Whetstone for thinning. Recommendations.

Miura knives
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Perverockstar

Perverockstar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
Messages
282
Reaction score
236
Location
Sweden
Hello, people.

I have a Shun Premier Chefs Knife which has been my main tool for at least 10 years.

It requires a very serious thinning.

I have a JCK 400/1200 combination stone and it barely does a thing on it.

What are your recommendations for bringing my knife back to like?

What stone do you recommend?

Thank you.
 
Course sandpaper in a few different grits wrapped around your stone.

If you think you're going to do other knives and want a dedicated stone, I like a Norton Crystolon and then India Fine before going to my water stones.

I don't stress cosmetics much so can't help too much there.
 
Perverockstar said:
Hello, people.

I have a Shun Premier Chefs Knife which has been my main tool for at least 10 years.

It requires a very serious thinning.

I have a JCK 400/1200 combination stone and it barely does a thing on it.

What are your recommendations for bringing my knife back to like?

What stone do you recommend?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
3m pro grade or rhynowet redline sandpaper in grits 120 - 400 for thinning. To refinish, you can also use sandpaper starting from around 220, and finish depending on what you like. For a good balance of performance and aesthetics, I like 800 grit for a smooth brushed look that doesnt suffer from sticking issues.
 
Coarse sandpaper, 80-220ish range. I'd start at 120 most likely.

Sigma 240. Much better/less thirsty stone if you seal the sides and bottom.

Norton Crystolon Coarse (or Sharpening Supplies brand).

Following any of these options up with a Shapton Glass 500 will put you in a good position for finishing.
 
What would you seal the 240 with, if you are saving your one precious tube of Cashew lacquer, that you wonder if you can ever obtain again, for JNats?

Edit: I have a Shapton Pro 120, and it about screams to do this kind of work.
 
Rangen said:
Edit: I have a Shapton Pro 120, and it about screams to do this kind of work.
Click to expand...
Sure it's fast, but not good for stainless clad knives.. or at least my Sukenari ginsan. Unfortunately there's virtually no discussion about the different metals using in cladding and their impact on sharpening/thinning. But my experience was the SP120 created very deep scratches in the soft stainless cladding that I didn't have the patience to remove even with 80grit sandpaper.

I fourth the recommendation of using a sandpaper progression starting at 120grit
 
Epoxy works also.

PRO TIP:
Fold and cut paper to wrap around the bottom and sides of the stone.
Cover sharpening face of stone with painters tape.
Smear epoxy or spray shellac on paper liberally.
Apply epoxy or shellac lightly to the stone.
Wrap paper around stone.
Secure paper with a rubber band or whatever you feel like using.
Allow to dry overnight or however long is needed for curing.
Apply a layer of epoxy or shellac to the outside of paper.
Allow to dry or cure.
Remove tape from sharpening side.
 
I tried sandpaper for a while and didn't like it so went up a level in cost to a hardware store oilstone.

Are you looking for a single use solution?
 
It may seem like a lot of work to make a stone better. But in my opinion for removing a lot of metal NOW, it's worth it for the Sigma 240. Really helps to keep the stone "just working" and less finicky.
 
M1k3 said:
Epoxy works also.

PRO TIP:
Fold and cut paper to wrap around the bottom and sides of the stone.
Cover sharpening face of stone with painters tape.
Smear epoxy or spray shellac on paper liberally.
Apply epoxy or shellac lightly to the stone.
Wrap paper around stone.
Secure paper with a rubber band or whatever you feel like using.
Allow to dry overnight or however long is needed for curing.
Apply a layer of epoxy or shellac to the outside of paper.
Allow to dry or cure.
Remove tape from sharpening side.
Click to expand...
Oh I dont even use paper. Just protect the sharpening face with painter's tape, then do a really light coat of spray shellac on the sides to seal. Wait a few hours to dry, then apply additional coats, repeat 4-5 times. The reason I don't go heavy on the initial coat is so that the stone doesnt end up sucking up a whole ton of shellac. Instead, whatever ends up on the outside will dry and make the stone less permeable for subsequent layers.
 
If you choose sandpaper I recommend 3M Pro Grade Precision with Cubitron II. I find it superior to both black silicon carbide WetOrDry and Indasa Rhynowet Redline paper. The non-slip backing makes it easy to use without tape, glue, or clamps, and it lasts longer than other paper.

For a stone I am pleased with the Zandstra FOSS 7205 speed skating stone that HeavyHanded on Bladeforums recommend. It is a two grit stone and can be used with water or oil. It is aggressive without wearing overly fast.
 
tostadas said:
3m pro grade or rhynowet redline sandpaper in grits 120 - 400 for thinning.
Click to expand...

I see you've used both of these as well. For thinning (rather than finishing) I found the 3M Pro Grade Precision paper notably superior. What has been your experience?
 
Mr.Wizard said:
I see you've used both of these as well. For thinning (rather than finishing) I found the 3M Pro Grade Precision paper notably superior. What has been your experience?
Click to expand...
They both wear out really fast. I have more of the 3m because I can buy it locally. But for each one, I split a whole sheet into 3 (approx size of my atoma plate). And for each piece, I can do maybe 2 passes on each side of a knife before the paper is basically spent. If I use 1 piece each of 120, 220, 400, I can remove up to about 0.1mm behind the edge of a knife, depending on steel.
 
@tostadas How many strokes per pass would you estimate? How many minutes of work? I haven't bought paper in a while and I hope they haven't cheapened it.
 
I've been using my Atoma diamond plate #140 recently to do some serious thinning on a beater knife. I typically use the Atoma for stone flattening but it seems to work quickly. It does leave a pretty serious scratch pattern that needs to be cleaned up with a finer grit but it does seem to work.
 
Instead of creating a new thread, i think it's better to ask a question here on this related topic. Hope the OP doesn't mind.

I'm very new to knife thinning. I thined stainless steel knife once before (just to gain some experience) using 1000 grit and natural stone. I didn't have any lower grit stone at that time. Recently, i just got 220 grit stone (Lobster by Naniwa). Used it on a few stainless steel knife before but not thinning no problem. When i try to thin my high carbon steel with it ... I found that stone surface become really smooth and no longer bite in about 5-10 mins of thinning. So i have to use diamond plate to bring the biting ability back. Is this normal? If not what could it be the reason? My skill or the stone? Thanks in advance
 
Facelessman said:
Instead of creating a new thread, i think it's better to ask a question here on this related topic. Hope the OP doesn't mind.

I'm very new to knife thinning. I thined stainless steel knife once before (just to gain some experience) using 1000 grit and natural stone. I didn't have any lower grit stone at that time. Recently, i just got 220 grit stone (Lobster by Naniwa). Used it on a few stainless steel knife before but not thinning no problem. When i try to thin my high carbon steel with it ... I found that stone surface become really smooth and no longer bite in about 5-10 mins of thinning. So i have to use diamond plate to bring the biting ability back. Is this normal? If not what could it be the reason? My skill or the stone? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Try soaking the stone for 10-15 minutes at least.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
@tostadas How many strokes per pass would you estimate? How many minutes of work? I haven't bought paper in a while and I hope they haven't cheapened it.
Click to expand...
Hard to say because I don't necessarily count, and I'll focus more in some areas with more pressure than others. If I were to throw out a wild guess, maybe 40 or 50 per pass? I go slow to make sure not to remove too much material and kill a portion of the edge, especially at the lower grits. I'll spend maybe 1 to 1.5hr for a thinning session, but that would include higher grits to refinish so I can compare apples to apples, before and after. On some knives, I've gone back 3 or 4 more times until I got the result I wanted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pie
tostadas said:
They both wear out really fast. I have more of the 3m because I can buy it locally. But for each one, I split a whole sheet into 3 (approx size of my atoma plate). And for each piece, I can do maybe 2 passes on each side of a knife before the paper is basically spent.
Click to expand...

Sandpaper definitely loses some bite after the first few passes but it still cuts fairly well.

It almost seems as though it behaves as though it's a finer grit than advertised after the first half dozen passes.

Or maybe it was a coaresr than advertised grit during those passes?

80 grit will still remove a fair bit of metal, even after a couple of hundred passes. Just not as much as in those first few passes.

You do need to add a bit of water from time to time or it seems to load up a bit.
 
Nemo said:
Sandpaper definitely loses some bite after the first few passes but it still cuts fairly well.

It almost seems as though it behaves as though it's a finer grit than advertised after the first half dozen passes.

Or maybe it was a coaresr than advertised grit during those passes?

80 grit will still remove a fair bit of metal, even after a couple of hundred passes. Just not as much as in those first few passes.

You do need to add a bit of water from time to time or it seems to load up a bit.
Click to expand...
Yea I'll admit, my guesstimate could be way off. Takeaway would be that sandpaper is very effective but needs to be replaced often if you want to keep cutting at the fastest rate.
 
tomsch said:
I've been using my Atoma diamond plate #140 recently to do some serious thinning on a beater knife. I typically use the Atoma for stone flattening but it seems to work quickly. It does leave a pretty serious scratch pattern that needs to be cleaned up with a finer grit but it does seem to work.
Click to expand...

I was recommended this plate in a FB group.

I would like something that does not require a lot of preparation. Something that would just let me to set and go would be great.

Of course, I have no issues on polishing the sides after thinning the blade.

For the people recommending sand paper. What would be the process?

This is the very first time I'm thinning a knife. Of course, besides already trying doing it on the 400 side of my combination stone...
 
I like my Nano Hone 200. It is splash and go, and it works well for me. The grit is much more consistent than my Gesshin 220 (pink brick). I found that if I used a lot of pressure, the Gesshin 220 would leave deep scratches that would take a long time to get out, where using the same amount of pressure with the Nano Hone 200 would not leave deep scratches. The Gesshin 220 is a good stone, and I have used almost all of mine (I only have 1-2 mm left), but I think that I will just use the Nano Hone 200 in the future instead of replacing the Gesshin 220.
 
mrmoves92 said:
I like my Nano Hone 200. It is splash and go, and it works well for me. The grit is much more consistent than my Gesshin 220 (pink brick). I found that if I used a lot of pressure, the Gesshin 220 would leave deep scratches that would take a long time to get out, where using the same amount of pressure with the Nano Hone 200 would not leave deep scratches. The Gesshin 220 is a good stone, and I have used almost all of mine (I only have 1-2 mm left), but I think that I will just use the Nano Hone 200 in the future instead of replacing the Gesshin 220.
Click to expand...
I second the NanoHone 200, IMO it is the best in the range. Very fast, and will erase aroma 140 scratches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top