Help me tell the difference btw Fine and Ultra-Fine rods

[Belasarius Jnr]

Dear all, could someone help me identify which are the Fine rods and which are the Ultra-Fine rods for my Sharpmaker? The dishwasher has cleaned off the red marker on the Ultra-Fine rods and to my weak eyes they look identical to the Fine rods.

[Cliff Stamp]

The simplest way is to just use them. The UF one applies a higher polish and cuts slower.

Set the edge with the medium rods. Now micro-bevel the apex with one rod and see how long it takes to get the finish of that stone.

Cut the apex off, reset the edge with the medium and repeat with the other stone. The difference should be significant.

[Belasarius Jnr]

Thanks for that, I was able to tell the difference btw the rods, no damage done!

[JD Spydo]

Yeah it's just like Cliff said>> all you really need to do to differentiate between the two grits of stones is to simply stroke a knife blade over both of them and I can assure you within two to three strokes you'll tell the difference immediately. That Ultra-Fine Spyderco stone is a lot smoother/finer grit than you realize and there is a profound difference between it and the FINE grit stone.

Actually Spyderco's Ultra-Fine grit is a great stone for sharpening straight razors but on the other hand I think that their FINE Grit has a bit to be desired for that particular sharpening job.

Spyderco's ULtra-Fine 302 Benchstones are a great sharpening tool. You should be able to sort them out quickly.