# Whetstones: Don't want to soak. What to buy?



## ABranson (Feb 17, 2017)

I am looking to buy some new whetstones. Currently, I own the bob kramer dual whetstone with a 250 and 1000 grit. It does not require soaking, just a little splash, and its good to go. I am looking for stones with a finer grit which are similar, or do not need to be soaked long. I am not knowledgeable on stone materials so if someone could push me in the right direction for types of stones. Looking for something not crazy expensive. Would prefer dual stones, but not completely necessary. (maybe 2000/5000 or 3000/6000 or 3000/8000)


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## bkultra (Feb 17, 2017)

Welcome to the forums


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## ABranson (Feb 17, 2017)

THANKYOU!


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## chinacats (Feb 17, 2017)

Greetings and Welcome! 

Not sure what your idea of what's not crazy expensive? Also, not sure many of the often recommended stones are going to be offered as dual stones.

If you've got a 1k, I'd suggest going with a single quality finisher (4-6k). A bit more about what knives/steels you sharpen?

Cheers


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## ABranson (Feb 17, 2017)

I have a zwilling pro 10 inch knife. That's really the only thing I NEED to take care of. I have an 8 inch global chef (but don't really like it/it was a gift). I'm going to be getting a paring knife, some kind of utility or deboning knife, and something else down the road. But he zwilling is what I need to sharpen. And I know higher quality stuff can be over 100. I'd like to spend in between 50-100 on a stone.


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## ABranson (Feb 17, 2017)

THANKS!


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## chinacats (Feb 17, 2017)

OK, not exactly sure what steel you have there (is it stainless or not?) but guessing if it is a Euro stainless that you may not really even want to go finer than 1k but I'll let others who are more familiar with the knife/steel give their opinion on that.

If it is a higher hrc (hardness) blade or if you'll be wanting to try it either way, this is a great stone at a reasonable price imo. He also has a bit older version (5k) that is a few bucks less expensive. Both are great stones (I still have the 5k) which will work very fast, feel great for splash and go, and leave a fairly refined edge with good bite. Jon's a solid vendor that also has quite impressive video playlist to help up your sharpening game. If you're not in the states, there may be better recommendations because of shipping costs...just let us know.


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## jc57 (Feb 17, 2017)

Shapton Pro and Shapton Glass, Naniwa Chosera and Naniwa Superstones are all considered splash and go. I use Shapton Pro stones myself.


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## Jovidah (Feb 18, 2017)

I wouldn't consider choseras to be true splash & go stones
They really work a lot better after a few minutes of soaking.

Personally I doubt whether a finer finishing stone brings much with the soft German steel. The refinement won't last and you'll probably end up roughing it up with a honing rod anyway.


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## panda (Feb 18, 2017)

you dont need any higher grit stone for that knife. get a honing steel and a strop instead (but don't use any compounds). btw that global is actually slightly better than the zwilling.


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## foody518 (Feb 18, 2017)

Naniwa Hayabusa 4k, Naniwa Fuji 8k, Sigma Power 6k are all splash and go. Dunno how high in refinement your main knife really needs to go though


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## Nemo (Feb 18, 2017)

Welcome to the forums AB.

I use Naniwa Chosera 400, 1k, 3k and they are have good speed and feedback. 5k had some unfavourable reports (but I've never used it). Also use the Naniwa 8K Junpaku. Also cuts fast with good feedback. No problem cutting SG2/R2, SRS 15 and whatever the steel in Tojiro's HSPS is.

Where you live and which knives you want to sharpen will likely affect the answer. You'll get tailored answers if you fill out the "which stone should I buy" questionnaire in "Sharpening Station".

Good luck in keeping to your plan of ONLY buying a couple more knives. Most of the people in this rabbit hole keep buying more and more. Good news is, it's lots of fun.

And there's heaps of guys (and gals) here that have more knives than me... So I must be ok... aren't I?... Guys...


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## bennyprofane (Feb 18, 2017)

What panda said, with that type of stainless steel there is no point going finer than 1000, so you have all the stones you need.
The Dickoron Super Fine Cut would be a good addition to keep it sharp: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000T4OT8G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Marek07 (Feb 18, 2017)

As Panda and bennyprofane have said, you possibly don't need a finer stone - rather a strop or a hone. However if you feel the need for a higher grit stone, I'm a recent convert to Watanabe's #4 Kitayama #8000. Really fast for the grit level and despite being a splash and go, works even better after a one minute soak. Well within budget at ~ $58 + shipping.


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## Nemo (Feb 18, 2017)

Marek07 said:


> As Panda and bennyprofane have said, you possibly don't need a finer stone - rather a strop or a hone. However if you feel the need for a higher grit stone, I'm a recent convert to Watanabe's #4 Kitayama #8000. Really fast for the grit level and despite being a splash and go, works even better after a one minute soak. Well within budget at ~ $58 + shipping.



Yeah, I wanna get some Watanabe synths too.


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## ABranson (Feb 18, 2017)

Ok so, it seems the majority are recommending a stropping block and honing steel as 1k grit is probably enough for the metal I have. Is there a good or bad stropping block to buy. I saw a couple on amazon, and I own a honing steel, not sure what kind, but is there too much of a difference from one to the next?


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## bennyprofane (Feb 18, 2017)

There is a huge difference between honing steels, most are garbage, only a few are good.


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## chinacats (Feb 18, 2017)

Try some newsprint on top of your 1k stone...


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## Nemo (Feb 18, 2017)

I made a 30 x 10 cm balsa strop. Mounted to a piece of 2x4 pine. Adhesive rubber non-slip feet. Sanded flat to 400 grit and loaded with 1 micron diamond. Refereshes an edge very nicely in just a couple of strops.

We don't get a paper newspaper, so I don't have ready access to newsprint. Do people prefer colour newsprint ot black? I think I read somewhere that the particles in the ink are around 1 micron?


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