Moldmaster or Ruby stones for a sharpmaker?

SmilingFury · #1

Hello spyderco masters,

I call you all masters because I am an ultra novice, tip rounding, steel jockey who has recently discovered the error of my ways. I have recently purchased a SM and have not even gotten it yet, however, I have been reading alot of what you all have posted here and I would love some help with a few questions I have at this point.

Let me begin by apologizing if these simple questions are answered elsewhere on this forum but here goes. The SM has a clear flaw that I cannot swallow even before using it, it won't set a back bevel on all the knives I intend to fix. I want to clip lower grit rectangular stones onto the SM rods (as I have read in this forum, this is suggested by several people)and I want some feedback on what kind are preferred by those who know considerably more than I do, ruby or moldmaster? Would you use the 1x6 in the 1/8 or 1/4 thickness ? I have not purchased the diamond rods for the SM. Also, what grit progression would you guys suggest for me as the med rods are approx 600 grit. I am looking for suggestions on what your preferences are and any other suggestions are more than welcome if I have overlooked anything else ( which I am sure I have) . Thanks in advance for any help avoiding rookie mistakes.

chuck_roxas45 · #2

I'm not an expert but I can tell you that the 1/4 thick stones won't fit because there's not a 1/2 inch clearance between the rods at the bottom.

phillipsted · #3

I use MoldMasters in the 1x6x0.125" size. These stones are fairly agressive, so I only use a couple of the medium grit stones, then convert back to the sharpmaker grey stone to finish out.

TedP

jackknifeh · #4

I haven't tried the Ruby stones but wanted to going by the description on congress tools.com. The Moldmasters are a great choice. They cut fast and are inexpensive. I have the 320, 400 and 600 grits. I only use the 600 for edge trailing strokes when I use water on them. It's soft and pushing the edge into the stone using normal strokes the stone scrapes off in a mud form. The 400 grit leave a great edge anyway. I have tried the FLEX stones and love them. They leave a closer to mirror finish on the edge. I have the 400 and 600 grit FLEX stones that I use as the finishing stones if I want after the 400 grit MM. With these stones being so inexpensive you can try different types to find out what you like. Maybe not all at once. I would start with the MM stones in a set of 3 or 4 stones with 400 grit being the finest grit. IMO you will have a great set to use and will keep your knives sharp. Keep in mind that the stones sold by Congress Tools are meant to be used with oil. I have used water and they work fine like that. I've also used them dry and they perform fine but clog much faster.

That's about all I know about these stone. I have thought about getting what I would call a complete set of stones from CT. I would get 4 or 5 MMs and a couple of FLEX stones in the finer grits. If I ever do this I'll probably throw in a couple of Ruby stones just to try them.

bh49 · #5

Hi SmilingFury,
Welcome to the Forum.

Currently I use 6"x1x1/8" moldmasters in 120->240->400 grits->mediums. I used the dry and wet, currently only dry. it seems to me a little faster. I used Ruby in the past for VG10. I believe that they remove steel faster, but also shed much faster. I am not sure how they will perform on harder steels with more carbide content. I also used them wet and dry.
If you clamp them to sharpmaker rods, clean rods well to remove any abrasives dust from the surface before use.

SmilingFury · #6

Wow! That was fast! Thank you Chuck, Phil, Jack, and BH. I have seen pics of knives posted by all of you and I am more impressed than I can say. I am living in Europe right now and want these orders to arrive before I take the family home n june (xmas in June!). I am ordering the MMs in 120,240, & 400 stones in 1x6x1/8.
Also if anyone can give me a brief explanation as to the pros and cons of using these wet/dry. As I am truly a newbie, will wetting the stones give me a margin of error that will protect the stones and my blades from my inexperience? Or does it keep the stone from scraping off too fast? Just a guess... Thanks again guys!

jackknifeh · #7

SmilingFury wrote:Wow! That was fast! Thank you Chuck, Phil, Jack, and BH. I have seen pics of knives posted by all of you and I am more impressed than I can say. I am living in Europe right now and want these orders to arrive before I take the family home n june (xmas in June!). I am ordering the MMs in 120,240, & 400 stones in 1x6x1/8.
Also if anyone can give me a brief explanation as to the pros and cons of using these wet/dry. As I am truly a newbie, will wetting the stones give me a margin of error that will protect the stones and my blades from my inexperience? Or does it keep the stone from scraping off too fast? Just a guess... Thanks again guys!

Use them wet. The only one I may use dry id the MM 600. It doesn't wear as fast but it will clog faster and need to be flattened. You can flatten them if you buy a flattening stone for $300. :eek: Or you can use a piece of coarse sandpaper on a very flat surface. :D If you get the MM 600 grit try it wet and use push strokes so you can see what I mean. Then you can decide how you want to use it. I use it for trailing strokes like stropping and putting a prettier finsh on the bevel.

Good luck

jackknifeh · #8

I want to add that after using the MM stones you will have a very consistant scratch pattern that looks more like a blurry haze instead of scratches. It's really a pretty attractive edge. But if you want a mirror finish that is easily achieved with a decant strop. So, you don't need the expensive stones. They do a better job for the truely anal but you have to be a real idiot to buy them. I have a set of them. :) Are they "worth" the money considering how good a job the MM's will do? Absolutely not. They are a sort of "when I have extra cash" type of item.

SmilingFury · #9

jackknifeh wrote:I want to add that after using the MM stones you will have a very consistant scratch pattern that looks more like a blurry haze instead of scratches. It's really a pretty attractive edge. But if you want a mirror finish that is easily achieved with a decant strop. So, you don't need the expensive stones. They do a better job for the truely anal but you have to be a real idiot to buy them. I have a set of them. :) Are they "worth" the money considering how good a job the MM's will do? Absolutely not. They are a sort of "when I have extra cash" type of item.

Thank you Jack , I appreciate your time and knowledge.

Clip · #10

Fury, I was directed to Stropman for my strop (finishing/maintaining) and haven't looked back. You can find the website easily on google, I use it with the green and gray compounds and it leaves a heck of an edge for the price.

bh49 · #11

SmilingFury wrote: the pros and cons of using these wet/dry.

From my experience with MM dry remove steel faster, but also get loaded faster and leave coarse scratch pattern.

SmilingFury · #12

Thanks Clip and BH.