Show Your Newest Sharpening Gear

[HumbleHomeCook]

Finally got around to using that Washita, luckily had some honing oil tucked away. Mine turned kinda greyish once I put the oil on before sharpening.

I tried a ginsan santoku that still had a decent edge. I was surprised at how quickly this stone formed a burr with pretty light pressure, but also deburring wasn't an issue. I only messed around with paper towels and a random grocery bag I had nearby but I'm extremely pleased with the toothy edge it produced. Looking forward to attacking some tomatoes and peppers. If my initial impressions hold true, this will make a beautiful pocket knife stone. A little small for my cleaver but I'm going to try it anyway soon.

Best $15 I've spent in a while, just wish they were water stones like the Belgians.

I don't have a true Washita. @Desert Rat is our resident expert on those gems but I have played with a lot of Softs over the years. Experiment with pressure! These stones can take it and a change in pressure can have noticeable impacts.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I don't have a true Washita. @Desert Rat is our resident expert on those gems but I have played with a lot of Softs over the years. Experiment with pressure! These stones can take it and a change in pressure can have noticeable impacts.

I assume just more pressure= coarser effective grit/faster cutting yeah? Just double checking there's no Arkansasian voodoo that I'm missing

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I assume just more pressure= coarser effective grit/faster cutting yeah? Just double checking there's no Arkansasian voodoo that I'm missing

Yep. @Desert Rat has a cool video about pressure on Washitia's. Not at home now so don't have the link.

 

[Uncle Danny]

This big fella arrived today. Took it for a quick spin and it seems to perform very well. It will undergo some more testing, but it seems to be nice quality Aoto.
A bit thirsty and a bit muddy without being a complete mud bath.

 

[mrmoves92]

A cheaper Maruoyama shiro suita from from the recent release at Carbon Knife Co. I gave the stone a quick try, and it felt pretty soft and easy to use, and it left a finish with decent contrast and some visible but light scratches on the cladding.

 

[captaincaed]

A couple pretty barn coticules have showed up this month

One is rosy pink and the other has a dusky tint. Both coti layers are full thickness so it’s just their personality.

 

[captaincaed]

F**k me I cannot lap dead flat this week. Keep putting a dome in the stone

 

[fatboylim]

So glad you love the Hyper! They are still my favorite soakers by far (The Hyper 1k and 2k). To clarify a bit further, I think the Chosera are fairly fast but not a metal eating stone like the Sigma Power ii stuff or the lower grit Shaptons. That said you are right that they are fast just not “oh man this is eating my knife” fast. Admittedly my perspective is also skewed by Vitrified Diamond stuff.

The King Hyper 1000 is my all time favourite synthetic stone at that grit.

It's worth the hype.

I have to try the snow white in the future, I stopped at an arashiyama 6000.

I went further to perma soak stones once I learned the toilet cystern storage thing. Such a cool way to keep the stones in regularly refreshed clean water!

 

[M1k3]

F**k me I cannot lap dead flat this week. Keep putting a dome in the stone

How to Flatten a Stone (Lapping an Ark)

Inspired by threads about SiC powder flattening, I thought I'd post up how I flatten and dress a stone. Wrote this up for the razor forum, figured I'd cross post here as long as it's written up. Useful for all kinds of stones, not just Arks. Today I'm dressing a hard black Ark with unknown...

www.kitchenknifeforums.com

 

[captaincaed]

Michael!!!

 

[captaincaed]

Rented a tile saw to cut this gorgeous razor stone from @ethompson. Now it's got a true tomo. I left the top edge raw cuz I like that sort of thing. Like live edge wood. I'll just knock the corner down a bit of I'm ever in danger of hitting it with the edge.

Next step will be a box for the pair. Can't decide on a simple plain wood that'll "get out of the way" and frame the stone, or go full stupid and make one out of some zebrawood I have leftover from some cutting boards. Decisions.

 

[captaincaed]

Also trimmed this coti down to size. Had a deep dish, that was nearly V-shaped. Trimming retained nearly all the yellow, and now I have either a pair of travellers, or high quality bouts.

 

[dabes]

poor mans sumi renge

 

[Dan-]

Been enjoying this combo for single bevel:

Some karasu is starting to show on the Naka. Both like artificial slurry, though the nasuita doesn’t need it.

 

[Uncle Danny]

Namikawa stones came today. They work FAST when it comes to polishing

 

[Choppin]

I have only used it to thin a Misono Swedish gyuto, so it needs more testing. Also, I can only compare it to my SG220 in this grit range (also bought a 240 Sigma but haven't used it yet). I have a bunch of projects to do, will post here again when I test it more.

Compared to the SG220, I'd say the Debado cuts as fast, maybe a tiny bit faster. It is medium-hard while the SG220 is hard, which means the Debado dishes a bit more but also feels slightly more pleasurable. It doesn't clog, at least in my use, just keeps cutting and releasing fresh abrasive. It's not a muddy stone but produces a thin mud that helps making thing smoother.

I feel like I can use a lot of pressure in both SG220 and SG500 and they won't dish more as a result (nothing noticeable). With the Debado I use moderate pressure - if you go too aggressive, it will dish more but won't cut significantly faster (it's already fast with moderate pressure). Scratch depth is similar, I can erase both SG220 and Debado scratches easily with my SG500.

There are a few sizes available for the Debado (LD, MD, etc), my LD is the smallest. But it's still a generous size and I like that vs the Shapton (not saying it lasts longer because the SG is denser, but I find the taller size more comfortable (more knuckle clearance).

All-in-all I'm happy with it. I like the SG220 but I prefer the Debado a bit more if I had to choose.

quick update on the Debado 180 vs SG220 situation.

I started working on my Ikenami bannou with the Debado to turn the concave bevels into convex ones. After 30min per side I switched to the SG220, just to compare.

Debado was noticeably faster. As if it was a #150 and the SG a #240 or so. The downside: Debado dishes faster and hid a few low spots that the SG quickly revealed. Maybe I got a softie? Doesn’t feel too soft anyway, still a hard or medium-hard stone. But a bit muddier than the SG.

The Debado scratch pattern is less even, you can see some coarser scratches. Still easily polished with a SG500 though.

I’ll probably start with the Debado next time for the heavy lifting and then switch to SG220 or SG320 for more precision work.

Debado worked really well on my Misono carbon gyuto. The speed is welcome on monosteels and it was fully convex to begin with so no low spots that it could mask. I jumped straight to a SG500.

 

[Seemore]

quick update on the Debado 180 vs SG220 situation.

I started working on my Ikenami bannou with the Debado to turn the concave bevels into convex ones. After 30min per side I switched to the SG220, just to compare.

Debado was noticeably faster. As if it was a #150 and the SG a #240 or so. The downside: Debado dishes faster and hid a few low spots that the SG quickly revealed. Maybe I got a softie? Doesn’t feel too soft anyway, still a hard or medium-hard stone. But a bit muddier than the SG.

The Debado scratch pattern is less even, you can see some coarser scratches. Still easily polished with a SG500 though.

I’ll probably start with the Debado next time for the heavy lifting and then switch to SG220 or SG320 for more precision work.

Debado worked really well on my Misono carbon gyuto. The speed is welcome on monosteels and it was fully convex to begin with so no low spots that it could mask. I jumped straight to a SG500.

Thanks very much for the follow-up and details. It sounds like either the Debado 180 or the Sigma power select II 240 in my future.

 

[Choppin]

Thanks very much for the follow-up and details. It sounds like either the Debado 180 or the Sigma power select II 240 in my future.

good reminder, I’ll try my Sigma this weekend on the same knife (I haven’t used the stone yet). From what I’ve heard here, it should be softer and muddier than both stones, but also quite fast, good for hard monosteel knives.

 

[Rangen]

The Sigma Power Select II 240 grinds steel like it hates the knife and wants to powderize it.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

The Sigma Power Select II 240 grinds steel like it hates the knife and wants to powderize it.

How is the stone to maintain?

 

[M1k3]

How is the stone to maintain?

Muddy. Not a nightmare to flatten. But definitely cuts faster than it dishes.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Muddy. Not a nightmare to flatten. But definitely cuts faster than it dishes.

Flatten with diamond, SiC or either?

 

[M1k3]

Flatten with diamond, SiC or either?

Either. I'd lean towards SiC though and save some life of the plate.

 

[Rangen]

Muddy. Not a nightmare to flatten. But definitely cuts faster than it dishes.

Agreed. And whoever said that keeping the mud around helps with moisture retention was right on.

 

[Patinated]

Out of this world Binsui - top performer!

Is it a JNS binsui? Easy to use?

 

[Patinated]

Shobu Natural Stone (Soft)

We source this stone from Takeda Hamono. This soft stone will leave a nice toothy edge on your knife, great for cutting through the skins of bell peppers and tomatoes. Dimensions: 205mm x 75mm x 25mm 890 grams *Please note, disclaimer: All natural Japanese water stones will vary in size...

thecooksedge.com

This looks nice

 

[Byphy]

Got one of @Dr. Knives Vit 400 , I gotta say I’m impressed. Hard, cuts fast, and keeps cutting. Great feedback. Spent 40 min on evening out the bevel on this yanagi, never had to refresh. Scratch pattern is consistent and seems like can be easily erased

 

[Uncle Danny]

A very nice and very fast Ikarashi

 

[xtcxtq]

A Japanese natural stone bought a while ago. Never got to know what it is exactly. I would say it is a suita awasedo with shikiutigumori characteristics, putting aside the mistery it does have a nice finish sharpness.

 

[Seemore]