# Comments on my purchase of budget newbie sharpening gear?



## flvinny521 (Jan 14, 2013)

Considering that I have never before used any type of water stones, I am not a chef, and I'm trying to make the best out of rather low quality knives, how does this purchase look to get me started?

To learn and practice sharpening technique, a King 1000/6000 combination waterstone.

Also, how about a Steelex stone holder? I like the Woodcraft version as well, but I can get free shipping on the Steelex, and when I get better, I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade all this gear anyway.

Then, to flatten the stone when needed, either a DMT D6X coarse stone or a slightly cheaper granite surface plate for sandpaper. I am thinking the DMT would make more sense since I am not buying a coarse stone and, in theory, this should last a very long time. By the time I am a more practiced sharpener, I can use it for serious metal removal.

Am I on the right track here?


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## chinacats (Jan 14, 2013)

Right track! Now just some time on the stones...

:doublethumbsup:


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## Pabloz (Jan 14, 2013)

flvinny521 said:


> To learn and practice sharpening technique, a King 1000/6000 combination waterstone.
> QUOTE]
> 
> You did good.
> ...


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## K-Fed (Jan 14, 2013)

If you let us know what your budget is we, as a community which is what we are here as you'll soon find out , will be better able to guide you. While the king 1/6 combo isn't a bad place to start, for just a little more loot you can get a set to learn on and will carry you long into your more experienced sharpening days.


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## flvinny521 (Jan 14, 2013)

Honestly, my budget is as low as I can possibly get away with while producing noticeable results.

Once I've proven to myself and my wife that this "hobby" is going to make an impact in our daily lives, and once we don't have the birth of twins right around the corner and can afford to drop some more cash, I'll definitely come up with a proper budget!


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## franzb69 (Jan 14, 2013)

grats and good luck! it's bottomless pit of knives and stones =D


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## K-Fed (Jan 14, 2013)

Well then the king 1/6 and something to flatten with will get the job done. I don't own the stone but I've used it and gotten some good results off of it.


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## vicv (Jan 14, 2013)

My first stone as well. Works well to learn on but the 6000 side really isn't needed for starting out. For the same price you can get a full sized king 1k which is wider and easier to use. Also for the holder I just use a damp towel on a flat surface. It's free and works just as well. And for flattening I wouldn't recommend that route. I thought I'd cheap out by going that route when I started. It's cheap at first but it wears so fast it gets expensive. I use Sic powder on a scrap piece of glass but a course diamond hone will work well too


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## wenus2 (Jan 14, 2013)

It's a good starting point and will certainly put an edge on your knives.

For the same price with shipping this one includes a stand (and is sold by one of our site supporters):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DT1X9O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Jmadams13 (Jan 15, 2013)

franzb69 said:


> grats and good luck! it's bottomless pit of knives and stones =D



...and kids, twins at that. Congrats! 

Thats a good combo to start with. I have more than a few friends that have been using nothing but those for years, and get amazing results. A lot has to do with the stones, but I think just as much has to do with technique. My dad sharpens his wood chisels on an aluminum oxide combo of unknown grit, and was a yard sale buy, and for the past five years he has been sharpening is own, gets them scary scary sharp. It took a while to get the technique down, but once he did, wow. Now on his knives, that's another story, lol, but it's a different technique I guess.

I flatten with p220 grit on a glass tile, but think a true flattening stone would be a better route, or the DMT you mentioned. Not that I really know what I'm doing, juste my .02

Joe


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## flvinny521 (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks for the input, everybody. When I have a few minutes I'll read through for your suggestions...


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## mpukas (Jan 15, 2013)

I suggest getting a full size King 1000 and a King 6000 on a base or a King Ice Bear 4000 or 6000 as opposed to a combo stone. Reason being is it's easier to keep the sotnes flat if you just sharpen on one side, rather than two sides. You'll use the 1000 far more than the 6000 and wear it out faster, so a full size will get you more life. Over all the cost will be a little bit more, but if you shop around you can get a good deal on Amazon. 

Don't bother with a diamond plate for now. I just use a 12 x 12 x 1 marble tile I got for free at a stone yard and an 8 x 8 peice of drywall sanding screen f/ the hardware store. I know some folks may find this inferior to a plate, but I've come to believe (at least for now) that having a big surface to flatten on is important. The flattening surface has to be bigger than the stone. That 6" plate you were looking at is too small.


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## flvinny521 (Jan 16, 2013)

vicv said:


> My first stone as well. Works well to learn on but the 6000 side really isn't needed for starting out. For the same price you can get a full sized king 1k which is wider and easier to use. Also for the holder I just use a damp towel on a flat surface. It's free and works just as well. And for flattening I wouldn't recommend that route. I thought I'd cheap out by going that route when I started. It's cheap at first but it wears so fast it gets expensive. I use Sic powder on a scrap piece of glass but a course diamond hone will work well too





mpukas said:


> I suggest getting a full size King 1000 and a King 6000 on a base or a King Ice Bear 4000 or 6000 as opposed to a combo stone. Reason being is it's easier to keep the sotnes flat if you just sharpen on one side, rather than two sides. You'll use the 1000 far more than the 6000 and wear it out faster, so a full size will get you more life. Over all the cost will be a little bit more, but if you shop around you can get a good deal on Amazon.
> 
> Don't bother with a diamond plate for now. I just use a 12 x 12 x 1 marble tile I got for free at a stone yard and an 8 x 8 peice of drywall sanding screen f/ the hardware store. I know some folks may find this inferior to a plate, but I've come to believe (at least for now) that having a big surface to flatten on is important. The flattening surface has to be bigger than the stone. That 6" plate you were looking at is too small.



vicv and mpukas, your advice makes a lot of sense. I had only really intended to use the 1000 grit side anyway, until I learned a proper technique, so why complicate things with the combo stone? I will probably take the advice of vciv and buy just one full-sized 1k grit stone for now. Also, the drywall sanding screen and large tile sounds like it will do the trick, and for a decent savings over my current plan. I imagine you'd place the marble down on a surface and hold the waterstone in your hand, but how do you attach the sanding screen to the tile to make sure it doesn't move? Also, will a medium grit screen work? That seems to be all I can find in a large square-ish size.




wenus2 said:


> It's a good starting point and will certainly put an edge on your knives.
> 
> For the same price with shipping this one includes a stand (and is sold by one of our site supporters):
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DT1X9O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



Thanks for the link, I'll probably buy a full sized 1k stone from him instead.



Jmadams13 said:


> ...I flatten with p220 grit on a glass tile, but think a true flattening stone would be a better route, or the DMT you mentioned. Not that I really know what I'm doing, juste my .02
> 
> Joe



Thanks Joe; same question as above, what is the best way to adhere the sandpaper to the tile to keep it from moving or bunching during the flattening process?



Sorry for the wall of text, but now the question is between these two stones. Besides the fact that one has free shipping and the other doesn't, is there any difference at all?

Stone 1 vs. stone 2


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## vicv (Jan 16, 2013)

I'm not sure of the difference of the two but I'd buy the deluxe. Looks a bit bigger. For holding sandpaper down just wet it. It won't move


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## Jmadams13 (Jan 16, 2013)

^+1. I just wet it and it stays in place. I use wet/dry from 3m. Before I was trying to glue it, but never got it perfectly flat. Also, I put the tile down on the counter and move the stone. Use the pencil trick notes in Jon's video on flattening


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## mpukas (Jan 16, 2013)

I put the tile in my sink and just lay the drywall screen on it. Easy to run water on it as needed and contain the mess - just be careful of slurry build-up in your pipes, as noted recently in another thread. I used to try taping the screen w/ painters tape, but it just comes off in water. You can just hold one corner of it with one hand while holding the stone in the other hand. 

The two stones you linked are essentially the same - get the one f/ Korin, as they offer free shipping, and if for no other reason that they are a member vendor here. Here's a thread I started recently on King stones, fyi.


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