Whetstones

Shop Knives and stones on ebay
Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
Advertise with us
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

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

reapernazara

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
I have never done any sharpening in my life. I bought, what I consider, a fairly nice knife. It cut really well and really thin with little effort, it's about a year or so old now and is incredibly dull. I would preferably like to start out spending about $50 for a whetstone if I could, I would go up to $100 if it's necessary. I don't want to spend a lot because I don't know if I'll actually keep doing it or tire of the effort it takes to sharpen knives.

I need to be led by the hand here, I know pretty much nothing about whetstones, except that you use them to sharpen blades.
Thank you.
 
Hi,
as survival kit I would see a synthetic stone #1000.
This is fine enough for many kitchen tasks and fast enough to „repair“ your dull blade.
I like the AI#1000 in this range for example.


btw if your knife were in new or healthy condition I would have adviced a #2000 grit stone as single stone.
 
I'm going to suggest the Atoma 1200 grit diamond plate. It's very fast which makes it easy to keep the edge in good shape and you can also do small repairs with it. Finish with light strokes using only the weight of the knife and you'll have a very aggressive edge. Another plus is that it never needs flattening. It's the best one stop sharpening solution imo.
 
a #2000 and then a #8000.
A diamond plate is convenient to keep the stones flat, take a coarse one. And a couple of finer ones to repair chipped blades.
There is no good set without some uchigumoris and suitas.
A fine Nakayama is a must-have too. Once you have it you can get a razor.

and so on..
 
I wouldn't say a fine stone is absolutely necessary. Strop on news paper after the Atoma 1200 and you'll have a razor sharp edge.
 
nutmeg said:
a #2000 and then a #8000.
A diamond plate is convenient to keep the stones flat, take a coarse one. And a couple of finer ones to repair chipped blades.
There is no good set without some uchigumoris and suitas.
A fine Nakayama is a must-have too. Once you have it you can get a razor.

and so on..
Click to expand...

Hah! Way to thrown the man down the rabbit hole before he has even begun.
 
At minimum you need something like a 1000 grit stone and a way to keep that stone flat.

I have been advised by friends to just buy a decent stone because starter stones will be replaced quickly. I didn’t take that advice. You might want to pick up a cheaper blade to practice on befor you sharpen /scratch a nicer blade.

I am still learning and watching YouTube videos from Ken Schwartz and Peter Nowlan.
 
You undoubtedly have a bunch of knives that can use thinning. King 300 course stone shipped to your door for about $25. Iminishi 1k-6k combination stone, about $60
 
Reaper, the reason you’re getting responses that are all over the map is that everyone has a different idea of what a pretty nice knife means. Different answers for Japanese vs German for sure

What kind of knife are you trying to sharpen?
 
Most importantly i think is to keep at it. Sharpening a knife can become second nature after a short period of time. Most people sharpen their own pencils, knives really don’t have to be thought of any differently.
 
Most would guide you to get 1000 grit and 6000 grit stones. That's the most recommended approach and I see no reason it would't work for you.

To make your life easier the Sigma Select II 1000/6000 combo stone might be a good idea. They are very fast and could make the intro to sharpening more pleasing. Tread carefully though. With a fast stone you'll get results.. well... faster, that's good and bad results. So make sure your doing things right.
 
rickbern said:
Reaper, the reason you’re getting responses that are all over the map is that everyone has a different idea of what a pretty nice knife means. Different answers for Japanese vs German for sure

What kind of knife are you trying to sharpen?
Click to expand...

that would be helpful to know
 
It's a Ludwig Schiff 8" chef knife. I had to do some research to find out what it was. I also don't tend to respond during the day, im a night shift worker so hopefully I'm sleeping during the day normally.

I also had no idea that it mattered what kind of knife you had. I thought that a whetstone was a whetstone and would sharpen any kind of knife as effectively as another.
 
With a 1K stone you won't have anything to remove the burr. If you can't remove the burr you'll never have a great edge. I'd get a stone in the 3-4K range. With a finer stone it'll be easier for you to learn how to find the optimal angle where the bevel is flat against the stone. Then use the same fine stone to deburr by stropping. Getting a quality combo stone isn't a bad idea either.
 
Get a 1k/2k (eg, shapton JDM stones).

You want to learn on something that cuts properly,
and FAST so you can see what you are doing.

OP will likely facet the bevels on finer 3-4K
before they get a steady freehand.

Also the OP knife is solingen, not JP
so is not going to need/hold a 4-8k edge

http://www.ludwigschiffcutlery.com/Chefs.htm
 
I'll also suggest a middle stone as better serving the OP. My pick would be the Bestor 1200 and if resources are there add the Suehiro 5K. This is my favorite combo for Euro (German) knives/steel.
 
In order to avoid an overkill I would bet on a #1000 (Ai#1000 for example) and the most economical way to keep it flat, it can be a piece of building stone.
Or an economical #1200 diamond stone alone, depending on which of both solution is the less expensive including shipping.
 
Get a Shapton Pro (kuromaku) 1000, it one of the fastest stones out there and has a very nice feedback - and learn to use it well. Later get a stone in the 4000 - 6000 range. And even later a 300 - 400.
 
Matus said:
Get a Shapton Pro (kuromaku) 1000, it one of the fastest stones out there and has a very nice feedback - and learn to use it well. Later get a stone in the 4000 - 6000 range. And even later a 300 - 400.
Click to expand...

+1 I really like this stone too. After trying a dozen stones or so in that range it is still my go to.
 
Before the term "German steel" gets used around here again, Ludwigs' are Swedish stainless, but which alloy is still a mystery. 12C27 and 14C28 have been used by French companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/dining/ludwig-schiff-knives-wont-shred-a-budget.html

Whichever one it is I don't think a 6K stone is out of the question.

If we could get some more info on them these knives might deserve some play when economy knives come up.
 
Any other source about the steel type? I fear some carefully installed misunderstanding, about Krupp's 4116 from Swedish ore. IIRC Schiff advised a 20 degree per side sharpening angle, that makes me a bit suspicious.
 
I already sent them an email requesting that info and any place around beantown here where I could get a closer look at them. I've just been fascinated lately with finding unrecognized/new contenders for the best of <$100 mark.
 
the nyt says the knife is tempered in germany
and has been since 1970's
 
Poor OP is probably more confused now than ever before haha!!! If you have ONE knife and don’t intend to get a lot more or a lot deeper into this rabbit hole just get a combo stone, with a finer and a coarser grit. I think you can get a king combo (1000/4000 or something like that) pretty cheap on the bay.....

IIRC Watanabe sharpens only with 1000 and 4000 grit, and only synthetic. I might be wrong, what I’m just saying: most here are knife and stone nuts, you don’t need that kind of gear to get started ....
 
I have the King Deluxe 1k/6k combination stone and used it for a while but I feel that money spent on a 1K Shapton Pro is money well spent and is my choice over the King Combo. Either will work however but you won't grow out of the SP and you can add more SP stones from there if you want to pursue sharpening more.Then of course,you'll need a coarser stone like say a SP320 and a finishing stone like maybe a SP5K. I seldom go pass 5 K and on Stainless knives,never pass 2 k. So OP, I say get the 1k for now and if you like sharpening,the other stones are just a click away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top