What stone line up are you using these days?

[Dave Martell]

Please post what your favorite stones are that you're using today.

 

[mattrud]

dmt xxc
dmt xc
beston 500
bester 1200
rika 5k
kitayama
jks 10k
imanishi 10k
felt block
felt pad
textured leather strop loaded with .25 diamond oxide

the order and that i will use will vary depending on knife, task it will be used for, work needed during sharpening.

I rarely use the dmt except for flattening. most knives i take all the way up through the progression, usually starting at either the 1.2k or the rika, I only use one of my 10k stones, most often the JKS stone. finish on strop, and i use the felt between each stone.

 

[obtuse]

Right now I'm using a Beston 500, Bester 1k, Naniwa SS 5k, Kitayama 8k, JKS 10k for my double bevel knives. I've been playing with the Naniwa Green Brick 2k and either replacing the Bester 1k and naniwa 5k, or ending on it entirely for a toothsome edge. I always strop with diamond loaded felt and finish with boron carbide loaded balsa. That's my current line up and I've been happy with it. I like the beston and bester because of their hardness and speed. I like the Naniwa 2k because I can go right from the beston 500 to a near mirror polish and it works up a nice mud. The Kitayama is on of the first stones I purchased and I love the way it feels and the hazy finish it leaves. I like the JKS 10k because I feel it's an easy stone to use (not to hard, not too soft) and it leaves a wicked sharp edge when I'm done.

 

[99Limited]

I'm using a DMT 8XXC, Beston 500, Bester 1.2k, Naniwa 3k, Arashiyama 6k and Naniwa Snow White 8k. I just got my Snow White today and after running some knives over it, I'm thinking wow what a great polish job. I also strop my knives with 1 micron boron carbide on balsa, .5 micron chromium oxide on leather and a clean leather strop. I also have a few mini diamond sharpeners I use to knock the glaze off some of my stones and help build a slurry.

I was thinking about getting a 10k stone but I'm going to need to solicit some advice first. Having acquired my Snow White I not sure I'd gain anything with a 10k stone.

 

[Jim]

Generally I approach my double and single bevels differently. The knives stay sharp so long with quick touch up on the bench strops I may forget!



Here is my bullpen-

• DMT XXC
• Bestor 500
• King 800x
• Mizuyama 1000
• Synthetic "Blue" Aoto 2000
• Suehiro Rika 5000
• Kitayama 8000
• JKS 10000
• Felt and leather bench strops

For double bevel knives I usually start with the 500 to see where I am at with the bevel.

It would go like this -

• Bestor 500
• Mizuyama 1000
• Suehiro Rika 5000
• Kitayama 8000
• JKS 10000
• Felt and leather bench strops

I use a felt block between each stone.
For the Takeda and and sometimes the Hiro I add the Synthetic "Blue" Aoto 2000 to the mix. The Takeda really shine with that stone.

For the Single bevel Knives I have had good luck with this line up-

• King 800x
• Synthetic "Blue" Aoto 2000
• Suehiro Rika 5000
• Kitayama 8000
• JKS 10000
• Back to the Suehiro Rika 5000
  
• Kitayama 8000
• JKS 10000
• Felt and leather bench strops

(Carefully) cut into the felt block each stone.

While far, far from an expert, I have had some very good luck with this line up.

 

[jaybett]

I am the proud owner of the Dave Martell Junior Knife Sharpening kit. It came complete with DMT XXC, Beston 500, Bester 1200, Suehiro Rika 5000, Arashimaya 6000, and a Naniwa SS 10000. Also included in this fabulous package, was a felt block, felt pad, and leather strop, with base. The only thing missing is a shirt telling me, how smart I am!

Even though I'd like to expand my Junior Knife Sharpening kit. I am not sure about the value of picking up a Aoto or Kitayama, since I've yet to venture into single bevel knives. I do need to pick up a nagura for the higher grit stones.

I am curious if the new strops that Dave sales would work on a HA base? I'm also curious about stropping on balsa?

Jay

 

[Jim]

Balsa is so cheap it would be silly not to give it a try, hobby shops carry it.

 

[monty]

Most of the sharpening I do is on western knives. That's what folks have around here. If the edge is o.k., I start with 1000 Bester then move to a 5000 Suerhiro Rika and finish with a Takenodo 8000x. I use the felt pad between each stone and finish with the leather strop with spray. I use a beston 500 if I need to deal with chips or if there is no discernable edge (amazing how long folks go without getting knives sharpened!!)

On my Japanese knives (only have 2 right now and I'll probably destroy them, I sharpen them so much!!), I use the same progression but my last stone is a Naniwa SS 10,000.

I would like to try something between my 1000 and 5000x. Ideas? I don't feel like I NEED a stone between 1000 and 5000 but I'd love to add another stone for the pure enjoyment of adding a little time to each session. I would also like to try Jon's new 15,0000x stone as well. So many stones, so little scratch!

 

[Crazy Cutter]

DMT XXC, Chosera 400, 1000, 3000, 5000.

Boroscilicate and fine ceramic rods for honing inbetween stone sessions.

I've also got a felt block and have just got some amazing results from leather strops I also have.

I would like to get a 10000 stone and go straight from the 5000 to that.

I was going to get a JKS 10000 a while back but sadly Dave stopped selling them before I could get one.....

Jim

 

[shankster]

DMT XC
Sugimoto 1000
Arashiyama 6K
Old belt + Veritas stropping compound
Wine bottle cork to de-burr

 

[tk59]

I'm always experimenting but at the moment I find I (and my wife) like splash n go stones. I use a 1k SS (soon to be replaced by Gesshin 1k splash n go) followed by Gesshin 5k splash n go (which is awesome but seems a little slow on pm steels), 0.5 Chromium Oxide on flesh-side leather strop and finished on unloaded, smooth bovine. When I want to get fancy, I go to 12k SS, 20k Gesshin (against Jon's recommendation, I might add. he says it's too hard and too fine. whatever. =P) and either 0.25 diamond or 0.125 CBN on Dave's strop and again, finishing on unloaded, smooth bovine.

 

[joec]

Shapton glass stones that I have now for 2 years.

 

[unkajonet]

It varies. Sometimes, it's the "classic": Bester 1200, Rika 5k, 10k SS, Kitayama 8k
Current favorite: Gessshin 1k, 5k, 10k SS. And then either a Takashima Awasedo (jnat), or the 20k Gesshin. The JKI lineup, I guess?
Both lineups finished off with .25 dupont diamond spray on Dave's leather hone. Oh, and felt pads and blocks used in the regular spots between stones.

 

[Darkhoek]

The line-up depends on which knife i am to sharpen. My most frequently used rocks, however, are:
#500 Shapton professional - Ground work all steels
#1000 Shapton professional - Ground work softer steels and SS
#1500 White aluminum oxide (WA) - Ground work Honyaki and other hard steels HRC 62+
#5000 White aluminum oxide (WA) - Finishing work SS, pre finisher kanna and chisels
JNAT Aizu - Medium sharpener SS and Honyaki
JNAT Aoto - Medium+ sharpener all steels, finishing on SS kitchen knives
JNAT Oohira Asagi - Prepolisher all steels, finisher for most kitchen knives
JNAT Nakayama Aka-pin - Prepolisher/ finisher hard steels
JNAT Nakayama Karasu - Finisher all steels
JNAT Takashima Myokakudani - Prepolisher/ finisher all steels, especially Honyaki and harder kasumi style
JNAT Hakka - Finisher Honyaki
JNAT Oohira Shiro Suita - Ultra sharpener (secondary micro bevel and honing) for my hardest steel yanagibas, Honyaki, White#1, Blue#1

In addition i experiment with other stones on different steels in my growing selection of rocks.
See more at http://*****************.com

DARKHoeK

 

[dreamsignals]

quite daunting seeing all this. i'm still rocking my king 1k/6k combo that i got for like $20 on a woodworker sale.

 

[goatgolfer]

I am the proud owner of the Dave Martell Junior Knife Sharpening kit. It came complete with DMT XXC, Beston 500, Bester 1200, Suehiro Rika 5000, Arashimaya 6000, and a Naniwa SS 10000. Also included in this fabulous package, was a felt block, felt pad, and leather strop, with base. The only thing missing is a shirt telling me, how smart I am!
Jay

I got the newbie D_Man kit: DMT XXC, Beston 500, Bester 1200, Suehiro Rika 5000, felt pad and magic baby blue spray and..wait for it.. the tojiro pro sink stone holder. No t-shirt but I got the DVD.

 

[aser]

dmt xxc (flattening)
peacock 120 (tip repairs)
masahiro 600 (JCK mini stone)
bester 1200
synthetic aoto
arashiyama 6000
wine cork
newspaper

would like to get a proper strop one day.

 

[apicius9]

I may be the first one to get banned from here for saying this, but I really don't like sharpening. Some of my knives look pretty but the edges are in pitiful shape. But since I am pretty much done with spending my time looking at knives I need to have - did I mention that I am done buying knives? - I have high intentions to dedicate more time to this. Still a bit grudgingly, buy maybe the appetite comes with eating. As for my stones, I will have whatever Dave sends me in the next box - I keep forgetting, but I trust him - plus a few Shapton glass stones, a Kitayama that has still not been used at least 3 years after buying it, and a set of strops. Well, those I do use to some extent. The easiest at this point would be to just fly Dave and his stones in and go through my blocks for a few days. Gotta buy a lottery ticket this week...

Stefan

 

[Cadillac J]

staples: Chosera 600---Bester 1200---Naniwa SS 5000

deburr/strop: felt/1 mic diamond---leather/0.5 mic chromium

shits and giggles: Naniwa SS 10,000

A-cups(flatteners): DMT XXC & XC

 

[K-Fed]

For me it really varies for each knife based on steel, use, and the time that I've got to spend doing it. Lately for all my carbon knives I've been using the Bester 1.2k, natural aoto, and an un-identified Jnat that comes in somewhere around the 8-10k range and leaves a pretty nice misty finish. It does have however a few rogue particles in it so it's not perfect. For the stainless as of late i've been using the beston 500, bester 1.2k, rika, and the chosera 5k and for most applications just stop there, but do if the bug bites me, take it through with the kitiyama and JKS10k. and strop on either balsa or leather with either 1/3 micron CrOx, or 1/8 micron CBN.

 

[Citizen Snips]

single:
beston 500
bester 1200
rika 5k

double:
beston 500
blue aoto 2k
arashiyama 6k

yanagi:
bester 1200
blue aoto 2k
arashiyama 6k
kitayama 8k

i have a leather strop and a CrO2 loaded felt strop that i have stopped using via jons advice. i figured i would give it a try and found that putting the right microbevel is much more effective in a professional kitchen setting. if i were to shave with my kitchen knife (which i have done with success) i would strop but i find that edge retention is more important than overall sharpness for the first 15 minutes. i do keep the leather strop at work and because it has the magnet on the back i can put it on the work table and strop if i need to. because i dont believe in metal honing steels, this is a great alternative now that my wife has taken my ceramic mac honing rod to work with her.

 

[Darkhoek]

I may be the first one to get banned from here for saying this, but I really don't like sharpening. Some of my knives look pretty but the edges are in pitiful shape. But since I am pretty much done with spending my time looking at knives I need to have - did I mention that I am done buying knives? - I have high intentions to dedicate more time to this. Still a bit grudgingly, buy maybe the appetite comes with eating. As for my stones, I will have whatever Dave sends me in the next box - I keep forgetting, but I trust him - plus a few Shapton glass stones, a Kitayama that has still not been used at least 3 years after buying it, and a set of strops. Well, those I do use to some extent. The easiest at this point would be to just fly Dave and his stones in and go through my blocks for a few days. Gotta buy a lottery ticket this week...

Stefan

Haha. I am the exact opposite To me sharpening is some kind of a meditation act. Whenever my work in the Norwegian Armed Forces frustrates me and gets my shorts all twisted (almost on a daily basis), I pull out a couple of my stones and a knife or two when I get home and sharpen for half an hour or more, depending on the tightness of the "twist". I go straight in to some kind of a zen-like state and come out a better man and with insanely sharp knives I need to buy a couple of inexpensive knives pretty soon so I don't wear down my good ones prematurely.

DarkHoek

 

[tk59]

Haha. I am the exact opposite To me sharpening is some kind of a meditation act. Whenever my work in the Norwegian Armed Forces frustrates me and gets my shorts all twisted (almost on a daily basis), I pull out a couple of my stones and a knife or two when I get home and sharpen for half an hour or more, depending on the tightness of the "twist". I go straight in to some kind of a zen-like state and come out a better man and with insanely sharp knives I need to buy a couple of inexpensive knives pretty soon so I don't wear down my good ones prematurely.

DarkHoek

Now that's something i can relate to!

 

[Adamm]

My stones are
Dmt xxc (use for flatening only)
bester 500
bester 1200
arashma 6000
naniwa 10000 superstone

plus leather strops

 

[UglyJoe]

Right now I'm using the Beston 500 for rough jobs (flattening, etc). I set bevels with King 1000 and finish with King 6000, then Dave's strop kit (diamond on leather). Oh, and I use felt strop/block between each stone. I like the edges I get a lot from this lineup, but not the polish itself, which probably has just as much to do with my techniques as it does with the stones. Still, I am considering adding a finer stone to the mix, something I hope I can work with to get a nicer looking finish and maybe as a "stone dust" polish for the sides of the knife. I've thought about the Kitayama 8000, but I've read this stone is particularly finicky as regards to the previous stones in the lineup. The other possibility is the Takenoko. I'd like to get a good finishing stone without having to replace my King 1000/6000 stones, at least not right away. What would you guys who have used all these stones do?

 

[deanb]

DMT XXC
DMT XC
Shapton Pro 1K, 5K, 8K, and 12K
Various strops

Works fine.

 

[mainaman]

600 Chosera
1k Chosera
1k King

Amakusa red and white
Aizu
Hakka
Nakayama Asagi
Shobudani Tomae
Oohira Suita
Oozuku Tomae

 

[Dave Martell]

I always enjoy seeing what combinations of stones people are using.

 

[cannibal]

bester 1200
rika 5k
chromium oxide charged leather
cork from a lost abbey beer bottle(judgement day) for deburr

i use progressively less and less pressure on the rika until i'm pretty much just using the knife's weight on the stone, then i'll give it a few strops on the rika before switching to the leather strop (picked up leather free from a fabric store, they were getting rid of sample swatches)
I've used a friend's 10k and i get more of a polished edge, but i prefer the bite left from stropping after the rika. maybe i'm doing something wrong on the 10k? what i really like about this setup is that it travels easy.

 

[chazmtb]

Beston 500
King 1000
JKS Synthetic Aoto 2000-3000
Kitayama 8000
JKS 10000
.25 micron diamond spray on leather
Unloaded leather.