good stone. i like it more than the 4k. loads less. much faster. buuut not as sharp results of course. 3k=very sharp. 4k=truly scary sharp.

i would guess the white the 8k is good too. the 10k might be nice too. someday i will get the 10k. even though i already have about 8 stones at 8k or above.
gotta catch them all... :)
 
I am still in sharpening grade school but in my limited experience I have yet to get my head around creating a burr on the SG1k. The SG500 is so good and effortless though that I usually start there unless I am touching up an already sharp knife. Then to SG 1k usually 6k. Occasionally I will skip from 500 to 3000 but I feel like I don’t get the 1k but I am a novice.
 
500 -> 1k -> 4k -> 8k here. I stop at 4k. I feel you on the 1k bubble gum feeling but I feel it is a necessity. If I can't cut magazine paper off the 1k than my technique is off and that is my test procedure.. 4k is for refinement. 8k and I lose the toothiness so I only use it on pocket knives.
 
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