What whetstone is good for kitchen knifes!

[TheknifeNooob]

Any recommendations for a beginner I want to sharpen kitchen knives and steak knives I got a Wolfgang puck set it’s not my mine it’s my parents just regular standard kitchen knives I want to sharpen I’ve been reading around but I wanted to get some insight from the pros I was thinking to get the Shapton 500 grit glass first then finish it off with the 1000 and then 8000 but if you have any other great suggestions like the 1000 being too slow what else grit would you recommend faster sharping instead of the 1000 I’m guessing I have soft stainless Steel knifes I’d highly appreciate it I was thinking start with 500 first 1000 second and 8000 third thank you in advance have a great rest of your day people!!

 

[refcast]

Yeah shapton glass 500 is great to start. I often find 1000 grit a little too slow for sharpening very dull knives that have never been serviced.

 

[TheknifeNooob]

Yeah shapton glass 500 is great to start. I often find 1000 grit a little too slow for sharpening very dull knives that have never been serviced.

What would be better to replace the 1000? And thanks for the reply!

 

[refcast]

As a single stone -- 500 grit would be the best for very very dull knives. For a final edge, that's whatever you'd want! I actually do, indeed finish at 1000 grit for cheap stainless, but if I had to have only one stone it would be the 500 grit. I would avoid the 8000 grit, but up to you. 8000 grit is something mainly for show, or fun I guess. Razors? Woodworking tools? That sort of stuff it seems to help reduce friction. 3000-4000 grit would work better than 8000 grit, but again, you'll see what you like as you sharpen and use more. But those two, 500, 1000 grit are a good place to start.

 

[TheknifeNooob]

As a single stone -- 500 grit would be the best for very very dull knives. For a final edge, that's whatever you'd want! I actually do, indeed finish at 1000 grit for cheap stainless, but if I had to have only one stone it would be the 500 grit. I would avoid the 8000 grit, but up to you. 8000 grit is something mainly for show, or fun I guess. Razors? Woodworking tools? That sort of stuff it seems to help reduce friction. 3000-4000 grit would work better than 8000 grit, but again, you'll see what you like as you sharpen and use more. But those two, 500, 1000 grit are a good place to start.

Appreciate the feedback I hope you have a great day appreciate the great info and knowledge!!

 

[Benuser]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm not familiar with Wolfgang Puck knives, and about the steel their site only gives some marketing speak, as "premium carbon stainless¨. Which makes me suppose it's Krupp's 4116 as used by the major German names. Nothing wrong with it, but you better not go very high in grit, as it doesn´t hold a high polish. When sharpening a Wüsthof or Zwilling for friends, I use the SG320 if shameless dull, and the SG500. Finishing, which in this case means the last deburring, with a slightly higher, in the 800-1000 area. Recently I had very good results with the Naniwa Diamond 1k which is less refined than the name suggests.

 

[jedy617]

Bro please, some commas and or periods

But yeah even 500 grit is fine if you want to save money

 

[TheknifeNooob]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm not familiar with Wolfgang Puck knives, and about the steel their site only gives some marketing speak, as "premium carbon stainless¨. Which makes me suppose it's Krupp's 4116 as used by the major German names. Nothing wrong with it, but you better not go very high in grit, as it doesn´t hold a high polish. When sharpening a Wüsthof or Zwilling for friends, I use the SG320 if shameless dull, and the SG500. Finishing, which in this case means the last deburring, with a slightly higher, in the 800-1000 area. Recently I had very good results with the Naniwa Diamond 1k which is less refined than the name suggests.

So when you say SG which brand are you referring to? So for kitchen knives. You would recommend 320 500 and then 1000 so in this range don’t go higher than a 1000 I just wanna make them super sharp appreciate that response have a awesome day!

 

[stringer]

So when you say SG which brand are you referring to? So for kitchen knives. You would recommend 320 500 and then 1000 so in this range don’t go higher than a 1000 I just wanna make them super sharp appreciate that response have a awesome day!

SG = Shapton Glass

You can definitely go higher than 1k but if your knife is banging against a board it will lose that super keenness pretty quick. Higher grit stones are less forgiving for technique errors if you don't hit the angles right. But they also make deburring easier. There are always tradeoffs. And a million different strategies. If I was just starting off I would get a Shapton Glass 500 and a Shapton Glass or Pro (whichever you can find cheaper) 2000. That's a nice one-two punch that covers most bases.

 

[TheknifeNooob]

SG = Shapton Glass

You can definitely go higher than 1k but if your knife is banging against a board it will lose that super keenness pretty quick. Higher grit stones are less forgiving for technique errors if you don't hit the angles right. But they also make deburring easier. There are always tradeoffs. And a million different strategies. If I was just starting off I would get a Shapton Glass 500 and a Shapton Glass or Pro (whichever you can find cheaper) 2000. That's a nice one-two punch that covers most bases.

Ok SG means Shapton Glass got it! So you’re saying just grab the 500 Shapton glass and the 2000 I just wanna make sure I got that right. So just the 500 grit and 2000 grit and I should be fine with those 2 grits when sharpening kitchen knives yeah I heard the finer of the grit the less pressure you should put on the blade and put light pressure when using a finer grit. Makes total sense thank you!

 

[stringer]

Ok SG means Shapton Glass got it! So you’re saying just grab the 500 Shapton glass and the 2000 I just wanna make sure I got that right. So just the 500 grit and 2000 grit and I should be fine with those 2 grits when sharpening kitchen knives yeah I heard the finer of the grit the less pressure you should put on the blade and put light pressure when using a finer grit. Makes total sense thank you!

Yes, with just those two you will be equipped with everything you need. Whether you will stop after that is up to you.

 

[Legion74]

I like the combo of a SG500, and then a quick polish with a natural stone. Belgian Blues work pretty well for kitchen knives, and they are relatively inexpensive and available.

 

[mengwong]

If you want to save a few bucks you could go for the RockStar series, same 500/2000 grits

SG = https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/shapton-glassstone-hr-series

RS = https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/shapton-rock-star-stone

You can flatten the stones against each other but at some point an Atoma 140 might appear in your shopping cart.

See also category 6 in
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rs76...uide.pdf?rlkey=gl1pf80sx9ksdnk82udy3f74v&dl=0

 

[TheknifeNooob]

If you want to save a few bucks you could go for the RockStar series, same 500/2000 grits

SG = https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/shapton-glassstone-hr-series

RS = https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/shapton-rock-star-stone

You can flatten the stones against each other but at some point an Atoma 140 might appear in your shopping cart.

See also category 6 in
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rs76...uide.pdf?rlkey=gl1pf80sx9ksdnk82udy3f74v&dl=0

Can you tell me more about the Atoma it’s a diamond stone right? If I just got that would it replace the SG 500 and 2000?

 

[rickbern]

Can you tell me more about the Atoma it’s a diamond stone right? If I just got that would it replace the SG 500 and 2000?

No, the atoma is usually used to flatten the stones, make them more effective. For the purposes of this discussion you’d never use them for a knife. @mengwong was saying rub the stones against each other to keep them both flat but eventually you may buy the atoma as it’s more convenient.

I have the shapton rockstar 500/2000 combo. I agree, that would work well for a starter set.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

So when you say SG which brand are you referring to? So for kitchen knives. You would recommend 320 500 and then 1000 so in this range don’t go higher than a 1000 I just wanna make them super sharp appreciate that response have a awesome day!

Don't misunderstand @Benuser's suggestion. I believe he'll tell you it is specific to soft stainless.

As we discussed in PM's, getting soft stainless "super sharp" can be challenging. Well, depending on your definition I guess. But keeping it super sharp isn't feasible so there's no point in going to higher grits. The steel just can't hold those edges.

If these are the only kind of knives you're interested in sharpening, I sill think a Work Sharp powered sharpener is a good choice. For bench stones, I'd first recommend something like a DMT DuoSharp. Probably a coarse/fine combo but just a coarse if having to choose. Another bonus here is you don't have to worry about flattening.

If you want to stick to water stones, then I'd probably go with a Shapton Pro 320 (Glass 320 should be fine too, just never used one).

For reference, I rarely take soft stainless past a 300 grit diamond and then whatever stropping I decide to do at the time.

Now, if you want to have a more versatile arsenal for expanding into carbons and harder stainless steels then some more variety might be a better choice.

 

[TheknifeNooob]

Don't misunderstand @Benuser's suggestion. I believe he'll tell you it is specific to soft stainless.

As we discussed in PM's, getting soft stainless "super sharp" can be challenging. Well, depending on your definition I guess. But keeping it super sharp isn't feasible so there's no point in going to higher grits. The steel just can't hold those edges.

If these are the only kind of knives you're interested in sharpening, I sill think a Work Sharp powered sharpener is a good choice. For bench stones, I'd first recommend something like a DMT DuoSharp. Probably a coarse/fine combo but just a coarse if having to choose. Another bonus here is you don't have to worry about flattening.

If you want to stick to water stones, then I'd probably go with a Shapton Pro 320 (Glass 320 should be fine too, just never used one).

For reference, I rarely take soft stainless past a 300 grit diamond and then whatever stropping I decide to do at the time.

Now, if you want to have a more versatile arsenal for expanding into carbons and harder stainless steels then some more variety might be a better choice.

Appreciate the valuable info yeah I’m thinking about the shapton rockstar 500/2000 combo but I might get a 300 glass stone now just thinking about it the coarser the better for these steak knives these are the ones I want to sharpen

 

[MittenMan]

So far I've had great results using my Shapton Pro 320. Been able to get my stainless knives shaving sharp with it. I've got a 1000 on its way, but it keeps getting delayed sadly. I'd recommend going with the 320/1000 as a starter kit and building out your arsenal from there.

Good luck!

 

[mengwong]

Sure, half an octave won’t make much difference, 320/1000 and 500/2000 are both fine to start out with, and in a few months you’ll know just what to say to Santa!

 

[pavhav]

Or this deal right here:

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/two-synthetic-stones-and-naniwa-flattening-stone.73749/

 

[TheknifeNooob]

Sure, half an octave won’t make much difference, 320/1000 and 500/2000 are both fine to start out with, and in a few months you’ll know just what to say to Santa!

I’ll buy it right now but which brand do you recommend I buy and what abrasive the glass SG’s let me know thanks in advance?

 

[Rangen]

I’ll buy it right now but which brand do you recommend I buy and what abrasive the glass SG’s let me know thanks in advance?

The mention of 320 grit, along with the prior context, makes it clear that he was talking about Shapton Glass stones. These are my favorite synthetic non-diamond stone line, and my favorite synthetic stone line, period, for carbon steel, non-supersteel knives. They use an aluminum oxide abrasive.

 

[aporigine]

Sure, half an octave won’t make much difference, 320/1000 and 500/2000 are both fine to start out with, and in a few months you’ll know just what to say to Santa!

Complete with rude gesture!

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Appreciate the valuable info yeah I’m thinking about the shapton rockstar 500/2000 combo but I might get a 300 glass stone now just thinking about it the coarser the better for these steak knives these are the ones I want to sharpenView attachment 346922

You should probably temper your expectations. You're not going to sharpen those serrated knives on bench stones. The one with the grape handle or whatever it is probably won't sharpen at all. I suspect it will be very soft steel. The top chef's knife is doable but the long finger guard complicates things.

 

[Rangen]

FWIW, I sharpen knives with larger serrations, like the two bottom ones, with a tapering diamond file made by Lansky. Sharpening them with a flat stone won't accomplish much (I've tried that). You need to sharpen the bevel that lives in each scallop, and the points that lie between them.

Knives with fine serrations, like the grape handle one, I regard as decorative or disposable once they will no longer cut cheese.

 

[mengwong]

Sharpening them with a flat stone won't accomplish much (I've tried that). You need to sharpen the bevel that lives in each scallop, and the points that lie between them.

When I was last confronted with scallop serrations on very soft stainless, I used the Atoma 140 to round the corners of my SG stones. I managed to rebevel and deburr acceptably, but I felt like a sicko the whole time.

Anyway,

Don't overthink it too much though. For the most part all of these stones are going to be able to fulfil your needs