Do I need a spyderco ultra fine benchstone?

[Ukelay]

Hey all,

I ask this because I get good results with the Double Stuff, and am pretty cheap(why I bought the double stuff in the first place instead of each separate grit benchstones

I already own that and a knives plus strop block, and get great results, but I was wondering what everyone's experiences are on these ultra fine benchstones.

[Spider bite]

yes

[dj moonbat]

Hey all,

I ask this because I get good results with the Double Stuff, and am pretty cheap(why I bought the double stuff in the first place instead of each separate grit benchstones

I already own that and a knives plus strop block, and get great results, but I was wondering what everyone's experiences are on these ultra fine benchstones.

As you get better at sharpening, you keep getting less satisfied with your results. It's like learning the difference between good wine and the wine you used to think was good.

Until you actually become dissatisfied with your knives' sharpness, there's no need to push things. Either you'll get obsessed with razor edges or you won't.

All that being said: yeah, you'll notice that stepping up to ultrafine stones makes a difference. Aside from the quality of the polish on the bevel, there's the fact that you remove such tiny amounts of steel that the ultra stones are great for maintaining a microbevel.

[RLR]

Yes. 8000 grit makes edges pop.

[Donut]

I love my Ultra Fine stones (bench and sharpmaker).

[jackknifeh]

I have the 2"x8" UF benchstone and love it. It will put a razor edge on an edge that is just a little dull. With adequate skill you can use it as the last step and be able to whittle hair. That does take skill at the higher levels though. I believe you can get the same edge with the strop. If you want to free-hand sharpen I think the medium and fine bench stones are fine. The strop will put a very sharp finishing touch for you. I'd say get one if you have plenty of money or want it for putting that killer hair popping edge on a knife after some practice. Not knowing what else you have i'd suggest getting a very coarse stone for heavy steel removal for reprofiling if you don't have that covered.

I don't have a lot of money but got one for experimenting with tools to get my knives sharper (no matter how sharp they are now). I have bought sharpening stuff and sold some of it due to lack of use. I have no intention of selling the UF stone. But if I were running low on groceries it would be the first thing to go of my sharpening tools.

I hope this made sense and helped.

Jack

[jackknifeh]

I have the 2"x8" UF benchstone and love it. It will put a razor edge on an edge that is just a little dull. With adequate skill you can use it as the last step and be able to whittle hair. That does take skill at the higher levels though. I believe you can get the same edge with the strop. If you want to free-hand sharpen I think the medium and fine bench stones are fine. The strop will put a very sharp finishing touch for you. I'd say get one if you have plenty of money or want it for putting that killer hair popping edge on a knife after some practice. Not knowing what else you have i'd suggest getting a very coarse stone for heavy steel removal for reprofiling if you don't have that covered.

I don't have a lot of money but got one for experimenting with tools to get my knives sharper (no matter how sharp they are now). I have bought sharpening stuff and sold some of it due to lack of use. I have no intention of selling the UF stone. But if I were running low on groceries it would be the first thing to go of my sharpening tools.

I hope this made sense and helped.

Jack

[Ukelay]

Lots of great insight here, guys, and I appreciate it.

I totally believe that I will become less satisfied with my knives' sharpness, but I hope I can avoid that slippery slope. :)

I never thought about the microbevels because I haven't delved into them in depth yet, but that is a great point.

And I have a course dmt on the way, for reprofiling.

With everything said, I will get an UF when I get into that, soon, hopefully. Also, what justifies the difference in MSRP between the 302UF and 306UF? All I can think of is the sheath, and maybe the difference in width.

[.357 mag]

Yes, its worth it..

I'm not sure about the 302 and the 306. Yeah, its an inch wider but it's thinner. I was going to get the 306 and didn't see the extra cost for me at least.

[sal]

Our 3 X 8 ultra fine is what I would call a "perfect" stone. It's as flat as flat can be, surface ground with diamond grinders. it's consistent throughout the surface, it requires no oil or water to get a polished edge. It's large enough for most edges including woodworking tools. It's thin enough to be strong, yet not be too heavy, which was difficult to do.

I worked on that stone for more than 3 years before we are able to get what we wanted. Yes it's expensive to make, but I felt that someone needed to take advantage of the possibility of such a stone. We don't sell large numbers, but I believed those that get an opportunity to work with one can appreciate what the stone provides.

I guess you can tell I'm biased. :D

sal

[Ukelay]

Our 3 X 8 ultra fine is what I would call a "perfect" stone. It's as flat as flat can be, surface ground with diamond grinders. it's consistent throughout the surface, it requires no oil or water to get a polished edge. It's large enough for most edges including woodworking tools. It's thin enough to be strong, yet not be too heavy, which was difficult to do.

I worked on that stone for more than 3 years before we are able to get what we wanted. Yes it's expensive to make, but I felt that someone needed to take advantage of the possibility of such a stone. We don't sell large numbers, but I believed those that get an opportunity to work with one can appreciate what the stone provides.

I guess you can tell I'm biased. :D

sal

Sal,

I really appreciate the knowledge that you send our way through the forums, and now it sounds like I'll be ordering one. :cool:

[JD Spydo]

As you get better at sharpening, you keep getting less satisfied with your results. It's like learning the difference between good wine and the wine you used to think was good.

Until you actually become dissatisfied with your knives' sharpness, there's no need to push things. Either you'll get obsessed with razor edges or you won't.

All that being said: yeah, you'll notice that stepping up to ultrafine stones makes a difference. Aside from the quality of the polish on the bevel, there's the fact that you remove such tiny amounts of steel that the ultra stones are great for maintaining a microbevel.

I agree with everything that "dj" said>> when my knife hobby got really serious back in 1998 or thereabout I made it a point to get just about every premium sharpening tool out there that aided in my quest for the "sharpest knife on the planet". It's been fun and interesting seeing the results I get on all the different blade steels.

Truly it's up to you as to whether or not you want to really hone your sharpening skills and take them to the next level upward. Myself I just love having a lot of different tools at my convenience so I can experiment with all different types of edged tools. I even got myself a TORMEK wet grinder for machetes, hatchets and axes and some knives as well.

You won't go wrong buying any of Spyderco's sharpening tools>> because if you did get tired of the hobby or lost interest (which I doubt if you will) the resale value on all of Spyderco's stuff is great for the most part. If you don't believe me then go try to find a used 204 Sharpmaker and see how little that they discount them.

If you like what you've done so far you'll love the results of the Ultra-Fine benchstone. But I'll forewarn you that it takes patience to work with the ultra fine stone. It takes several strokes to get the desired results.

[syntaxerrorsix]

Our 3 X 8 ultra fine is what I would call a "perfect" stone. It's as flat as flat can be, surface ground with diamond grinders. it's consistent throughout the surface, it requires no oil or water to get a polished edge. It's large enough for most edges including woodworking tools. It's thin enough to be strong, yet not be too heavy, which was difficult to do.

I worked on that stone for more than 3 years before we are able to get what we wanted. Yes it's expensive to make, but I felt that someone needed to take advantage of the possibility of such a stone. We don't sell large numbers, but I believed those that get an opportunity to work with one can appreciate what the stone provides.

I guess you can tell I'm biased. :D

sal

Well I suppose you convinced me. I just picked up the medium through ultra fine bench stones. I've been free handing with the Sharpmaker rods for years and didn't even realize these were available.

[prime77]

After putting it off for a while I finally decided to pick up the 306 Ultra Fine Benchstone. Up to this point my finishing stone has been a DMT EEF stone. I find that the 306 yields a nicer finish and a very keen edge. It does load up with metal after some use but is easy to clean with Barkeepers friend and I like the fact that I will never need to flatten it. All in all I have been very pleased with it. It will serve me well for a lifetime I believe.


The 306 comes in a very nice suede case




Here it is next to a double stuff stone.


With a Manix2 XL.


This is an edge achieved using the Spyderco medium, fine, and ultra fine stones followed by DMT diamond pastes at 6, 3, and 1 micron on leather strops.

[Ferris Wheels]

After putting it off for a while I finally decided to pick up the 306 Ultra Fine Benchstone. Up to this point my finishing stone has been a DMT EEF stone. I find that the 306 yields a nicer finish and a very keen edge. It does load up with metal after some use but is easy to clean with Barkeepers friend and I like the fact that I will never need to flatten it. All in all I have been very pleased with it. It will serve me well for a lifetime I believe.


The 306 comes in a very nice suede case




Here it is next to a double stuff stone.


With a Manix2 XL.


This is an edge achieved using the Spyderco medium, fine, and ultra fine stones followed by DMT diamond pastes at 6, 3, and 1 micron on leather strops.

I would say you got the sharpening thing down. Awesome work, not sure I could get that level of polish freehand.

[Spydesense]

Spend a little more on the 306... You won't be sorry. As I have said before, I would probably shed a tear if something happened to mine :D

[jackknifeh]

After putting it off for a while I finally decided to pick up the 306 Ultra Fine Benchstone. Up to this point my finishing stone has been a DMT EEF stone. I find that the 306 yields a nicer finish and a very keen edge. It does load up with metal after some use but is easy to clean with Barkeepers friend and I like the fact that I will never need to flatten it. All in all I have been very pleased with it. It will serve me well for a lifetime I believe.



This is an edge achieved using the Spyderco medium, fine, and ultra fine stones followed by DMT diamond pastes at 6, 3, and 1 micron on leather strops.

That is a really beautiful edge.

I was looking at that stone but because I'm so cheap I got the 2"x8" stone. I figured the smaller stone was ok for my folders since they all are under 4" blades. Then I decided to touch up the kitchen knives and would have liked the additional sharpening area for longer blades. Anyone thinking about the UF stones consider this. The few bucks you save may be better spent on the larger stone instead of the junk you will spend it on. :) Or, what I used my money for. :)

Jack

[Donut]

Hey Prime, I had always read that the Ultra Fine and the DMT XXF were comparable products. I got an XXF a couple of weeks ago, and I'm finding that isn't exactly true.

DMT XXF seems quite a bit more coarse than the Spyderco Fine stone. Is that what you see, or is my stone messed up?

[Fancier]

The Ultra Fine Spyderco bench stone gives a much more polished surface than the DMT Extra extra fine diamond does in my experience.

[sir_mike]

I went alittle crazy buying some benchstones lately cause I get them at an awesome price.

I have the 302M, 302F, 302UF, 306UF, double stuff 303MF, profile set 701MF, as well as a sharpmaker with the UF pair! I also have a 400/1200 whetstone coming!

Anyway, do I need all these? Which ones should I keep and what should I sell off?

I dont use my knives alot so they dont get dull that fast at all. I also wonder if I should hit them with a fine or ultra fine when I get them to make them sharper after received. Do others hit them right after they receive them? If so, which stones do you use if they are already fairly sharp from factory? I maily use Spyderco folders like PM2 and the Sage 2.