Sharpening Station for a newbie (50-150USD)

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

Mavi

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2020
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Sweden
Hello friends!

I m new to the forums and got told to use the questionnaire below, i removed the questions I didn't think needed to be answered with regards to sharpening stones.
To give some background, we had a workshop with sharpening knives as a fun activity at my job and it was really fun. That together with that my knives haven't gotten any love, makes me wanna buy a good sharpening stone or two. I own Global knives mostly because I got them gifted many years ago and they are working fine for a hobby cook, that I am. However I don't like buying mediocre stuff so I wanted to reach out to get some help with buying a good stone.

I might in the future buy some new high-end knives (I prefer Japanese more than western, tried some at my friends), but for now the knives listed below is what I've got.

I want to focus on learning the craft but at the same time doing it with a good stone. Maybe it is enough with 2 types of grit to begin with? The budget is between 50-150 USD. Would be nice to try and buy during Black Friday and find a good deal :) Any recommendations? Really appreciate the help!

EDIT! My knives are not damaged, just dull. Maybe it is even worth buying something cheaper but OK to start training the craft and then invest in something better?


LOCATION
Sweden


KNIFE TYPE
What kind of knives do you have?
G-2
G-9
G-21
GS-35
GSF-17

Are you right or left handed? Right


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? Home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)

Mainly for vegetables (vegetarian). Lots of onions and garlic :)

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)

Wood & Synthetic

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)

Hopefully now I will

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
YES! Budget around 50-150 USD
 
Last edited:
I'd get a Shapton pro 320 and 1000, use a piece of 2x4 and a rag for a base and go at it, you're knive will get plenty sharp and you may get more stones but you will probably continue to use these in the future. You will probably want to get something to flatten them with, you can just rub the two stones together to do that but a dedicated diamond flattening plate works much better. I like the Atoma 140 best but there are cheaper alternatives. Get a sharpie and some acetone to check on your sharpening progress using the "sharpie trick". Watch some sharpening videos to get a jump start.
 
dafox said:
I'd get a Shapton pro 320 and 1000, use a piece of 2x4 and a rag for a base and go at it, you're knive will get plenty sharp and you may get more stones but you will probably continue to use these in the future. You will probably want to get something to flatten them with, you can just rub the two stones together to do that but a dedicated diamond flattening plate works much better. I like the Atoma 140 best but there are cheaper alternatives. Get a sharpie and some acetone to check on your sharpening progress using the "sharpie trick". Watch some sharpening videos to get a jump start.
Click to expand...

Appreciate your help dafox!
Is there any reason you would go for the 320+1000 instead of 1000+2000? Are there any fake Shaptons out there I need to worry about or can I just buy from Amazon? Found these in the local store;
https://japaneseknifecompany.se/produkt/shapton-glass-stone-320-grit/https://japaneseknifecompany.se/produkt/shapton-glass-stone-1000-grit/It says that it is not a stone that should be submerged in water, as I have seen a lot other people do?
How often should you flatten them?

Can you recommend a good tutorial that you know follows the "rules" on Youtube?

Sorry for the many questions!
 
Considering Global, I agree. Even if I always managed to get the best out of them with higher grits.
It's a pretty simple set, easy to manage. Maybe 320 is not even needed, as 1000 is very coarse anyway.
Obviously, since this is not your first sharpening experience. Otherwise I would still recommend to start with a soft true middle grit stone and use that until you get results, like King 1000.
 
King Neo 800 grit with base, Naniwa Stone flattener to maintain stone over time.
 
Get something in the 500-1000 range and in the 2000-3000 range.

500-1000 range for sharpening your dull-but-not-damaged knives. A Shapton pro 1000 will fit, since people tend to agree its more of a 700-800 gritt in practise (so a coarse 1000 compared to other 1000)
I wouldnt go below 500 if you dont need to repair chips etc.
I wouldnt take a fine 1000 or a 1000+ to start sharpening a normally used but dull knife: way too slow for a new sharpener, so way to much time to let you make mistakes.

Id take the shapton pro 2000 to comliment this. You can refine your edge with that after the use of the 1000 and after the first proper sharpening you can maintain with that 2000 for a long time.
The shapron pro 2000 starts as a 2000 gritt, but will get slicker in a few times, ending up somewhere around 2500-3000 gritt in pratice

So take the shapton pro 1000 and 2000, which are more like a 700 and 2500, a nice quality starters set. Dont read this as advice to take 'a 1000 and 2000' to start this. Im acknowledging that a true 1000 next to a true 2000 are too close together.

O, and some way to flatten those stones ;) meaning a 3th 'stone' or sic powder
 
Thanks for all the answers!
The knives does not have any damage, just a bit dull. So I'm gonna start with the Shapton 1000 as some of you recommended.

However! Is this the right one? Amazon.se
The package seems to be different than the one I find on their official site?

It seems that one is a glass stone and the other one is ceramic? Which did you recommend?
 
Mavi said:
Thanks for all the answers!
The knives does not have any damage, just a bit dull. So I'm gonna start with the Shapton 1000 as some of you recommended.

However! Is this the right one? Amazon.se
The package seems to be different than the one I find on their official site?

It seems that one is a glass stone and the other one is ceramic? Which did you recommend?
Click to expand...
The one you linked is the Shapton pro 1000, the one that we have been recommending
 
Mavi said:
Appreciate your help dafox!
Is there any reason you would go for the 320+1000 instead of 1000+2000? Are there any fake Shaptons out there I need to worry about or can I just buy from Amazon? Found these in the local store;
https://japaneseknifecompany.se/produkt/shapton-glass-stone-320-grit/https://japaneseknifecompany.se/produkt/shapton-glass-stone-1000-grit/It says that it is not a stone that should be submerged in water, as I have seen a lot other people do?
How often should you flatten them?

Can you recommend a good tutorial that you know follows the "rules" on Youtube?

Sorry for the many questions!
Click to expand...
I would still recommend the 1000 and 320, if you sharpen any of your friends and familie's knives you will be glad you have it. These are splash and go stones just run them under water for a few seconds, the 320 is thirtsyer, needs to be wetted a few times. Flatten them as you see them dish, you can see this with cross hatched pencil Marks when you begin to flatten them, the dished area retains the Marks for longer until the entire stone is flat. Many on the forum like the videos by Jon Broida on JKI.
 
Last edited:
There is one reason I didn't recommend the Glass stones. You have some knives (GSF-17, G21 and G9) that can't be used with such type of stone. Not easy anyway.
 
For @Deadboxhero, or anyone else familiar with the King Neo 800 grit stone, is the ST-3 model just a thicker version of the ST-2 WITHOUT the base, or is there some other difference between the 2 stones? The description is the same, so I'm thinking it was just the added thickness and no base.
 
dafox said:
I would still recommend the 1000 and 320, if you sharpen any of your friends and familie's knives you will be glad you have it. These are splash and go stones just run them under water for a few seconds, the 320 is thirtsyer, needs to be wetted a few times. Flatten them as you see them dish, you can see this with cross hatched pencil Marks when you begin to flatten them, the dished area retains the Marks for longer until the entire stone is flat. Many on the forum like the videos by Jon Broida on JKI.
Click to expand...
kayman67 said:
There is one reason I didn't recommend the Glass stones. You have some knives (GSF-17, G21 and G9) that can't be used with such type of stone. Not easy anyway.
Click to expand...

dafox, I have linked two. I guess you meant the glass and not the one I linked on the amazon? difference? You are probably right with the 320, I will probably practice on friends and families knives. Can you link a good flattener on Amazon?

Kayman, I guess I won't be sharpening the G9, since it is a bread knife. Which one would recommend? The glass or the one that I linked on Amazon? They seem to have same name but different kind of materials?(glass vs ceramic I guess?
 
Mavi said:
dafox, I have linked two. I guess you meant the glass and not the one I linked on the amazon? difference? You are probably right with the 320, I will probably practice on friends and families knives. Can you link a good flattener on Amazon?

Kayman, I guess I won't be sharpening the G9, since it is a bread knife. Which one would recommend? The glass or the one that I linked on Amazon? They seem to have same name but different kind of materials?(glass vs ceramic I guess?
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.com/Kuromaku-Cer...1&keywords=shapton+1000&qid=1606587873&sr=8-1https://www.amazon.com/Whetstone-Sh...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
 
Mavi said:
dafox, I have linked two. I guess you meant the glass and not the one I linked on the amazon? difference? You are probably right with the 320, I will probably practice on friends and families knives. Can you link a good flattener on Amazon?

Kayman, I guess I won't be sharpening the G9, since it is a bread knife. Which one would recommend? The glass or the one that I linked on Amazon? They seem to have same name but different kind of materials?(glass vs ceramic I guess?
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.com/Whetstone-Sh...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
 
Mavi said:
dafox, I have linked two. I guess you meant the glass and not the one I linked on the amazon? difference? You are probably right with the 320, I will probably practice on friends and families knives. Can you link a good flattener on Amazon?

Kayman, I guess I won't be sharpening the G9, since it is a bread knife. Which one would recommend? The glass or the one that I linked on Amazon? They seem to have same name but different kind of materials?(glass vs ceramic I guess?
Click to expand...
I would ask the others for a less expensive flattener, this is what I use:

https://www.amazon.com/Atoma-Diamon...ld=1&keywords=atoma+140&qid=1606588387&sr=8-3
 
cleancut.se has most shapton stones. they ship the same day and you usually have the stuff the day after.

for globals i would finish at 2k or at the very most 3k.

the glass 500 and 3k would be good
also the 500 and 2k glass or 2k pro.
1k pro and 2-3k maybe?

you probably want a stone holder too.

other shops close by are dictum.de and fine-tools.com in germany.

btw i have not found the shapton pro 2k getting finer, i actually have not found that with any shapton stone and i have about 15 of them.

a 1k or 500 might seem like fast stones in the beginning but as soon as you see some chips in the edge you gonna wish you had a 220. and the 220ies are cheap. i prefer the shapton pro 220. it just works.
 
Dakota Day Trader said:
For @Deadboxhero, or anyone else familiar with the King Neo 800 grit stone, is the ST-3 model just a thicker version of the ST-2 WITHOUT the base, or is there some other difference between the 2 stones? The description is the same, so I'm thinking it was just the added thickness and no base.
Click to expand...

There is no equivalent, they are all different sizes, the ST-2 is normal full size, the ST-3 is a massive stone.
b8d8RxJ.png
 
King Neo Stone is the best stone under $80 for a simple set up, it eats steel. Comes with a base so you don't need to buy or pack a stone holder.

[Youtube]

We had Thanksgiving with family so I just packed the King Neo Stone to sharpen all the knives.

I was able to set the edge on a Damasteel chef knife at 64.5rc very quickly yet not need another stone, nice blend of polish and bite.


cDmfdok.jpg


Best "one and done" for the money.
 
inferno said:
cleancut.se has most shapton stones. they ship the same day and you usually have the stuff the day after.

for globals i would finish at 2k or at the very most 3k.

the glass 500 and 3k would be good
also the 500 and 2k glass or 2k pro.
1k pro and 2-3k maybe?

you probably want a stone holder too.

other shops close by are dictum.de and fine-tools.com in germany.

btw i have not found the shapton pro 2k getting finer, i actually have not found that with any shapton stone and i have about 15 of them.

a 1k or 500 might seem like fast stones in the beginning but as soon as you see some chips in the edge you gonna wish you had a 220. and the 220ies are cheap. i prefer the shapton pro 220. it just works.
Click to expand...

If we talk European sites, I can add knivesandtools.eu (.de .nl .whatever)
Im not sure pricewise, but some sites don't have a stones/knife you want on stock, so its always nice to be able to check more options i guess..


About the 2k getting slicker:
I use one side only. When I compare the used side with the never-used side, there is a big difference. The used side is noticable slicker.
Can also be that you are right and that the never-used-side is too coarse for the intention of the stone and that it needs to 'break in' (is that the right saying in English?). I actually dont know... maybe my conclusion is wrong. Both sides do feel different though and did not in the beginning when i bought the stone.
 
Being a beginner myself I’d say the shapton pro 1000 is a good choice I wish I had bought it sooner.
 
My vote is for SP 1000 + 2000. Unless your knives are incredibly bent out of shape, the 1000 will be enough for any rougher work thats needed (people say that it feels closer to 800). Even if you need to grind away a bit of steel, the 1000 can do it decently well, just a bit longer than a coarser stone. The 2000 is the perfect finishing grit for me for my day to day kitchen use. The boxes also double as stone holders.

You can buy a silicone pet feeding mat on amazon for around $10 as a base for your sharpening. It functions as grip and to catch liquid/mud.

Total should be right around $100 for these 3.

Unless you're doing a lot of thinning, you should not need to flatten the shapton stones often since they dish really slow. But if you do, the cheap option that I prefer is some coarse "silicon carbide tumbling grit" which you can find at lots of places including ebay. It's sold for rock polishing. I put a pinch or 2 on a flat $1 flooring tile from home depot and do figure 8 motions with the stone to flatten.
 
First stone I bought was double sided 1000/6000 from japanese knife company for about $ 100
JKC Premium Ceramic - kombo 1000/6000 - Handla Japanska knivar online

I found that the 1000 side is coarse enough to sharpen really dull blades and the 6000 is a really good introduction to higher grit stones (And a very much needed tool as you will probably want a finer edge that what the 1000 grit stone can offer you very soon).
It really gets the job done and is a perfect intro to stones. It comes with some sort of mat to fix it in the box. I got everything done on this stone for years. (i've sharpened all sorts of blades on it hard or soft, japanese or western)

In my opinion a stone holder is not needed (In fact it is needed but if you want to spend as little money as possible to start with a cloth does the trick)

And a stone fixer is important, i've bought this one for $20 on korin. (Got the atoma 400 later on)
Sharpening Stone Fixer - Pink
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top