Gift stone set

[aestep]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying myself a set of stones/other sharpening gear for Christmas this year. I don't really know much about sharpening equipment so I figured I'd ask for some help. I've been using a King 1000/6000 double sided stone for all my sharpening so far. My knives are a couple W1 Japanese knives, a Shun knife which I believe is R2 steel, and a couple Wusthof knives. My sharpening skills are okay but I'm still a beginner. Any particular recommendations for stones, strops or other equipment? I'm looking to spend around $200-300 now, but I'll probably be willing to spend more over time.

[arthurfowler]

Do you have a stone holder and something to flatten your stones currently?

[aestep]

My double sided stone came with a plastic holder, but I'm not sure if it'll fit other stones. I don't have a flattening plate.

[lsboogy]

Get a red brick first - after you understand how to sharpen on a 1K the rest is easy, and the stone should last a lifetime. I have one and use it often. If you want to spend a bit more, call ken123 and get a Nubatama 1200 - same size stone, bit softer, and both are great basic stones.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shak1gr1.html

And... I am learning about low grit stones due to working in a pro kitchen (already did 2 boxes onions, 2 boxes zucchini and 2 boxes carrots) - another individual chips line knives regularly and a low grit stone makes quick work of small chips
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/impibr.html

Then a decent polishing stone (6-8K) and maybe a mid grit one (2-3K). I highly recommend the green brick 2K stone and it's another 2" thick beast that will last you 30 years
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/naao2kgrbr.html

Although not as thick as the others, I have a kitayama 8K that I have been using for 30 years and still love the soft feel and the edge it turns out on harder steels.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kitayama8000.html

I like softer stones than many, probably due to the way I learned many years ago, and I would guess many will recommend shaptons and the like, but you will discover what feels right to you over time.

And soft stainless stuff is pretty gummy so I would avoid using high grit stones on it - it clogs many stones - did a few knives this week for my sister - finished at 1200 grit and they are fine for the steel. Your R2 knife will take and hold an 8K edge, as will white steel knives.

[nakneker]

The flattening plate already mentioned is important, the cktg 140 diamond works great and is only 30 bucks. It took me awhile to learn how to maintain a stone, I flatten after every session now, it only takes a minute.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/140grdistflp.html

As far as stones go you have a lot of choices and there aren’t too many bad ones. The Shapton glass stones are great stones, they are easy to store, true splash and gos and work quick on a variety of steels including the R2 and Wustofs mentioned . I tried just about every synthetic stone I could find, oddly enough some of the most expensive stones were the ones I liked the least. I kept the shapton glass, shapton pro, Cerax, and few suehiro stones. I also kept a King Hyper 1000, much better performing stone than the standard king 1000. What I learned after having so many stones is that most of the stones listed here on CKTG are good stones and will do the job. I wouldn’t get caught up too much in the type of stone, a 320, 1k, 3k and 5k from any of the brands I just listed will serve you well. Technique over brand of stone used. A good stone holder or sink bridge helps a lot.

[arthurfowler]

The flattening plate already mentioned is important, the cktg 140 diamond works great and is only 30 bucks. It took me awhile to learn how to maintain a stone, I flatten after every session now, it only takes a minute.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/140grdistflp.html

As far as stones go you have a lot of choices and there aren’t too many bad ones. The Shapton glass stones are great stones, they are easy to store, true splash and gos and work quick on a variety of steels including the R2 and Wustofs mentioned . I tried just about every synthetic stone I could find, oddly enough some of the most expensive stones were the ones I liked the least. I kept the shapton glass, shapton pro, Cerax, and few suehiro stones. I also kept a King Hyper 1000, much better performing stone than the standard king 1000. What I learned after having so many stones is that most of the stones listed here on CKTG are good stones and will do the job. I wouldn’t get caught up too much in the type of stone, a 320, 1k, 3k and 5k from any of the brands I just listed will serve you well. Technique over brand of stone used. A good stone holder or sink bridge helps a lot.

This ^^^^^^

[Igalor]

Shapton glass 500, shapton pro 2k, atoma 140.

[aestep]

Thanks for the tips all! I tend to keep my knives in good enough shape to where they're not dulled or chipped (I'm just a home cook) so I'm not sure if I need a low grit stone right away. It sounds like what I should focus on, in order of priority:

- Flattening plate
- Stone holder
- 1K stone
- 5K stone
- 3K stone

Does that sound about right?

[nakneker]

Thanks for the tips all! I tend to keep my knives in good enough shape to where they're not dulled or chipped (I'm just a home cook) so I'm not sure if I need a low grit stone right away. It sounds like what I should focus on, in order of priority:

- Flattening plate
- Stone holder
- 1K stone
- 5K stone
- 3K stone

Does that sound about right?

You would be a good shape armed with that list. Should handle just about everything.

[Carlo]

Shapton glass 500, shapton pro 2k, atoma 140.

I second this, except maybe get the cheap diamond plate sold by Mark for $30 as a flattener instead of the Atoma. SG 500 will take care of almost any chips and it works very very well with the Shapton Pro 2000; I rarely go higher. Stropping on balsa, leather or newspaper after cleans it up and leaves a nice bit of tooth. You could probably get by with these for a year (and it would be far, far better than just getting by, your knives, even as a beginner will blow away people who use them) and save your budget for when you start to have a better idea of what you’re looking for next, and waste less money/have more for knives.

To be clear I have several other stones (all SP, I need to have splash n go because I don’t have space or time to soak and I’m still low on the learning curve myself) and I could easily downsize to these two for 98% of the sharpening I do.

PS: the Shapton Pros come with a serviceable holder integrated into their plastic box, I have a double thickness SG that is similarly equipped (thank you, Robstreperous!) and the only other thing needed is a bit of nonslip material to go underneath (I use a strip of rubber mesh meant to go under rugs).

[lsboogy]

Thing to remember is Shapton stones are very hard and I tend to go for soft stuff. Hard stones lack feedback but can be quicker. I might try a glass 1K and a red brick - decide what feels better to you. I get the next gen (nieces and nephew) Cerax 1K/3K stones along with a decent gyuto and cutting board - and then they get a “class” in making pasta sauce from scratch (rocking, chopping and push/pull cutting- along with some basic pan skills) - sharpening is personal and everyone likes different stuff.