sharpening whetstones: what do I need?

[surrey7er]

I have a reasonable set of Global knives which I have been sharpening with a basic manual sharpener.

I feel it's time to move up to a set of whetstones; trouble is, I really dont know what to go for.

How many stones do I need, and of what grits? What is the basic procedure?

Can anyone recommend a kit that will cover the basics to a reasonable level?

I have a (ceramic) Global steel in the drawer too, but I believe that is just for finishing the job (honing?)

MTIA

[Cotty]

Reminds me my knife need a sharpen

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/HowToSharpen.htm...

[Roger645]

Get a King Homestone K45 and if you feel the need some sharpening guides.

[surrey7er]

Cotty said:

Reminds me my knife need a sharpen

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/HowToSharpen.htm...

That link seems to show a requirement for a coarse, medium and fine stone...

any suggested kits out there? Roughly what grit level does each stone have?

ta...

[crmcatee]

I'm in the process of sharpening a knife my mate made me for Christmas.

I tried this http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/LKCLX.php

But didn't like the clamp as it always seemed to slip out - causing you to almost restart the sharpening process and looking at a close up of the edge it's not exactly great but I think that's a result of the slipping out.

I'm currently looking to see if there something else out there which will provide a reliable setup for sharpening. Interested if anyones got any suggestions also.

[Roger645]

crmcatee said:

I'm in the process of sharpening a knife my mate made me for Christmas.

I tried this http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/LKCLX.php

But didn't like the clamp as it always seemed to slip out - causing you to almost restart the sharpening process and looking at a close up of the edge it's not exactly great but I think that's a result of the slipping out.

I'm currently looking to see if there something else out there which will provide a reliable setup for sharpening. Interested if anyones got any suggestions also.

Spyderco Sharpmaker

[crmcatee]

Seen that - but didn't understand what the guides are there for - the demo puts them in but then doesnt use them.
Also it still leaves a level of error because you're manually holding the knife on the stones.

I had seen this and was impressed - but for the price I would expect it to be.

Wicked Edge.

http://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/wicked-demo-cl...

[Cotty]

surrey7er said:

Cotty said:

Reminds me my knife need a sharpen

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/HowToSharpen.htm...

That link seems to show a requirement for a coarse, medium and fine stone...

any suggested kits out there? Roughly what grit level does each stone have?

ta...

Sorry I thought the site was quite instuctional in advising what stone to use. Having no experience myself I thought it best to post a link to the site where I bought my knife rather than blag it.

I have not used a whet stone but from reading a bit it suggests a medium and fine stone for an undamaged knife i.e. no nicks or chunks out of the blade.

I am tempted by the Misono No.511 Gyuto180mm (or slightly bigger) as my Petty 120mm can feel a little small for some jobs and when I get it I wil go for a fine stone and go for there.

[uncinqsix]

You need Japanese waterstones - a 1000 or 1200 grit stone and a 6000 grit stone, or maybe a combination 1000/6000. King ones are good and not very expensive. Bigger stones are much more useful IMO.

For a big 1200 stone: http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-japanese-mediu...

For the 6000: http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-japanese-fine-...

For a combo stone: http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-japanese-combi... (Smaller than the above two).

Also check out here for Kings or here for Shapton stones, which are more highly regarded.

[uncinqsix]

Cotty said:

I am tempted by the Misono No.511 Gyuto180mm (or slightly bigger) as my Petty 120mm can feel a little small for some jobs and when I get it I wil go for a fine stone and go for there.

Surely given the scale of your meals, you'd be better off with something much bigger than 180mm?

[Cotty]

uncinqsix said:

Cotty said:

I am tempted by the Misono No.511 Gyuto180mm (or slightly bigger) as my Petty 120mm can feel a little small for some jobs and when I get it I will go for a fine stone and go for there.

Surely given the scale of your meals, you'd be better off with something much bigger than 180mm?

very funny. The 120mm is fine for most things but sometimes I just feel a bigger knife would work better. I don't want a big knife for the sake of being bigger, just that it would work better in certain circomstances.

[uncinqsix]

Cotty said:

very funny. The 120mm is fine for most things but sometimes I just feel a bigger knife would work better. I don't want a big knife for the sake of being bigger, just that it would work better in certain circomstances.

I suppose it depends a lot on cooking style, but I can never understand how anyone gets by with only a small knife. I think a proper long chef's knife is essential for 90% of chopping, slicing etc. If I were you I would get at least the 210mm - you'll find it very easy to manage because it's so light and well balanced. I bought one for my sister and she really likes it.

[Roger645]

crmcatee said:

Seen that - but didn't understand what the guides are there for - the demo puts them in but then doesnt use them.
Also it still leaves a level of error because you're manually holding the knife on the stones.

I had seen this and was impressed - but for the price I would expect it to be.

Wicked Edge.

http://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/wicked-demo-cl...

There are no guides, the stones are slotted in at the correct angle holders and you hold the knife vertical whilst moving down the stones.

[Snoggledog]

Whatever you do don't get a steel. I tend to use a small diamond whetstone from http://www.dmtsharp.com/ or http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/productgroup/59/shar...

[crmcatee]

Roger645 said:

crmcatee said:

Seen that - but didn't understand what the guides are there for - the demo puts them in but then doesnt use them.
Also it still leaves a level of error because you're manually holding the knife on the stones.

I had seen this and was impressed - but for the price I would expect it to be.

Wicked Edge.

http://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/wicked-demo-cl...

There are no guides, the stones are slotted in at the correct angle holders and you hold the knife vertical whilst moving down the stones.

So what are the round brass pole he puts in and then takes out - doesn't seem to use them but he mentions they're guides.

Also the knife doesn't exactly go straight down it's at an angle which changes depending which stroke he's on.

[Scantily]

I think it's time I Started using a waterstone to sharpen my globals, currently I just use a minosharp ceramic wheel jobby which is a bit old and worn now so My knives are nowhere near as sharp as they used to be.

I was going to buy a 1000/6000 combination stone that has been linked above.

Has anyone used these knife guides? http://www.richmondcookshop.co.uk/product_info.php...

As I wouldn't want to dive straight into freehand and risk blunting them.

Edited by Scantily on Tuesday 22 February 15:26

[Roger645]

crmcatee said:

So what are the round brass pole he puts in and then takes out - doesn't seem to use them but he mentions they're guides.

Also the knife doesn't exactly go straight down it's at an angle which changes depending which stroke he's on.

Bit late responding but,

the brass rods are to protect you hand that holds the sharpmaker, been a long time since I have seen the DVD but the sharpmaker does give really good results. It's easy to get a bit anal about sharpening but a couple of degrees "drift" in technique I would suggest is acceptable.

[bga]

Snoggledog said:

Whatever you do don't get a steel. I tend to use a small diamond whetstone from http://www.dmtsharp.com/ or http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/productgroup/59/shar...

What is your logic in not recommending a steel? At it's most basic use it will help retain an edge that you use the whetstone to achieve. A diamond steel + plenty of practice will mean you have to use a whetstone very infrequenty.

[thegman]

have a set of henkels. i also have the henkles steel sharpner, but tbh it doesnt really do the job. could i use this on my knives

[Pete Franklin]

I use one of these for my globals (which is the same as using a wet stone really):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MinoSharp-Plus-Ceramic-Sha...

Never been dissapointed. I can see the attraction with using individual stones but this is pretty foolproof and always sharpens the knives to like new condition.