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Showing 1 of 47 conversations about:
MJ.L
4
May 30, 2017
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For the modern steels these old fashioned sharpening stones are not going to be satisfactory. Some of these newer and harder steels definitely need diamond sharpening stones.
May 30, 2017
CyrusGuybrush
19
May 30, 2017
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MJ.Ldiamond is unesesarry but in would expect a finishing stone to be around 4000-8000 grit not 320
May 30, 2017
makats
51
Sep 25, 2017
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CyrusGuybrushDudewhat? a 4000-8000 stone to "finish" after a 280 grit? Good luck with that finish...
Smith makes a decent tri-hone station for pretty much the same price ($2 more on amazon, with 2 days free prime shipping ), and their stones are 400, 600 (both synthetic),1000-1200 finishing (natural arkansas). This is sufficient for most household/camping needs, and you can't expect more for a price. Get yourself some waterstones for your 8000 grit fugu sushi-knifes needs.
Sep 25, 2017
CyrusGuybrush
19
Sep 25, 2017
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makatswhen did I say 4000-8000 after 280 ? dudewhat? i was suggesting that in a set of 3 stones I would expect the final stone to be around 4000-8000
Sep 25, 2017
makats
51
Sep 25, 2017
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CyrusGuybrushWell you are commenting on this particular station, and it just so happened that it's second hardest grit is 280 (the one that comes before the "finishing" 320, if you can even call it that.
To me it looks like an inaccurate description, because as I said, in my smith station the 300 grit is a "coarse" stone that takes off a lot of metal with it...
Sep 25, 2017
Dermott
267
Sep 26, 2017
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MJ.LI sharpen everything from vintage straight razors to O1 and D2 tool steel knives on Arkansas stones. Works great.
That having been said... something's off on the labeling, here. Soft Arkansas is generally 6-800 grit equivalent. 220-280 sounds far too low. 320 grit Aluminum Oxide would generally be a coarse stone... it's not "fine" by any stretch of the imagination. I use a 320 grit Aluminum Oxide stone to put an initial bevel on homemade knives. I'd be hesitant to use them on anything but the very dullest knives.
The only Arkansas stone in this set is the Soft... safe to say it's also the finest stone in the set. Either the pictures are horribly mislabeled, or someone had a good smoke before putting this product together.
Regarding grit equivalents on Arkansas stones... I'll just post this again: https://www.danswhetstone.com/information/stone-grades-101/
Sep 26, 2017
DrewDel
124
Dec 29, 2017
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MJ.L(I know this is an old thread, but for the benefit of people reading this in the future...)
This person has no idea what he's talking about. I have over $1500 with of "stones" and I have been hand sharpening for about 20 years. You most certainly DO NOT NEED DIAMOND stones. Whetstones, oil stones, water stones, soaking stones, soap stones etc are perfectly fine for even the hardest European & Japanese knives up to mid sixties Rockwell hardness. Watch any pro hand sharpener on YouTube, and you'll RARELY see them using diamond. (Burrfection is a great channel.) Diamond stays flat, and it's good for flattening mineral stones, and is also needed for sharpening ceramic knives. If you're new to hand sharpening, get a mineral stone set. You can get a three grit set of mineral stones for the price of a single diamond stone. Stones are a "buy once, cry once" kind of situation. There is a BIG difference between cheap stones and good quality stones. In fact, I wouldn't recommend hand sharpening for a newbie. Get a constant angle sharpening system from a high quality company. The biggest reason people new to sharpening can get a knife sharp, but not scary sharp, razor sharp, hair popping sharp, etc is because they can not keep the bevel angle consistent while sharpening. The aspect of hand sharpening, that is more important than anything, is keeping a consistent angle.
TLDR: You absolutely do not need a diamond stone for sharpening metal knives of any hardness. That's an absurd statement to make. Mineral/oxide stones are great for sharpening, and for all intents and purposes, it is just as good as diamond stones. My $60 whetstone works just as good as my $160 diamond, as far as sharpening a knife goes. Also, new stones need breaking in, and they will seem much coarser than the grit states. It will also seem like the stone is losing material. (You will see abrasive from the stone being worn of.) It's just the sharp points of individual pieces/grains of abrasive, grains of abrasive that want bounced very well, etc. So once this loose material is worn away, the stone will seem much less aggressive, and will be much closer to the stated grit.
Dec 29, 2017
LoremicusIpsuminus
57
Jan 2, 2018
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MJ.Limo for high vanadium steel like s90v, s110v, Elmax, M390, diamond helps a lot. As long as the stone is harder than the vanadium carbide matrix where it cuts rather than "carbide tearing" its okay. Some form of aluminium oxide like synthetic sapphire or silicon oxide may be good, but I am lazy so I use diamond. For anything with little vanadium carbide I enjoy the Shapton Glass very much.
Jan 2, 2018
DrewDel
124
Jan 4, 2018
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LoremicusIpsuminusI agree... I think the OP was making it sound like you can't sharpen "newer and harder steels" (<--- his words) with regular stones, and that only diamond will work. If you can't afford a diamond stone, you most definitely can sharpen the hardest knife steels with a mineral/oxide stone.
Jan 4, 2018
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