What separates a low quality stone vs a high quality stone

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aszma

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What exactly separates a poor stone from a good stone? Theres a lot of stone brands out there and its quite intimidating to pick one especially when I dont really even know the difference between them. Id like to replace my current stone only because its too large and I move from place to place a lot so carrying a large stone can be quite tedious but i dont want to replace my current stone with a lower quality one. For example I know king stones are recommended for beginners while other stones like shapton glass stones are recommended for people with a bit more experience but what exactly is the difference?
 
This is a good question.
Maybe some stones are more expensive to manufacture than others. Maybe some binders and abrasives are more costly than others.
 
What do you have now?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QLOA28?tag=justinkhann07-20 this is my current stone bought it 2 years ago as a req from a kitchen guy i followed on youtube when i just started getting into knives. It has served me well but i dislike how soft it is as if i push to hard ive actually taken chunks out of the stone when ive had no issue on some of my coworkers stones still it does get my knives sharp. Biggest issue is how big it is as i travel around a lot (5 homes in the past year) and every pound makes a difference when traveling a lot.
 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QLOA28?tag=justinkhann07-20 this is my current stone bought it 2 years ago as a req from a kitchen guy i followed on youtube when i just started getting into knives. It has served me well but i dislike how soft it is as if i push to hard ive actually taken chunks out of the stone when ive had no issue on some of my coworkers stones still it does get my knives sharp. Biggest issue is how big it is as i travel around a lot (5 homes in the past year) and every pound makes a difference when traveling a lot.

Korin?

As for gouging the stone, that's the stone saying you're technique isn't up to par. Not trying to discourage you. You say it doesn't happen on your coworkers stones? What are they?
 
Korin?

As for gouging the stone, that's the stone saying you're technique isn't up to par. Not trying to discourage you. You say it doesn't happen on your coworkers stones? What are they?

My coworker has naniwa chosera stones 1000 and 3000 and ive had no issues with them still able to do the paper towel test when im done sharpening my knives on them
 
Hmmm, a combo stone where you're only supposed to soak one side?

"Soak the medium stone but never soak the fine (#6000) side"

Sounds strange to me, is that a thing?
 
Moving every 2 to 3 months? That may help define what is a good stone for you and help determine how to separate a stone in that suits your needs versus a stone that does not.

I would define a good stone as durable, high amount of abrasive and type of abrasive and the binder that holds the abrasive.

Without knowing the types of knives, steel or how you use your knives I would recommend a 1K splash and go. Which means anything between 800 and 1200, more or less. I dislike separating stones into beginner versus expert stones, with the exception of moving into expensive JNATs. Whatever your skill level, high-performance stone will suit you better than one that just does not work.

I would not shy away from any stone that is in your budget just because it’s not a beginner stone. Something like Shapton glass stones, or a stone that does not disintegrate or crack easily from being wet and drying.

I’ll look for a thread that I started just a little while ago where I was looking for stones for my kids who would favor S&G and I wanted stones that were not prone to cracking or disintegrating. I got a lot of awesome recommendations from the folks here.
 
Search out “Shapton Glass 500” My apologies I can’t seem to copy the link.

Even though the discussion is about 500 grit stones, there’s much that applies to the brand and type of 1K stones. Hope this helps just a little.
 
...I know king stones are recommended for beginners while other stones like shapton glass stones are recommended for people with a bit more experience but what exactly is the difference?
Stones like King are going to be slower cutting, faster dishing and softer than a stone like a Shapton. The King is still a decent stone that is capable of sharpening most steels it just might take a little longer than with other brands.
If size and weight are one of your biggest concerns because of moving/travel than Shapton Glass is your best option. I'd start with a 1k and 3-4k and add to them if you decide to later. Most knives don't need to see 6k+.
 
Stones like King are going to be slower cutting, faster dishing and softer than a stone like a Shapton. The King is still a decent stone that is capable of sharpening most steels it just might take a little longer than with other brands.
If size and weight are one of your biggest concerns because of moving/travel than Shapton Glass is your best option. I'd start with a 1k and 3-4k and add to them if you decide to later. Most knives don't need to see 6k+.

I recommend King for beginner's, at least the Deluxe series. It's soft enough to show when you're technique needs work (gouging). Soft enough to not load and easy to lap.
 
I recommend King for beginner's, at least the Deluxe series. It's soft enough to show when you're technique needs work (gouging). Soft enough to not load and easy to lap.
I understand but I also know guys that are very good sharpeners that have been at it for years that still use King Deluxe and like them. They are good stones for beginners but not just for beginners.
 
I'm not calling them bad or anything. I still use mine. Just something like Shapton isn't as easy to gouge, so it doesn't show you signs of bad technique. Just leaves the user wondering why they aren't getting good results.
Just saying for someone starting out, I'd recommend King. And the price isn't hard on the wallet.
 
I understand but I also know guys that are very good sharpeners that have been at it for years that still use King Deluxe and like them. They are good stones for beginners but not just for beginners.
I agree. I fairly regularly sharpen knives for friends of mine whom I equipped with a King KDS. In the hope that they will do the sharpening themselves. Except that they figure that I do it so much better than them, so I might as well keep doing it. Sometimes, I can't win :)

The King KDS is a fine stone, no complaints from me. Every time I use it, I like it. Really nice feel and feedback. Maybe a leeettle bit slower than my Cerax stones, but not so much that I get annoyed. And, value for money, the King KDS is a very good deal.
 
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I like the king 1k. The 6k side not so much. On the science of sharp blog he tested the 1k against many other stones including coarse dmt and 320 shapton. It was faster than everything but the 8k dmt. I find it plenty fast
 
That can’t be right… There must be something else going on there or some kind of misunderstanding

In the blog he qualifies it by saying "with light pressure" and acknowledges that the results change if you use higher pressure. Just people being people and taking information out of context.
 
I was not taking anything out of context. I was just saying that the King 1K isn't as bad as everyone goes on about
 
In the blog he qualifies it by saying "with light pressure" and acknowledges that the results change if you use higher pressure. Just people being people and taking information out of context.

Of course things change when you change the pressure. Why did you feel you needed a point this out in a way to insult me? If you press hard enough on a diamond plate it really slows down as it has no more diamonds left. Everyone will get different results all doing the same thing because everyone does things differently. Does that mean that one of those people are right and all the rest are wrong? The point of it is is that what I referred to was an actual scientific experiment done and he showed his results. I feel that's much more viable than someone's feelings
 
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