Sharpening stones for a blue 2 steel knife

[Stormylolol]

Hello all,

I am hoping to buy a Kyohei Shindo gyuto (210mm, blue 2 steel) in the near future and am thinking I should get some stones to go with it.
Currently I have some pretty worn old whetstones from a neighbour which had worked okay for my bog standard department store knives, but these will not work well for a new knife. They also either have no markings/box or are simply labelled as coarse/fine which does not help me search for new ones…

I am on a budget and was hoping I could get some advice as to the quality of the Naniwa multi stone grain (220/1000 and 1000/3000) stones. From research it appears I will ideally have a coarse/med/fine stone and was hoping this would knock out two of those requirements! It seems something like a 400 may be more suited as the coarse stone but as far as I can tell I will not be having to sharpen any super dull blades and therefore was more tantalised with the 1000/3000 stone.

Reading the forums seems to rate the shapton 1000 stones very highly but as of right now I think they may be slightly out of my budget (as the stone(s) would be purchased at the same time as the knife). If the general consensus is to hold off on both of the purchases until more funds are accrued then that is also a welcomed opinion. I was hoping these naniwa offerings may be a little better than the standard more inexpensive king options

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

THe aforementioned budget for the stone is probably max ~£50 (hopefully for two/ a multi stone) and as per the currency I am in the UK.

Thanks

[Radar53]

Hi there stormy & welcome to our forum.

For the B#2 knife you're looking at I would think that this combo stone would be good with a knife that is already pretty sharp;

Cerax Combo 1K/3K @ USD 59~ here https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ceraxcombo1k3k.html

I have this stone in my travel kit and it does a good job. Medium hardness, good feedback, good finish and a sharp edge.

However, if you're also planning to also sharpen other knives (especially blunt one's from friends or neighbours), then you will need something a bit coarser like the following;

Cerax Combo 280/1.5K @ USD 60 ~ here https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ceco28.html

I don't have this particular stone, but these Cerax combos get good rec's on the forum. The 280 grit will let you get a fair bit of work done to establish a good initial bevel on a blunt knife and the 1.5k grit will add a good working edge.

HTH

[cliff]

I think Shapton Pro are outstanding stones and very good value. You won't go wrong starting with the 1K and then adding a coarse and fine as needed. I started with the Imanishi Combination stone (1K and 6K). It served me well for quite awhile.

ETA - For what it's worth, I have heard good things about the Cerax combination stones and, as I say, have enjoyed Imanishi. You shouldn't need a super low grit for some time, if ever. My inclination would be to get a good 1K, either Shapton or Cerax, though, the latter requires soaking. You can maintain a knife for a good while with a 1K. At some point, you'll need something in the 300-400 range.

[Kekoa]

I personally stayed away from combo stones because I like to sharpen a lot and I flatten my stones frequently so I wanted to invest in full thickness stone that would last me a long time. This may not be a problem if you are not a sharpen-oholic like me, but if it were me, I'd buy a #1000 grit for starters, and if I still had some budget left, I would buy either a strop with some diamond paste, or I would buy a Fine Spyderco Sharpmaker Ceramic Rod which you can get for about $13. You can make a little stand to set the rod on and use it like a benchstone to refine your #1000 grit edges or to do quick touch ups.

[FisherMAn1298]

Well thought out. I say, spend the money on what I think is the best 1k out there. The Shapton Glass 1K is the best one out there for my money, unless somebody starts selling Nubatamas. Pair it with the 500 grit double thick and a finishing stone of your choice and you're set for life if you take care of them. You should get a good roo strop and some diamond emulsion along with a diamond flattening plate to use after you finish using your knife. That way you won't have to sharpen as often. A few stropping strokes on a good piece of leather with diamond emulsion will bring your edge back to a keen sharpness in no time at all. There's so many stones out there, it's all about budget, preference and what you like. I have the SG, SP, Suehiro Cerax, Debado, Morehei Hishiboshi line too of which the 9k is amazing. Naniwa snow white 8k, diamond 400 and 1k and others so my tastes are varied but in the end Nubatama and Shapton Glass rule my Plate.

[billk1002]

If you are buying a new sharp knife you will only need to maintain the sharp edge, you can do that with a leather strop for months of home use.
Next you could add a 4k or 5k stone after you notice that the strop is quite bringing the edge back, I own the 5k Shapton Pro and it is a wonderful stone.

[Peter Samuelson]

Hi. I agree with billk1002’s approach above^, with this additional info- Within the last three months I’ve purchased both a Kyohei Shindo bunka (as a gift for my daughter), then a funayuki for myself. I used the bunka lightly for a couple weeks before going to visit her. Both knives wanted a very light couple passes on a fine stone after a few cuts. I used a 6K. And neither knife has needed anything since, except an occasional strop. Buying a fine stone first (3-6K) seems unconventional, but in this case it will maintain your knife without unnecessarily thickening a blade that is very thin behind the edge, as long as you don’t accidentally damage the edge.
I’ve not used Naniwa stones, but the 1K/3K combo would fit the bill, as you seem inclined toward it.
The Imanishi 6K is a fantastic stone in my opinion, though I don’t know the consensus on the attached 1K.