Japanese Water Stones ?

[rarhomes]

Are all JWS created equal ? I would like to buy a good set of JWS, but there so many to choose from. I am afraid I am going to buy a piece of junk. Japanese stuff can be some of the best in the world or it can be the crappiest, can anybody recommend a brand that they have used and where to buy them?

Thanks,

Capt. Rick

[Kahi]

Capt. Rick:

Some Japanese Stones are very brittle, and will crack/crumble within a month...this is what I do.

I use stones to sharpen my knives. I start each knife with Diamond stones and end with Japanese style water stones.. The Diamond stones are much faster at creating or repairing an edge, but the high grits of 1000 and up Japanese stones are much better at finer work, and polishing the edge to mirror finish.

Here is a great source for Japanese stones...but expensive. They have great info at http://korin.com/Shop/Sharpening-Stones

I would checkout their descriptions of each stone...They have the best quality brands you can buy, and a pretty informative website. I would not buy their videos, but go to youtube, which has all sorts of people with all sorts of sharpening tricks.

I purchase my Diamond stones from

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/

..They also have the Arkansas stones, which many say last longer and are of equal quality of Japanese and are more forgiving...I also try to buy American when I can.

They also sell a kit

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Ul...t-P209C18.aspx

which has the diamond stone (2 sides so 2 grits) and a Arkansas stone (2 sided, so 2 grits) and that can handle 99% of most people's needs. I needed to buy a super high grit stone (8000 grit) to polish my edges to mirror.

If I can be of any help PM me..

[rarhomes]

Kahi,

Thanks for that great info. Looks like quite a knife collection.
What do think of this set ?

http://www.mannyswoodworkersplace.com/4070004.html

Capt Rick.

[Kahi]

Capt. Rick:

Its actually looks like a complete set, although the Japanese stones look like they are the type that are two pieces affixed to each other, which was what caused my previous set to crumble. Norton is an excellent brand, and make great stones...the Japanese Stones int his set are not Norton, just the flattening stone which you use to keep the softer stones from getting a bow (worn down in the center). The grits of the stones are right, will cover repairing chips in the blades, all the way through to polishing the edge....looks like good set, price is not bad...for an extra 50 bucks (uggh that is a bit more), I would get the set I listed before..I can say first hand that it was excellent, and I cant say that for sure about the set you are looking at.

[rarhomes]

Kahi,

I sent you a pm

Rick

[Taz575]

Wish I had seen this thread earlier for you! I use DMT Dia Plate X coarse IIRC for redoing an edge, taking chips out, etc. I have a King 1000/6000 combo stone, works OK, but dishes pretty quickly. I picked up a Shapton Pro 2000, and then a Henkels 3000/8000 combo stone. I like the Shapton Pro and the Henkels stone because I can just spray with water and sharpen and not have to let it sit and soak.

I would go with a coarse or X Coarse DMT diamond plate (8x3") for the rough stuff, they cut quick and clean. I would then go to a 1000 Shapton, 2K Shapton, and then a 5K or 8K Shapton or a 6K or higher stone of your choice for the real polishing; these dish less quickly than the lower grits, so the non Shapton is OK. I usually just take my stuff to the 3K edge; plenty sharp for most tasks! I like the feel of the real water stones, like the King, but the convenience of not having to soak makes me like the Shaptons and other similar waterstones. They tend to crumble less, too.


www.epicedge.com has a great selection, as does www.japanwoodworker.com.

This would be a good beginner kit, too:
http://www.epicureanedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=80085