Mixing of sharpening stones?

[ArnAnders89]

I have chosera stones at the moment but am looking to get a set of diamond stones (probably going with Venevs), so I’m trying to decide what grits I should get but I think I heard someone mention you shouldn’t use different types of stones ie:diamond, whetstone, ceramic, Sic etc... because of the different scratch patterns. Is this true?

I freehand sharpen, (but honestly probably should switch to a guided system before I ruin another knife lol)
I will be mostly sharpening pocket knives maybe some kitchen and fillet knives. I have some average steels with a few supers (k390, Rex 45, maxamet)

Thanks for any help!

[sal]

Hi ArnAnders,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[p_atrick]

In this video Deadbox Hero uses Venev and and the Spyderco Ultra Fine.

https://youtu.be/yfw9kaL6oQk

[soc_monki]

There is no reason you can't mix stones. I use diamonds and spyderco ceramics, and I just go as far as I feel like going. Sometimes it's just the coarse diamond and a little stropping, sometimes I go all the way to spyderco fine. Doesn't matter the steel, 8cr13mov all the way to m4 and s90v, I just like to experiment with different finishes.

Diamond tends to be much toothier, ceramics feel finer. Other than that, mixing and matching is fine. All depends on what you want.

[Baron Mind]

Mixing and experimenting is part of the fun!

There is something to be said for using a single kind of stone for an entire progression, but it's not mandatory.

Some stones use different grit ratings so you have to be somewhat careful (google grit conversion chart), but other than that you're fine.

[vivi]

I mix stones all the time.

For years I'd set the bevel with diamond plates, then finish the apex with Spyderco ceramics. Its a great combo for polished edges.

These days I do all my PE sharpening on diamond plates and never go above 300 grit. I'm using the $12 Harbor Freight 4 sided stone. While its a cheaply made stone from China, I get exceptional toothy edges off of it that cut incredibly well. It's a great value.

Very excited to compare the Spyderco CBN stone to it head to head when it comes out.

I think diamond stones are the best for unpowered reprofiling and toothy edges in general. I have a lot of 80-400 grit stones made from other materials, like Norton Crystalon rods and Congress EDM's, but they don't give me edges the bite diamonds do.

Diamonds also work well for polished edges. The 6" DMT Fine was the first stone that I ever managed shaving sharpness with.

[Cambertree]

Welcome to the forum! :)

I often finish with the Spyderco UF benchstone, or microbevel on the SM brown rods, after doing all the other work with the Atoma and Venev diamond stones.

One thing to remember about bonded diamond waterstones like the Venevs, is that they load up faster than coated diamond plates.

This is why I do most of my stock removal when thinning out knives behind the edge with the Atoma stones, and then just use the Venevs to clean up and refine the bevels.

If you had a coarse stone like an Atoma 140, or one of the DMTs, or even a Norton Crystolon, you could combine that with the Venev 240/400 and 800/1200 OCB for a good selection.

Remember the European FEPA-F scale that Venev use is relatively finer than the ASTM and JIS grit scales, so check out the universal grit comparison chart on the Gritomatic website, when making your selection.

https://www.gritomatic.com/pages/grit-chart

Also, the upcoming 400/800 Spyderco CBN stone would be a useful stone to pair with a coarser grit stone for stock removal.

Conventional wisdom has it that alumina based abrasives like the Choseras will do well on simple carbon steels and steels with mainly chromium carbide types, but you will get better results on steels with vanadium/tungsten/niobium carbide types by using diamond or CBN abrasives.

[vivi]

Welcome to the forum! :)

I often finish with the Spyderco UF benchstone, or microbevel on the SM brown rods, after doing all the other work with the Atoma and Venev diamond stones.

One thing to remember about bonded diamond waterstones like the Venevs, is that they load up faster than coated diamond plates.

This is why I do most of my stock removal when thinning out knives behind the edge with the Atoma stones, and then just use the Venevs to clean up and refine the bevels.

If you had a coarse stone like an Atoma 140, or one of the DMTs, or even a Norton Crystolon, you could combine that with the Venev 240/400 and 800/1200 OCB for a good selection.

Remember the European FEPA-F scale that Venev use is relatively finer than the ASTM and JIS grit scales, so check out the universal grit comparison chart on the Gritomatic website, when making your selection.

https://www.gritomatic.com/pages/grit-chart

Also, the upcoming 400/800 Spyderco CBN stone would be a useful stone to pair with a coarser grit stone for stock removal.

Conventional wisdom has it that alumina based abrasives like the Choseras will do well on simple carbon steels and steels with mainly chromium carbide types, but you will get better results on steels with vanadium/tungsten/niobium carbide types by using diamond or CBN abrasives.

Good point on the Venevs grit scale. I bought a 400/800 OCB stone and it leaves a waaaaay more polished edge than I ever want to use. Feels in between the medium and fine sharpmaker rods regardless of which side I use.

[Cambertree]

Good point on the Venevs grit scale. I bought a 400/800 OCB stone and it leaves a waaaaay more polished edge than I ever want to use. Feels in between the medium and fine sharpmaker rods regardless of which side I use.

Thanks Vivi. Yeah I actually progress to the 800 OCB Venev after the 1200 Atoma, and it leaves a finer finish.

The 240 Venev is probably more in your preferred range - around 350ish grit on the ASTM scale.

I have it in a pocketstone, and like it enough that I just ordered it in the 3” x 8” benchstone size.