OT: Whetstone ,Where to buy

[3leggedturtle]

Been relying on friends to sharpen my knives. So i have never bought one. What do you look for in one? Brand name or "dollar store" type?

[20cows]

Arkansas!

[JerryB]

Arkansas, soft, medium, and hard.

[Pepe Ray]

Stone quarried in Arkansas, whichever grade.
Smith's is a good brand name. A "regular guy" needing to sharpen his skinner/gutter or his kitchen cutlery will do best with a Wachitaw stone. (Natives please forgive the spelling.)
Get as large as you can afford. A 4 in. pocket stone is absolute minimum. A 9 in.bench stone is best. Compromise in between.
Get honing oil with the stone. You'll need it to keep the pores from filling up with steel.
Pepe Ray

[GANJIRO]

Smokey Mountain Knife Works is where I get my Arkansas stones:
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/pr ... Cat&Cat=96
I also used a leather strap, and a ceramic rod for finishing and maintaining an edge.

[octagon]

I prefer diamond stones and Japanese water stones - not cheap but well worth the $.

[brucew44guns]

I wonder if there is video or YOU tube someplace showing the proper "hold" and method to really get the good sharp edge and do it fairly fast. Seems like I have worn out a few stones and still had a dull knife.

[Rusty]

I talked to a fellow via a mail group one time that was from Hungary. He said that the whole time he was growing up his grandfather had a morning ritual. He would finish his coffee for breakfast, then he would turn his coffee cup over and run his pocket knife across the unglazed portion of the cup thereby sharpening his knife before he got up to go work on the farm that day.

I like ceramic stones, the ones by Spyderco are my favorites. These are tri angled in shape and you can sharpen anything with them. I even sharpen serated blades with them. I can get a wood chisel sharp enough that it will cut a curl from a flatened out magazine page. If you get the complete set they come with coarse and fine stones along with a set of diamond "speed sleaves" that are extra rough. I lost my set a few years ago durring a move and even went out and bought a second set.

[cfplinker]

Go to the Library and check out Leonard Lee's book on sharpening. It goes into all types of sharpening in more detail than you could imagine. Many excellent photographs and drawings if the sharpening procedures. He makes a very good case for the water stones as well as silicon carbide paper on glass.
A good place to look at the various types of stones is a woodworkers store such as Rockler or Woodcraft.
I have the Washita, diamond, and water stones as well as ceramic and diamond rods. I use the diamond rod for the kitchen knives, and silicon carbide paper for tuning up the rest of the knives.

[J Miller]

I envy those of you who can sharpen knives. I have a selection of sharpening stones I've accumulated over the years. Can't sharpen a knife to save my soul. I can sure make an almost sharp one dull though.

I used to have my friend in AZ sharpen mine. He can get them scary sharp.

Joe

[ceb]

I too prefer the diamond or ceramic stones. No oil, lubricate with water. I prefer DMT brand and keep the little fold up sharpeners close at hand most of the time. Works well for me with both knives and broadheads.

[Charles]

I have been using an Arkansas stone, my grandfather had when I was a kid. I know it has to be 60 years old, and perhaps more. Here are my knife sharpening tips.

1. Don't let the blade get dull in the first place. Sharpen it before it gets dull.
2. Use a good Arkansas stone, held in a vise, so it is stable and you can get two hands on the knife if necessary.
3. Get the right bevel on the blade. You can use a cheap carborundum stone for this.
4. The purpose of liquid on a stone is to float off the metal particles and keep the stone open to bite.
5. Don't use an oil that will gum up the stone. I have founds Ed's Red to be a fine honing liquid
6. practice, practice,practice.
7. Oh yes, if you have a very fine edge, finish on a strop to remove the wire edge and straighten things up.

[awp101]

Along with the techniques discussed, here's an oddball question...what's a good test of sharpness?

For years I was told that if it would shave the hair off your arm after sharpening then it was a good edge. Then I was told not to since that was an unreliable test (not because you could cut yourself.... ) and to cut a piece of newspaper instead.

[iceman]

I have found a good way to test an edge is to push it against your thumbnail. If it bites in it is sharp, if it slides easily it is dull. This way you can chack various parts of the blade to make sure entire blade is sharp. Just my .02.

[Whit Spurzon]

Depends on how sharp you need it. For fine work I'll make it sharp enough to shave hair on my arm. For gutting I don't go sharper than a Washita will get me and sometimes stop at a med-fine carborundum stone will get me. Too fine an edge doesn't last as long especially if you are cutting through tendons and cartilage. Always check for a "wire" or "feather" edge. A few passes on a leather strop will align it. The finger nail test is a good one.

Also in good light looking straight down on the blade edge will reveal flat spots (look shiny).

[awp101]

Too fine an edge doesn't last as long especially if you are cutting through tendons and cartilage.

That may be why I was told the hair test wasn't a good one...

[cshold]

I have just learned recently that the art to a razor sharp knife
is a good leather strop.

[Old Ironsights]

I have a 2 grade Japanese Waterstone, and Arkansas Oil Stone and a Carborundum Stone for rough work.

I KEEP my knives sharp with an old "Knob & Tube" ceramic insulator. Check the Fleamarkets. Best $.50 (or less) knife sharpener you could ever stick in your pocket.

[Mutt]

The thumb nail test and strop is what I always used on my razors. But because of their shape there should be no angle hold . Just lay the blade flat. I was so used to razors that I had a real hard time learning to sharpen a knife. A friend showed me how to drag my nail down the blade from top to the bottom edge , feeling the wire edge .As I continued the wire edge would move down until I could no longer feel it on both sides . By then it was usually sharp.

.....................................................Mutt