Need recommendation for a replacement 1K sharpening stone

[Tony Wilkins]

My current sharpening kit is 1,000 grit Hida (generic red brick) water stone, 6,000 grit King S3 water stone, and an Atoma 400 grit diamond stone to flatten them both. I also have the little rotary box set of Suehiro dual stones that I really like but aren't big enough for plane blades (and I intend to use in the shop for quick hits).

My problem is that it is a pain in the tuckus to soak the 1,000 grit Hida. The King works well enough as a splash and go that I don't intend to replace it unless it just makes sense to.

So what do you guys recommend to replace the Hida? I seem to be drawn to the Suehiro even though they're at the top of the price range (and I'm ok with that).

Since I keep going back and forth on getting something higher than the 6K I'm open to general suggestions. The only thing I'm not much interested in is stropping - my lack of strength and feeling in my hands means a guide is a good thing for me.

TIA,
Tony

[Trip]

==> 1,000 grit Hida

 

It comes down to what you are looking for...  Most folks shoot for a balanced course, medium and fine stone set...

 

The 1K grit Hida is a bit to the medium-side of course.  For a value-priced course stone, you might look at the King 700 grit.  It cuts fast.  A bit up the price curve, the 1K grit Norton is also considered a course stone.  It doesn't cut as fast as the King, but will last a lot longer...  I've owned both and can recommend them...

 

Your 6K King is on the fine-side of medium, but not a true fine/polisher...  If you're happy with the edge you get with the 6K, then keep it.  Some day, you should look at a solid medium stone -- one that removes the scratch pattern from the course stone, but still cuts fast.  A decent value medium stone would be a king 1200.  The 6K King can be that 'extra stone' that is good for quick touch-up on a secondary bevel...  I had a really nice 6K stone for just that purpose -- then I dropped it...  Doh, hate it when that happens...

 

I'd focus on getting the course stone first, then a polisher, say a king 8000 and then fill the gap with a medium stone.  A great deal depends on your budget...  If you have the $, then the ceramics are a good long-term investment, but that's getting up there in cost.

[wm_crash]

Here's my personal suggestion:

 

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/shpro3pcset1.html

 

cheers,

wm_crash, the friendly hooligan

[Trip]

==> http://www.chefknive...pro3pcset1.html

 

That's a pretty good price on the shaptons...  But we need input from the OP on his budget...  Going ceramic is nice, but it does cost...

[wilburpan]

My two suggestions:

 

1. My favorite 1000 grit waterstone is the Shapton Pro. It’s pretty much a splash and go waterstone.

 

2. Make it a habit to put your current 1000 grit Hida into whatever you’re using for a water container as soon as you step into your shop. By the time you actually get around to sharpening, it will be soaked enough, and it will be ready to go. Even if it’s not optimally soak, it will work pretty well. When you leave your shop for the day, take the waterstone out.

 

As far as prices go, I can’t find a better deal than from Tools From Japan. The total cost for a 1000/5000/8000 grit set is $164. Shipping to New Jersey is about $29. Tools From Japan also carries a variety of Suehiro waterstones, as well as other brands.

[rodger.]

I use an imanishi and I really like it. About 50 dollars at lee valley.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67088&cat=1,43072,67175

[Tony Wilkins]

Thanks for the suggestions. As far as budget goes $200 sounds ok until I begin to push the buy button. I've spent a bit lately so my budget should shrink. I just hate to get something I'll use for years and skimp on long term satisfaction for short term frugality.

[Trip]

==> As far as budget goes $200 sounds ok until I begin to push the buy button.

 

I like that...  

 

The ceramics are indeed nice and a solid long-term investment...  You wouldn't ever regret springing for a Shapton set.

 

That being said, I've used a King #700 for years and have always been happy.  The requirement for a course stone is fast cutting and the king hits that target squarely...

 

To make your budget go a bit further, you could get the King for the course stone and go higher-end for the fine/finish/polish stone (where it counts)...  You really don't have to go high-end on the course stone to get top-shelf performance...

[wilburpan]

If you just need a replacement 1000 grit waterstone, and are watching your budget, the Shapton Pro 1000 is $49 shipped to New Jersey from Tools From Japan.

[Trip]

==> Shapton Pro 1000 is $49

 

For that $49, I'd get a Chosera 600 -- actually, I take that back, I just looked and the price on the Chosera -- it's gone up -- a lot.  However, the Chosera cuts considerably faster than the Shapton, leaves a finer scratch pattern and certainly lasts longer... Another stone to consider at a price closer to the Shapton is the Sigma Select 1200.

 

If you primarily work softer steels, then the King is the value-oriented solution (like $22). But the King dishes too quickly for A2, PM-V11, etc ...  For these steels, I'd look at the Shapton or SS, unless you can spring for the Chosera...  Note: I'm not saying you can't use a King for hard steels -- far from it -- it's just you have to flatten the stone so frequently that it [may] becomes annoying -- like every 20 strokes...  That being said, it's a decent price-point. And I want to add, the non-ceramics perform well on hard metal -- it's just you have to re-flatten more often than ceramics... it a trade-off.

 

One real negative about the King... It's a very 'thirsty' stone.  Most folks keep King stones submerged when not in use (with a little bleach)... King stones require about 30-45mins soaking prior to use.  Because it's thirsty, you need to frequently re-wet the stone during use --- far more than the Norton or ceramics...

 

Another stone at a sub-ceramic price-point would be the Norton 1K. It wets more quickly than the King and won't dish as easily.  It also cuts fairly quickly. With hard steels, the Norton will dish more quickly than the ceramics and you need to check flatness after every tool.

 

One advantage going for the ceramics (that's almost worth the price of entry) is that they don't require much soaking ---  The best ceramics are 'splash-and-go'.  The Chosera and Shapton are second-tier ceramics and perform best with a 10-15 minute soak.  Note: both Chisera and Shapton market themselves as 'splash-and-go', but you really need a 10min soak to get the best performance from the abrasive...  The true splash-and-go ceramics are priced well above both the Shapton and Chosera... And unless your other hobby is sword making, don't think they would be of much interest

 

Want to address a finer point on ceramic stones...  Ceramic stones generally load more quickly than their clay-matrix brethren... You use lighter pressure with the ceramics to avoid glazing (the Chosera 1K is considered a bit more finicky than the Shapton). A further note, the higher-quality ceramic stones take a bit more experience to "get the feel" and not "load the stone"... Most start-out with experience on clay-matrix waterstones and oil stones -- they invariably press to firmly on the ceramics and glaze the stone...  In a nutshell, the ceramic stones cut fast, but you need to let the stone do the work, refresh the the slurry often and watch for glazing.

 

There are entire hobbies, websites and blogs dedicate to sharpening -- if you're really into getting the best edge for the least amount of work, then I'd take a look at those blogs...

[ChrisG]

I love my Chosera 800!