Bench Stone for Beginners

[MadMaximus]

I'm really interested in getting into freehand sharpening, and as such I've been looking on the inter webs for good stones. I am very intrigued by Japanese water stones (looked at King, Chosera/Naniwa Professional, Shapton), but there is so much out there that I don't really have any ideas of where to begin! I'm essentially looking for someone to point me in some sort of direction (even if its other than what I mentioned). The only stipulations are that I am new to freehand and want something forgiving and something thats relatively affordable to purchase a medium and fine stone (I plan to keep the reprofiling to the Edge Pro...for now). Thanks!

[JD Spydo]

One tool that really helped me actually learn good Benchstone techniques were the two sharpening guides I got from Razor Edge Systems out of Ely, Minnesota. They have two types>>one for blades under 4 inches long and one for blades 4 inches long and longer. They really help you to keep a consistent angle and obtain really decent results. You can see a set of them on Razor Edge Systems website >>> http://www.razoredgesystems.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <<<.

Next to Spyderco they really have what I believe to be some interesting sharpening equipment. The book that Razor Edge offers entitled "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch also helped me to learn the bare basics of sharpening. I give most of the credit for what I learned about Sharpening from Sal Glesser here at Spyderco and John Juranitch's book.

There are other good books on Sharpening that will help you to get the basics down>> one is entitled "The Complete Book Of Sharpening" by Leonard Lee is one that is really helpful for woodworkers in particular.

[MadMaximus]

One tool that really helped me actually learn good Benchstone techniques were the two sharpening guides I got from Razor Edge Systems out of Ely, Minnesota. They have two types>>one for blades under 4 inches long and one for blades 4 inches long and longer. They really help you to keep a consistent angle and obtain really decent results. You can see a set of them on Razor Edge Systems website >>> http://www.razoredgesystems.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <<<.

Next to Spyderco they really have what I believe to be some interesting sharpening equipment. The book that Razor Edge offers entitled "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch also helped me to learn the bare basics of sharpening. I give most of the credit for what I learned about Sharpening from Sal Glesser here at Spyderco and John Juranitch's book.

There are other good books on Sharpening that will help you to get the basics down>> one is entitled "The Complete Book Of Sharpening" by Leonard Lee is one that is really helpful for woodworkers in particular.

They have some pretty interesting stuff there! The kits look particularly cool, especially for a beginner. Have you ever used their stones?

[Cliff Stamp]

What steels are you going to be working with? That is the most critical question in regards to what stones to get.

[MadMaximus]

What steels are you going to be working with? That is the most critical question in regards to what stones to get.

A variety: M4, D2, 154CM, S30V, S90V, 1095, O1 to name a few...not too specific, I know.

[Cliff Stamp]

Ok, now are you going to be doing significant grinding as in changing angles, removing large chips, or just general sharpening of dull knives?

[MadMaximus]

Ok, now are you going to be doing significant grinding as in changing angles, removing large chips, or just general sharpening of dull knives?

Just general stuff, I'm going to keep the large grinding jobs for my Edge Pro.

[Cliff Stamp]

Ok, the thing to realize to start is that pretty much all stones are neither good nor bad, but just suited for particular purposes, specifically steels and pressures. The next thing is that you want two different stones :

-one to set the edge
-one to set the apex

The reason is that these two stones do two very different things and the properties of the stones are almost completely opposite. When you are grinding the edge then a very muddy stone with a weak bond is ideal because that slurry grinds against the very apex, rounding it slightly which prevents heavy burr formation.

However when you actually go to set the apex you don't want this at all because it will prevent you from getting a high sharpness easily and you have to know how to work with the slurry. This is why if you watch the razor guys they have to do things like progressively diluting the slurry, using edge trailing, etc. . It can be done, but the simplest solution is to just get a stone which doesn't form a slurry.

A few suggestions for the edge grinding :

-King 1000, very inexpensive, weak bond, will grind all of the steels you mentioned well. However, the bond is so weak that you will get excessive wear on the 1095 type steels. Use with water. Flatten on pretty much anything, even the sidewalk. Can not tolerate even moderate force, it will shed grit rapidly.

-Norton Crystolon, stronger bond, but still somewhat friable. It is much better on the 1095, O1 type steels, much less wear but it will struggle with the M4 type steels because the abrasive will just dull and not be readily released unless you like to use a lot of force in grinding. If you do put 5-10 lbs into the stone then you can still grind M4, but this stone will form heavy burrs when used in that manner. Use with a light mineral oil. Will require some lapping compound to flatten, use 36 grit or more coarse silicon carbide, any blasting shop will have it. Can tolerate very high force.

On the apex :

-Spyderco Medium, extremely strong bond, it won't break down, doesn't form a slurry. Will wear over time, can be reset with a diamond stone (or even the Norton Crystolon) . Use with water, clean with an eraser. Can tolerate very high force.

-DMT 1200, will work a little better than the Spyderco Medium on M4 type steels, no difference on the O1 type steels. Will wear over time, slower than the Spyderco but can't be reset. Use very light force or risk damaging the surface. Use with a glass cleaner or similar, or water with an anti-rusting agent.

[valenciamanu]

Falkiniven dc4.