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The title says it all, which stones and which progression do you recommend for K390? I bought this gorgeous gyuto from maker Andrei Markin which is made of K390 in stainless clad.
Which stones for K390?
- Thread starter daddy yo yo
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I would recommend diamond stones. Andrei uses SiC based ones and it seems to work for him, but diamonds definitely work better in my experience.
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Any recommendation for specific ones? Any favorites which don’t cost twice as much as the knife?
I use Ultra Sharp brand diamonds in 300, 600, and 1200.
EDIT: That's what I use for a folder and while I'm sure they will work fine an good kitchen knife, you might also consider vitrified diamond such as those sold by Triple B handmade. Not cheap but probably a lifetime stone and might give more polishing flexibility. Not sure though.
EDIT: That's what I use for a folder and while I'm sure they will work fine an good kitchen knife, you might also consider vitrified diamond such as those sold by Triple B handmade. Not cheap but probably a lifetime stone and might give more polishing flexibility. Not sure though.
Also, K390 rocks!
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Venev
M1k3
Senior Member
Venev are great value in my opinion.
Dominick Maone
Well-Known Member
I have the venev stones and like them. I have not sharpening K390 but easily got a razor sharp edge on S90V.
JKI 1 and 6k are good.
BBB are excellent and will last for a very, very long time. Same with JKI 800.
I also used to shader at spending as much for the knife as the stones, but Ive changed my mind. Vitrified diamonds are expensive but, they will last an extremely long time so if you got 2-3 you would never have to buy another for the rest of your life if sharpening is what you care about. For polishing and just the hobby of sharpening it is different. Compared to natural stones vitrified diamonds are very reasonable and can actually sharpen any steel.
BBB are excellent and will last for a very, very long time. Same with JKI 800.
I also used to shader at spending as much for the knife as the stones, but Ive changed my mind. Vitrified diamonds are expensive but, they will last an extremely long time so if you got 2-3 you would never have to buy another for the rest of your life if sharpening is what you care about. For polishing and just the hobby of sharpening it is different. Compared to natural stones vitrified diamonds are very reasonable and can actually sharpen any steel.
Completely agree. If I start leaning harder into these type steels I'll jump on the vitrified wagon, preferably one of Shawn's.
Venev gives you the most bang for your buck for sure. I have a 240/400 (325, and 600 jis grit) that I for customers knives and mine. Its probably the most used stone (well technically 2 stones) at this point, it's my go too for just about everything.
I've had that thing for well over a year now. In that amount of time, I've gone through things like my kitayama (with the base), a manticore ,(60 grit sic stone) a king 300, and have put a considerable amount of wear on all my other stones (I've probably worn through more than that, but I cant remember.
Also I've worn through all my regular diamond plates in that time as well, an atoma 140, dmt coarse, and fine.
The dmt plates work fine for sharpening, and if you want to really go cheap I suggest you get the two I just named, you can put a great edge on k390 with just those. They will end up costing you more money in the end because they eventually wear out.
So, I say get either a couple plates ,(your choice on the brand, but the dmt interrupted surface will do, if you dont want to spend a lot), or the venev 240/400, and a strop with diamond spray, or emulsion (I really dont recommend venev diamond compound though,) look for gunny juice emulsion, or any diamond spray really.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I find the finish left by the venev stones to be a bit better than plates.
Tl;dr venev resin bonded diamond stones will save you money in the end because they last so long. If not plates will work. Either way get a strop with some diamond spray, or emulsion (not compound).
Edit: I thought I would mention. I tend to use 1 micron for the diamond spray. I also keep a strop loaded with. 5 micron if I ever need it, or for some reason want an extra refined edge.
I've had that thing for well over a year now. In that amount of time, I've gone through things like my kitayama (with the base), a manticore ,(60 grit sic stone) a king 300, and have put a considerable amount of wear on all my other stones (I've probably worn through more than that, but I cant remember.
Also I've worn through all my regular diamond plates in that time as well, an atoma 140, dmt coarse, and fine.
The dmt plates work fine for sharpening, and if you want to really go cheap I suggest you get the two I just named, you can put a great edge on k390 with just those. They will end up costing you more money in the end because they eventually wear out.
So, I say get either a couple plates ,(your choice on the brand, but the dmt interrupted surface will do, if you dont want to spend a lot), or the venev 240/400, and a strop with diamond spray, or emulsion (I really dont recommend venev diamond compound though,) look for gunny juice emulsion, or any diamond spray really.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I find the finish left by the venev stones to be a bit better than plates.
Tl;dr venev resin bonded diamond stones will save you money in the end because they last so long. If not plates will work. Either way get a strop with some diamond spray, or emulsion (not compound).
Edit: I thought I would mention. I tend to use 1 micron for the diamond spray. I also keep a strop loaded with. 5 micron if I ever need it, or for some reason want an extra refined edge.
I have liked the edge the Venev 6u diamond stone gives (I think they call it 800). My stone also has a 2.5u side but I prefer the 6u, roughly 3000 grit. I don’t know if Venev is available anymore since they are made in Russia.
Last I checked they were.
Just checked gritomatic. They only have the 240/400 (which if you were going to only buy one, that would be what I recommend). However the price right now is 330 dollars. Which is about 3 times what I paid for mine. So that kinda kills the economical side of the venev stones.
But, gritomatic does have another brand of resin bonded diamond stone (that I have heard is actually better) for a lower price right now. I would check that out. It will be higher for 2 of them than 1 of the 2 sided venev used to be. But if you get a better quality stone then it's still worth it imo.
With venev technically not available. I would honestly start to look into the vitrified diamonds, because that's the kind of price they are asking for the venev right now lmao. You definitely will get a better stone with those, but your wallet will feel it.
Or just do the diamond plates. Like I said in the reply below, they're cheaper initially, but they add up. You can get a fine edge with them though.
Or one last option. I've heard of people buying edge pro, and similar guided system sized stones, and freehand sharpening on those. Just make a little holder for them. You can get metallic bonded cbn, all varieties of diamond, and still pay less money than a full sized stone.
Dominick Maone
Well-Known Member
When I purchased in Dec 21 it was the Phoenix stones at about $100, not the dragon stones. The dragon stones were significantly more then too.
The economical Phoenix options aren't available on the website now. But I have heard the CHSW stones are good too.
I'm pretty sure I own the Phoenix.
With the amount I sharpen, I haven't noticed any real wear. I forget how much thicker the dragon stones are, but they will likely last a normal person a lifetime. With that said. I think I would rather buy something else, than a 300+ dollar venev stone. I forget how much naniwa diamond are, but getting a 400 (if they have that), and an 800, is probably a better investment.
Or what I would realistically do is get the cshw stones. Just because well. I've heard they're better. I havent tried them so I don't know they are, just going off of what I've heard.
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I ordered 2 Venev combo-stones. But please keep the discussion going!
I only have my one example of K390 but I find it pretty sharpener friendly. I look forward to your thoughts on it in the ktichen!
Yeah, I really like the k390 spyderco I have.
I've dealt with a good bit more 10v at this point, but both are great steels imo. with a venev, you can certainly get a great edge on either steel.
I've dealt with a good bit more 10v at this point, but both are great steels imo. with a venev, you can certainly get a great edge on either steel.
Which ones did you get?
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1) 20/14 and 7/5 100 % approx. JIS 1000 and JIS 2000
2) 3/2 and 1/0 100 % approx. JIS 4000 and JIS 8000
You may find them to be a tad slower than the correlating jis 1000 grit stones. Mine is roughly equal to 600 jis, and in find that to be similar to my 1000 grit stones. I hear the 240 fepa f/400 fepa f , and the 1200 fepa f/2000 fepa f.
So the finer stone is the same as yours. Idk if I would have bought the one correlating to 1000, and 200p grit personally, I really should have brought that up earlier.
I havent tried that one specifically. So hopefully it's much faster than I think it will be.
M1k3
Senior Member
I've noticed the same. They are a little slower than most other synthetic stones. Not tremendously slower though. They cut consistently at the same speed across all the steels I've tried.
A bit sensational, but could be a cheap alternative if you are ok using narrow bonded plates.
M1k3
Senior Member
Name of stones? Link? Something?
Nothing sensational, people who sharpening knives know about CBN more, than 7-8 years.
These stones could working for at least 20 years and have good speed for removal any steel.
For example - CPM S125V - no problem!
And these stones intended for Apexoid sharpeners...
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Yes, I know about these stones, they are definitely not the best stones in the world especially when freehand sharpening large kitchen knives.
Spyderco CBN plate is supposed to be pretty good, slightly better than diamond plates, but not as good as bonded or vitrified diamond stones.
William Hunt
Well-Known Member
I could only find the pdt stones from a Ukraine seller. Actually, gritomatic sells one plate for the edge pro.
The full size stones were expensive. I think it’s $325 for a 10k stone. I’m not sure what shipping from Ukraine is like these days.
The full size stones were expensive. I think it’s $325 for a 10k stone. I’m not sure what shipping from Ukraine is like these days.
I live in Canada, but can't make a big discussion - my English is not good...
Freehand sharpening is good for young eyes, but I'd prefer last 10 years a guided sharpener system.
I invent them more, than 10 years ago for my self. Now a lot of people make copies, sometimes not bad)))...
About Spyderco production every person has his own opinion. Especially me - I don't like, sorry.
