# what are the fastest stones for cheap stainless knives?



## panda (May 16, 2014)

i'm talking for grinding the likes of dexters and other 'house' knives. one extra coarse and one coarse as cheap stainless should not go any higher than 800 grit.
i currently use gesshin 600 only but i find it's not good for soft steels.


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## andur (May 16, 2014)

I've got a shapton glass 220. Very fast! Might be a bit rough (although it's so hard it won't make deep scratches), so you could get a 320 or 500 or 1000 too. Cheapest ones are from 330mate and metalmaster in Japan but can also be found closer in Europe and the US.
I'm so pleased with the 220 I'm getting a 1000, 4000 and 8000, maybe 16000 if I can afford it.


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## erikz (May 16, 2014)

Beston 500 + Bester 1200 should suffice. I own the former stone, its really fast and has great feedback.


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## andur (May 16, 2014)

Does the Bester become concave quickly? Haven't seen one in person.


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## icanhaschzbrgr (May 16, 2014)

Aren't diamond plates works equally well on all types of steel? 
If I had enough money to afford few big diamond plates, I'd replace all my other stones with them (well, maybe I'd still leave one natural to final polishing)


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## Pensacola Tiger (May 16, 2014)

panda said:


> i'm talking for grinding the likes of dexters and other 'house' knives. one extra coarse and one coarse as cheap stainless should not go any higher than 800 grit.
> i currently use gesshin 600 only but i find it's not good for soft steels.



Don't bother with stones, use an Atoma 140 followed by the 600. DMT's if you are going cheap, but the difference in feel between the DMT and the Atoma is worth the extra cost.


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## Bigdaddyb (May 16, 2014)

I have DMT Diasharp plates in coarse and x-coarse. If you're looking to cut some metal, they'll get it done.


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## MikeHL (May 16, 2014)

I thought diamond plates don't work well with soft steel as the steel has a tenancy of grabbing the diamonds and dislodging them from the plate.

I use my chosera 400 grit for cheap soft stainless. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## erikz (May 16, 2014)

andur said:


> Does the Bester become concave quickly? Haven't seen one in person.



Not sure. The Beston does not dish whatsoever. I keep it permanently in a water filled container.


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (May 17, 2014)

The problem is that even soft stainless can still be very abrasion resistant. For any sort of rebeveling or chip repair an Atoma 140 should be considered mandatory. I start with that whenever confronted by a dull stainless blade. After that you can keep riding the diamond train or go to a good synthetic like a Shapton.

*MikeHL<>*I, also, have heard the spiel about soft steels pulling the diamonds off of a plate. It might even be somewhat true. However, my Atoma 140 has seen it all and still performs well.

Cheers,

Rick


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## panda (May 17, 2014)

dmt 600 makes sense. planning to get an atoma to replace a dmt xc because it sticks too much during lapping, does dmt make those stickers that i can just slap onto the other side of the plate?


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## berko (May 17, 2014)

i dont like my dmt 600 at all. i only use it for refreshing stones.


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## hrc63 (May 18, 2014)

Atoma 140.:lol2: Please don't take this seriously. Couldn't resist.

How about a Gesshin 400. Cuts extremely fast for a 400, and you'd have a great stone for repairs and reprofiling. Should work on everything and you'd have something multi- functional for the kit.

Cheers

hrc63


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (May 18, 2014)

Are we missing an inside joke?


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## larrybard (May 18, 2014)

panda said:


> . . . cheap stainless should not go any higher than 800 grit.



I'd be surprised if this hasn't already been explained somewhere, but could you say again why it may usually not make sense to use anything higher than 800 on "cheap stainless"? Thanks.


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## Pensacola Tiger (May 18, 2014)

hrc63 said:


> Atoma 140.:lol2: Please don't take this seriously. Couldn't resist.
> 
> How about a Gesshin 400. Cuts extremely fast for a 400, and you'd have a great stone for repairs and reprofiling. Should work on everything and you'd have something multi- functional for the kit.
> 
> ...



No, my recommendation for an Atoma 140 is quite serious and not a joke. 

Why waste a great stone like the Gesshin 400 on cheap stainless?


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## labor of love (May 18, 2014)

gesshin 400 cuts super fast.....on jknives....but not wusties or dexters. atoma makes the most sense here because atleast they would serve a dual purpose, you can also flatten your stones with them.


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## panda (May 19, 2014)

gonna get cheap generic 400/1000 diamond plate since i also have cheap 140 diamond plate i use at work for the house knives.


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## hrc63 (May 22, 2014)

Didn't see your recommendation Pensacola - no offense intended. My comment was only based on the fact that it is very agressive. Good point about not wasting a good stone.


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## Pensacola Tiger (May 22, 2014)

hrc63 said:


> Didn't see your recommendation Pensacola - no offense intended. My comment was only based on the fact that it is very agressive. Good point about not wasting a good stone.



No offense taken.

You are correct about the aggressiveness. On soft stainless, it often takes only a couple of strokes to raise a burr with an Atoma 140. It's easy to overdo things and remove more metal than necessary. 

Rick


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (May 22, 2014)

Everyone talks about soft stainless. And, yes, it has a low hardness. But it can be very abrasion resistant and a bear to grind. Then, after you've put in all that work, the edge folds like cheese. The worst of both worlds.

Cheers,

Rick


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## WingKKF (May 23, 2014)

Tall Dark and Swarfy said:


> Everyone talks about soft stainless. And, yes, it has a low hardness. But it can be very abrasion resistant and a bear to grind. Then, after you've put in all that work, the edge folds like cheese. The worst of both worlds.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rick



+1. Life is too short for crap stainless steels. Lower grit Shaptons like the ones andur has mentioned would be the way I would go.


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## JDA_NC (May 24, 2014)

Tall Dark and Swarfy said:


> Everyone talks about soft stainless. And, yes, it has a low hardness. But it can be very abrasion resistant and a bear to grind. Then, after you've put in all that work, the edge folds like cheese. The worst of both worlds.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rick



I agree and that's why I would never spend any serious time, or money, trying to sharpen house knives.

Just buy a diamond steel and save everyone the time. If prep cooks want to bang away on it then let 'em.

I've seen a couple older, really solid Mexican prep cooks who use this stone: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016J5OFU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for touch ups on their (house) knife. They all used it dry but the stone is EXTREMELY coarse and quick cutting on soft steel.. and it's real inexpensive. I would rather gift out those to some cooks and show them basic sharpening techniques then spend your own time babysitting their knives.


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## panda (May 24, 2014)

wow that's just the type of stone i was hoping for, thanks jda!


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## LKH9 (May 24, 2014)

JDA_NC said:


> I agree and that's why I would never spend any serious time, or money, trying to sharpen house knives.
> 
> Just buy a diamond steel and save everyone the time. If prep cooks want to bang away on it then let 'em.
> 
> I've seen a couple older, really solid Mexican prep cooks who use this stone: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016J5OFU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for touch ups on their (house) knife. They all used it dry but the stone is EXTREMELY coarse and quick cutting on soft steel.. and it's real inexpensive. I would rather gift out those to some cooks and show them basic sharpening techniques then spend your own time babysitting their knives.



Silicon carbide, extremely good for cheap knives. You can quickly grind a new bevel and then finish that edge with a good quality finishing stone. Silicon carbide cuts very fast.


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## Keith Sinclair (May 29, 2014)

Totally agree life is too short for cheap stainless. Too bad most of the population uses it. I sharpen a lot of stainless. Take off steel & thin with Atoma 140--Atoma 600---use various large medium stones to finish massive King 1K red brick, Gesshin 1K large.

This system works for me. Can get most stainless pretty sharp. Recently picked up a Atoma 400. My regular size gesshin stones 2K, 4K, 8K, Bester 1200,2K shapton pro., various others & a couple naturals, absolutely feel do not want to waste on cheap soft stainless.


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## LKH9 (May 29, 2014)

Please don't use all your expensive waterstones on those cheap knives. Use only the finishing stone for the final edge. Waterstone is made for delicate Japanese blades only.


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## Benuser (May 29, 2014)

Has anyone ever tried carborundum (SiC) applying huge pressure? Works very fast.


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