What price range for quality beginner stones?

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Pirendeus

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From the posts I've read, many people (including Dave Martell) prefer a sharpening set including a Beston 500x, a Bester 1200x, and a Suehiro Rika 5k. What are the normal prices of these stones? I've seen them for sale at a few different retailers. Do water stones like these ever go on sale? Or is a full set like http://www.**************.com/knshcoset.html for $190 a good price for everything?
 
If you are really on a budget, than the best solution is to get some sort of combination stone. The one posted above would be OK, or something like Bester or King or similar. These are usually 1000/6000 stones.

However - if you are planning to get a full stone setup (the one you mention is well regarded, though there are other options) than my advice would be not to get some sort of 'beginner stones'. The main reason for that is - contrary to knives (where it makes sense not to start with $500+ knives if all you ever used before is a Wushoff), you are not going to 'destroy' a stone while learning free hand sharpening. Also - the stones will last you several years - way longer than it will take to learn to use them. So after couple of months you may easily find yourself in a situation that you have stones that have been barely used, but you would actually like to get better ones.

There are some really great stones from JKI (Gesshin) and JNS. Jon from jKI has a set for $200 that comes with 400, 2000 and 6000 stones. Those are some of the best stones out there (in particular the 2000 which is my favourite stone). Or a complete splash&go Gesshin setup (320, 1500, 3000), or a JNS 300, 1000 and 6000, or JNS 300, 800, Synthetic Red Aoto - or some other combination. Those are all great stones and if that could work for you, than I would just advice you to read up on them here on KKF. You should also not hesitate to contact Jon or Maxim - you will get the advice first hand.

If getting a full set of stones for about $200 - $350 (that would be the range depending on what stones you choose and whether you also get a diamond flattening plate which is really nice to have but you can do without) is economically not an option, than getting a relatively cheap combination stone (but do avoid some no-name stuff, you would be surprised how bad some stone can be) is a good place to start with relatively small investment. I bought Bester 1000/6000 for my in-laws and it works fine.

And one short comment about coarse stones (usuallz 300 - 500 grit). You actually do want to have one. Indeed - if you regularly sharpen your knives, than you will be starting with medium grit, but once you need to remove some chipping, repair a broken tip, want to thin a knife, or have a really dull knife to sharpen, than starting with 1000 stone is a waste of time and the stone. That is my personal experience :)
 
Above advice is all solid. I would only add that I would suggest contacting Jon @ JKI to ask for his personal recommendation--I have used quite a few of his stones and they are all top notch.

Would especially agree w/ Matus about stones lasting quite some time so I would not focus on 'beginner' stones.

Should add that it would be well worth your time to view Jon's sharpening videos...https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/blogs/media/63836741-knife-sharpening-playlist.
 
I'll just repeat the point that you probably don't need a coarse stone (like a 400 or 500 grit) right away. You could get one in 1-2K, and a second finishing stone in the 4K-6K range.
You might also want to consider a strop to bring your edges back without taking them to your stones. Though you could also do light, edge trailing strokes on your highest grit stone, but I find a strop faster and more convenient.
 
As a relative beginner(about 2 yrs.), I've found the lower grit stone very beneficial. As you are learning to establish a burr, it can get a bit frustrating because you're unsure of what to expect--especially with regards to time on the stones. While not necessary, it does help establish a burr more quickly because you're using fewer strokes. In my mind, this helps limit mistakes--not as much opportunity for "wobble". Eventually, you will need the lower grit, so if you're budget allows, I'd get it now. I have the Bester 500, Beston 1200, and Suehiro Rika 5k and I have no complaints. A real good value and many people use this set or started with this set. However, if I had to do it again, I would have purchased Jon's 400,2000,6000 set.
 
I would only shortly reiterate what rdor just said. If you start sharpening a very dull knife and try to establish a new edge on medium grit stone, you may find it takes frustratingly long and quickly start to be unsure whether it is you technique that is wrong, or just the stone is too slow for the job.

One way or another - remember that a permanent marker is your friend - marking the edge and then check after few strokes where the contact with stone is happening will help you a lot.
 
Sorry, I should've been more clear; when I said 'beginner,' I was referring to myself---not the stones. Even though I have no experience with sharpening, I want to buy stones that will last through my progression of skill. So, basically, I want quality stones that aren't skill-prohibitive for novices AND will still be sufficient when I know what I'm doing, which I assume the set I listed will do.Hence, I assumed combo stones wouldn't be a great investment when I value longevity.
I plan on getting a cleaver from the wok shop, and people have mentioned that it is a very rough utensil, so I presume a lower grit stone will be useful when I get it (and when I inevitably do something bad with it.)
I'll check out the $200 set from jki (but i presume it doesnt include the lapping plate or holder that is in the set from CKtG.) Are there any other full sets I should consider for $200 or less? And do either the jki or CKtG sets go on sale, or is that basically the best price I will find?
 
I see. I have to be honest - I am not aware of other sets for about $200. Maxim from JNS sometimes offers sets - but those often include also the Atoma 140 and 4 sharpening stones, so the price is quite a bit more than $200.

One word on the flattening diamond stones. JKI offers one for a very reasonable price, but it is also meant more-less only to flatten stones. Atoma 140 would cost you more, but since it was designed to grind steel, it can (and very often is) used for heavy-duty work on knives. I have used one to thin my own made kitchen knife (which I did not bevel properly prior to heat treat).

There is some serious bad blood between CKtG and KKF (happened before my times, but it must have been very serious + the buyer feedback is sometimes less than great) so you will not find much recommendation here and the site is also banned here, but price-wise that set is probably hard to beat. What I would say - the Suehiro de Luxe stone holder (which is larger than the one from CKtG) that is available from JKI (comes with very handy small plastic tray) is excellent - uses only one screw/rod from stainless steel. It gives more stability than the smaller holders and is faster to use (1 screw instead of 2).

I have not used the Beston 500, Bester 1200 or Rika 5k, so I can not tell you in which way the JKI or JNS stones are different, but I would not hesitate to recommend the JKI or JNS stones.
 
I agree with El Pescador. The set I mentioned(Beston, Bestor, Rika) is a quality set that will grow with you as develop your skills. But I'm convinced from all the positive reviews that Jon's set is more desirable. The 2000 in particular gets much love from this site. I have no problem with CKTG but IMHO, overall, the people on this site really know their stuff. It took me awhile(years) to figure things out, but there seems to be much more people here who are quite experienced and knowledgeable --more so, IMHO, then the people at the other site; The quality of posts that I've read over a few years reflect this(remember, I'm not super experienced). I purchased my set from Mark at CKTG and my experience was nothing but positive. There are certainly some negative feelings from both sites towards one another, but I have no dog in this fight. I appreciate good advice wherever I can find it. But the vendors supported here are "knife people" first, vendors second, if that makes sense. I value the advice I've received from this forum. I hope this helps. Enjoy your purchase.
 
On the original query, I think if you can find per stone for around $50 or under that's about a good price. I haven't tended to see sales on these stones. ToolsfromJapan is an option to order from when the USD doesn't suck so much against the Yen...
 
I just gave my neighbor my Bester and Beston stones since I find that the Shapton Pro (and the Shapton Glass) stones work so much better for me. I sharpen knives, wood chisels, wood plane irons, etc in my shop and I really mile the splash and go stones that allow me to use them and then get them out of my way quickly. The set you refer to from site "x" is a very good deal.
 
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