What's your favorite sharpening stone?

[Elnathan]

I use a variety of different types of stone. Woodworking tools are currently sharpened with a set of Kings artificial Japanese waterstones, with an extra coarse diamond stone for reconditioning badly damaged edges (virtually all my good tools are bought off ebay or at the flea market and need a lot of work). The diamond stone also serves to flatten the waterstones.
Eventually I want to use an oilstone for the small chisels and gouges, as they will put grooves in the waterstones and wear them out too fast.

For knives, my favorite stone is a small white waterstone that I bought as a kid from the farmer's market for fifty cents. Not a flat place on it and pretty much worn out, but it works so well....I also have a little 1x3" oilstone in a leather sheath that I bought from Walmart and used to sharpen my woodworking tools before I had proper benchstones. It also works very well.

Stropping is done with Flexcut Gold stropping compound on a piece of wood.


I'm a tiler, and often use a piece of ceramic tile to put an edge on my pocketknife, but I don't think that works as well as my whetstones.

 

[SgtErv]

Thank Ye gentlemen. Ive learned a great deal about different sharpening methods.

A sharp knife is safer than a dull one.

I think I'm going to go with a Japanese water stone, conditioning stone, and make a strop out of some scrap veg tan leather.

Going to need some practice too. It's harder to keep a consistent angle than one would think, but Ive made a little wedge to get me started at the proper angle. (Probably wouldn't do to drag the wooden wedge across the stone)

Thanks a bunch :hatsoff:

 

[Bo T]

Note how the spine of the blade presses against your thumb or finger. Just set it in the same position each time. Practice using each hand and pay attention to the width of the blade.

 

[Gene L]

Japanese water stone for me. It's fine, but soft and mine is worn in the middle. Got two sides, one fine and the other really fine.

You can level it by putting a sheet of fine sandpaper on a pane of glass (wet) and moving it back and forth. This is for sharpening a chisel or something that requires a level surface.

The water used in soaking a waterstone will float away the steel fragments from sharpening. It's the best sharpening thing I've ever used. A diamond stone is good for coarse work.

I use the waterstone for my kitchen knives. Like razors...well, not quite like razors, but very sharp.

 

[Katahdin]

Depends on where I am and what I am doing,at home with plenty of time and all the sharpening choices or bent over a deer in the field,cold and tired.New blade just starting to work it or an old well used knife.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have sold some Arkansas stones, still have some with my 'stuff'. The dealers price list has, in addition to the regular stones, a "transluscent" stone. It is (supposedly) much finer than even the black. And, it is heart stopping expensive. I never bought any, and, in fact, have never seen one in person. I couldn't get past the credit check. :wink: Wondering, has anyone here seen and/or used one of these? If so, what kind of results did you get?

 

[Follett]

I like the edge of the glass, in the drivers side window, in my old ford truck. Then strop it. I don't think you can do this in a chevy :wink:

 

[bender20]

So for a beginner what would you guys recommend? I don't want to spend a fortune but certainly subscribe to the buy once cry once philosophy. I'm looking for a system from taking a abused flee market knife to sharp as well as being able to maintain once it's sharp.

 

[B.Habermehl]

The basics of sharpening a pocket knife is in the Boy Scouts Manual every scout should get. That's how I learned to sharpen my knives almost 50 years ago. That being said I use a double sided artificial stone from habor freight. Then I move to a black Arkansas stone to produce a shaving edge. Then to a cardboard strop. BJH

 

[pondoro]

So for a beginner what would you guys recommend? I don't want to spend a fortune but certainly subscribe to the buy once cry once philosophy. I'm looking for a system from taking a abused flee market knife to sharp as well as being able to maintain once it's sharp.

Do you want to learn free hand sharpening or just get good results quickly? The Deluxe Lansky Sharpening System will give you good results quickly with little learning curve. A couple of stones would be cheaper but you'll spend more time learning how to use them.

A v-rod system is easy for keeping a sharp knife touched up but is painfully slow if you let a knife get really dull, or if you are trying to change the angle of the edge.

 

[coloradoclyde]

The basics of sharpening a pocket knife is in the Boy Scouts Manual every scout should get. That's how I learned to sharpen my knives almost 50 years ago. That being said I use a double sided artificial stone from habor freight. Then I move to a black Arkansas stone to produce a shaving edge. Then to a cardboard strop. BJH

I agree.....And that's how I learned....An old Scout Manual and a good stone are all you need to get a knife hair shaving sharp......These days I use a 1" belt sander, steel, and a strop for most sharpening...But learning the basics is a must.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

Wondering, has anyone here seen and/or used one of these[surgical black Arkansas stone]? If so, what kind of results did you get?

I own one and for me it is little more than an expensive novelty.

I use hard and soft arkansas stones to maintain the bevels on my chisels and a strop to maintain the edge. For a strop you can take a 2x4 about 18" (whatever is manageable for you), cut a handle out on one end, rasp and sand the handle smooth, aggressively score both wide sides to allow the glue to get a better purchase, cut a strip of veg tan leather to fit both wide sides, glue to both sides of board, vigorously apply buffing compound (I use green on one side and black on the other) to veg tan once the glue is dry and then reapply compound as needed (seldom ever). This strop will apply a fiercely sharp edge to chisels and knives without removing too much metal. It is also pretty idiot proof in application which I also enjoy.

For a knife, I will use the cheapest stone I pick up to fix the bevel(s) and then sharpen with the strop.

I prefer idiot proof grinds for knives which makes maintenance easier. My two favorite are scandi and convex.

Back to the surgical black Arkansas stone...I use it when I am correcting my chisel bevels and want to feel important but notice no difference between that and a regular Arkansas hard. I still need to finish up with the strop.

There are probably people here who can tell the difference.

Your sharpening results depend largely on doing it correctly and consistently and not the grade of the stone.

 

[Artificer]

Even with the Boy Scout Manual and Dad helping me to learn a bit, I couldn't sharpen for "shinola" growing up.

Then on my first tour on Okinawa in 1972-3, at the Base Library, I came across the first edition of this book, "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch. It showed making a shallow relief angle down to the edge of about 11 degrees, then a normal angle at the edge of around 25 or more degrees. All of sudden "the lights went on" about knife sharpening. It is a very good chance the book is available in a library near you, as it has been republished many times since. Here is link that shows what the cover of the book looks like:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31198.The_Razor_Edge_Book_Of_Sharpening

I used that book to sharpen a 4 inch hunting knife I made from a good, but not too expensive blade, shaped brass guard and a piece of crown antler from a Buck my Dad had taken. I also made a nice black leather sheath and presented the knife to my Dad as a gift. The knife had an extremely good edge when I gave it to him in the mid/late 1980's.

Then the Corps transferred me away for six years and when I got back and went deer hunting with him again, I asked him why he wasn't using the knife? He said something about it not cutting well... OK, so when we got home, I had him dig it out and it seemed almost as dull as a butter knife. So I took it home and it required some major work to get that excellent edge back.

OK, next trip to the Hunt Club and when we were skinning/cutting up the deer taken that day, I got through skinning one deer and about half way through another when I touched up the edge. It was still "sharp," but not as sharp as when I began that day. A slight touch up got it right back to the excellent edge.

It was only then that I learned my Dad did not know how to sharpen a knife and that's why he could not teach me when I grew up. So from then on every time I came home to hunt or even visit, I brought my stones and sharpened the knife for him as well as Mom's kitchen knives.

Gus

 

[Cruzatte]

Gus? I think I need a copy of that book. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:

 

[Tb54]

Reviving an old thread here...
I’ve always used a soft and hard Arkansas stones with a light oil. Reading this thread, and I did a little browsing on the norton site, I came up with a couple questions. What grit are the hard and soft Arkansas stones? What’s the advantage of water stones over Arkansas stones w/oil? And why can I eat a quarter pounder, drink a 16oz shake, and gain five pounds?

 

[Tanglefoot]

Howdy TB54. I've been using Arkansas stones for a long time also. My experience is that the soft Arkansas is about the same grit as a "fine" carborundum stone. Don't have a clue on what the number is, and don't care. I use soft Arkansas for sharpening, white Hard Arkansas for taking down the wire edge, and black Hard Arkansas for polishing the edge. FYI: I'm told that the quarrys are about to run out of the black Hard Arkansas and when it's gone there won't be any more. I've tried water stones and diamond "stones" and ceramic sharpeners and still haven't found anything that'll produce an edge like the natural Arkansas.
There floats my stick.
Tanglefoot

 

[Oldbear63]

Doesn't anyone use float glass and Wet-Or-Dry? I can polish a shaving edge with 2000 grit emery paper simply enough.

 

[AlanG]

Doesn't anyone use float glass and Wet-Or-Dry? I can polish a shaving edge with 2000 grit emery paper simply enough.

Yuck- that's the plastic stocked inline of the sharpening world!

 

[Treestalker]

My favorite stone is a natural whitish Arkansas stone I bought from a maker close to Hot Springs, Ar. about 30 years ago. It is 2"x6" x I inch thick and keeps every thing made of carbon steel sharp (Russel Green River Butchers) I also use a Moravian hone very old chiped on one end that will put shaving edge on a razor or knife.

 

[Oldbear63]

I have all of the above and use them all (each for its purpose).
Of course, if you are trying to remain "traditional" you can avoid diamond and emery.