Sharpening knives- whetstone
Discussion
Whether you use a traditional stone on a diamond plate, you need to practice.
Realistically, you are probably not going to gain much over a simpler sharpening method, and potentially you could end up doing more harm than good.
What kind of knife or knives are you planning to sharpen?
To answer your question, I use stones and plates to sharpen, ceramic rods to hone and then strop on leather.
For my home knives, I go to 3000 grit, but for more robust work use (I'm a chef), I only go to 1000 then hone on a fine steel.
Realistically, you are probably not going to gain much over a simpler sharpening method, and potentially you could end up doing more harm than good.
What kind of knife or knives are you planning to sharpen?
To answer your question, I use stones and plates to sharpen, ceramic rods to hone and then strop on leather.
For my home knives, I go to 3000 grit, but for more robust work use (I'm a chef), I only go to 1000 then hone on a fine steel.
CopperBolt said:
Anyone sharpen their kitchen knives on a stone?
It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
Firstly I'd say don't get a "whetstone" as in the literal meaning of the type you need to use water or oil - get a diamond stone that you use 'dry'. Secondly the 1000/3000 is way too fine for what you need. Thirdly watch this video (and his many others) and take his advice..............It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
Finally using a 'stone' takes a LOT of practice - here's a thread I started that may take you down a deep rabbit hole
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
CopperBolt said:
Anyone sharpen their kitchen knives on a stone?
It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
If you wanted to experiment, Lidl have them from time to time, in two different grades, and they're much cheaper than that. I watched a video as all my knives are blunt, they happened to have them in the next time I was in there, so I bought one. Haven't tried it yet, but mine is the 1000/3000 which by the sound of a later comment won't be much use.It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
Sharpening blades takes practice. You don't need anything posh.
Coarse, medium and fine stones from a tool suppliers will do the job. Fine 1200 grit wet and dry paper can be useful too. A leather strop mounted on a piece of wood is also good, along with metal polish.
Coarse, medium and fine stones from a tool suppliers will do the job. Fine 1200 grit wet and dry paper can be useful too. A leather strop mounted on a piece of wood is also good, along with metal polish.
Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 7th July 08:44
Wet stones are not too hard to get the hang of - but an angle guide does help.
The tricky bit is with curved blades, getting a consistent edge along the curved bit but with care and good hand/eye coordination you quickly pick it up.
My knife came with a double sided stone, angle guide and strop, and a ceramic steel as a bundle offer. I was always scared of trying the stone for fear of buggering up the angle (it's a Japanese knife) and was contemplating one of those ludicrously expensive roller sharpeners but once I jumped in I never looked back - I can get a razor sharp edge in no time now.
The tricky bit is with curved blades, getting a consistent edge along the curved bit but with care and good hand/eye coordination you quickly pick it up.
My knife came with a double sided stone, angle guide and strop, and a ceramic steel as a bundle offer. I was always scared of trying the stone for fear of buggering up the angle (it's a Japanese knife) and was contemplating one of those ludicrously expensive roller sharpeners but once I jumped in I never looked back - I can get a razor sharp edge in no time now.
droopsnoot said:
CopperBolt said:
Anyone sharpen their kitchen knives on a stone?
It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
If you wanted to experiment, Lidl have them from time to time, in two different grades, and they're much cheaper than that. I watched a video as all my knives are blunt, they happened to have them in the next time I was in there, so I bought one. Haven't tried it yet, but mine is the 1000/3000 which by the sound of a later comment won't be much use.It seems I need either a 400\1000 stone or a 1000\3000.
Wondered if anyone used them, what grade you use and where you got them? Also how easy is it?
Seem to be about £60. Bit steep possibly.
Thanks!
FIrstly, it comes with a guide which helps significantly to keep the blade at a stable angle.
Secondly the stone needs to be soaked in water for a good 15-20 minutes.
Thirdly, the stone needs to be washed from time to time.
The 1000 grit side produced a decent edge but took a while to get sharp. The 3000 grit side finished the edge but took absolutely ages. Was it worth it? Yes and no. Yes, because it's easy to use and produces a decent result. No, because it took ages and ages to get there and my usual method takes about 10 minutes.
i use an old school wet stone for sharpening chisels in my workshop, its the best way to get something razor sharp, but if you dont know what you are doing, it can do more harm than good.
But in the kitchen i just use a cheap knock off roller honer from amazon, it works plenty well enough for knives.
But in the kitchen i just use a cheap knock off roller honer from amazon, it works plenty well enough for knives.
I’ve tried down the years to get good at sharpening knives, and still struggle to do it on stones. As well as learning the skills you also need to maintain the stones which is a bit messy and adds effort.
I now have a Tormec T-1 diamond wheel and honing wheel sharpener which while not giving as good an edge as an expert would get on stones is consistently better than I would be. I also have a ceramic “steel” to re-hone the edge between sharpening which makes quite a difference.
I now have a Tormec T-1 diamond wheel and honing wheel sharpener which while not giving as good an edge as an expert would get on stones is consistently better than I would be. I also have a ceramic “steel” to re-hone the edge between sharpening which makes quite a difference.
MC Bodge said:
Sporky said:
a glass chopping board
<gnashes teeth>Who invented such a ludicrous item?!
I bought her some plastic ones. She was amazed how long her knives stayed sharp...
Actually, the glass one replaced some ancient (70s?) ones that I think were Formica. They were just as bad - forty years of use and nary a mark on them.
RustyMX5 said:
I bought one of the Lidl stones to try it out.
FIrstly, it comes with a guide which helps significantly to keep the blade at a stable angle.
Secondly the stone needs to be soaked in water for a good 15-20 minutes.
Thirdly, the stone needs to be washed from time to time.
The 1000 grit side produced a decent edge but took a while to get sharp. The 3000 grit side finished the edge but took absolutely ages. Was it worth it? Yes and no. Yes, because it's easy to use and produces a decent result. No, because it took ages and ages to get there and my usual method takes about 10 minutes.
Thanks for that. I must get around to having a go. FIrstly, it comes with a guide which helps significantly to keep the blade at a stable angle.
Secondly the stone needs to be soaked in water for a good 15-20 minutes.
Thirdly, the stone needs to be washed from time to time.
The 1000 grit side produced a decent edge but took a while to get sharp. The 3000 grit side finished the edge but took absolutely ages. Was it worth it? Yes and no. Yes, because it's easy to use and produces a decent result. No, because it took ages and ages to get there and my usual method takes about 10 minutes.
The other thing I bought from Aldi was a knife / scissors / drill bit sharpener for about £15. I've only tried scissors and drill bits so far and it's been good at those, I might try a knife to see what happens but it really sounds rough when it's grinding, certainly nothing like 1000 grit never mind 3000.
My experience was the same as Rusty, but worse. I can turn my hand to most things but couldn't get on with the whetstone at all. Even after watching umpteen tutorials and using 'shims' for the right angle, they stubbornly remained as blunt as what I started with. I got so pissed off with it I eventually chucked it in the bin as it was one of the biggest wastes of time I've ever used and it even took a chunk of metal out of one of my knives, rendering it also only fit for the bin.
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