Wanna stay sharp in Vienna! Looking for a stone .)

[user 37456]

Hello,
I am looking for a sharpening stone for the following knives:

• Kurosaki Syousin Chiku Nakiri (Super Aogami Japanese Blue Paper Steel)
• Orient Santoku (AUS-8)
• Sunnecko Paring Knife (VG-10)
• Zwilling Professional S Chef Knife

My knife-dealer advised me to get a 1000 grit stone, from Suehiro or Naniwa and something smoother.
What are your Ideas on this? Please consider I live in Vienna Europe and don't want to spend a fortune, while I am still not sure if I will enjoy sharpening knives as much as sharp knives .)

Glad for your help and any clues on this.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Werner

 

[bkultra]

Welcome to the forum and moving this to the sharpening section.

 

[mc2442]

Welcome!

I have not used either, but I believe they are recommended stones here. If you use the search function or look at the sharpening section there are a lot of threads dealing with initial stones. A lot here sharpen, and most would recommend learning. Youtube can be your friend here, I suggest a series of vids by Jon at JKI (Japanese Knife Imports) but there are other good ones as well. Unfortunately there are a lot of crappy ones, I would stay away from the burrfection vids though it can be hard to ignore them. I find sharpening a good zen experience and it is another thing to geek out about.

 

[Kou@Hida]

Hello,

I would agree with your dealer's advise, one stone between 800-1200 grit to sharpen, and one between 4000-6000 to hone the edge. You won't need any other stone until you're ready to mess with your knives like mirror polishing, thinning, re-beveling, etc. One another thing you must have is a flattening stone to keep your stones flat all the time. Both Suehiro and Naniwa is a good brand, however, less expensive brands like King will work just fine.

Kou

 

[Michi]

The King KDS 1000/6000 is the best combination stone in terms of value for money. (Don't get it mixed up with the King KW 65, which is smaller.)

If you want something fancier, Suehiro Cerax 1000 and Suehiro Rika 5000 make a nice combination. (They are soaking stones.) If you don't want to soak, the Naniwa Super Stones are splash-and-go and have a good reputation.

I agree with the flattening, you will need to do that. But, rather than spending extra money on a flattening stone or diamond plate, you can just take 80- or 120-grit sandpaper, stick it down on a flat smooth surface (sheet of glass or granite bench top) with a bit of sprayed-on water, and flatten your (soaked) stones on by rubbing them on the sandpaper.

Unless you see yourself getting really interested in sharpening, I would recommend the King KDS. It's likely to last you for years and you can get your knives razor-sharp with that.

 

[childermass]

Willkommen Werner!
You chose the right place to look for advice, the people here know their stuff very well.
I wanted to PM you about this, but am not allowed to do so...
If you are interested I could lend you a set of stones (I‘m in Vienna too) and you can try sharpening a bit on these. It’s an Arashyama 1k (not much info on the net about these) and either an Imanishi 4k or Arashyama 6k depending on how fine you want to go. All three are only lightly used and in top condition.
If you are interested, we only have to figure out how to communicate [emoji4].

 

[mack]

Hi from Amstetten. The combination-stone (1000/4000) of japan-messer-shop (just google it) is imho hard to beat for 50 euros. Have a look at it.


Mack.

 

[Matus]

If you want splash and go, than something like Shapton Pro (ha-na-kuromaku) 1000 and 5000 are great stones and will not break the bank. The 1000 is very fast. Bester 1000 and 4000 would be a nice option for soaking stones.

I am not a huge fan of combination stones, but I have used the Bester 1000/6000 and it is a good quality stone.


All of these and many more can be found at German online shop feinewerkzeuge.de (fine-tools.com)

 

[user 37456]

Hello everyone!
Thanks for all that input. It is very appreciated.
I already did some research and stumbled upon the serax/rika. The King 1000/6000 sounds good, as does the Bester. Soaking time is not an issue. I am patient .)
I guess I need to read some more. I was not really sure, if all the stones are suitable for different kinds of steel, so your input is very welcome.
What do you think about natural stones like the belgian blue or yellow? I think my dad has something like this lying around.
Thanks a lot again,
Werner

PS:childermass, thanks for the offer! I will have a look what my dad's garage has to offer stonewise. I'll get back to you .)

 

[childermass]

Got the King 1000/6000 for some time and while it's a decent stone I did't really like it in the feedback department. Gifted it to a friend of mine and she really enjoys it so I guess you would have to give it a try and decide for yourself.
The Bester looks nice and is really big (just sold an unused one). I cannot comment on the performance but I like all my other Imanishi stones so I think it's worth a try.
Belgian blue or yellow is nice, but be aware that these are finishers, the blue being a little 'coarser' than the yellow. You will have to use them after making lots of slurry, because they are very very slow on plain water. I had both and sold them again because of that.

P.S.: just take your time, my stones won't run away, I'm not planning to sell them.