JAPANESE KNIFE - Whetstone Buying 101

[@michaelbereny6783]

great Video! My only issue was where were you a year ago when i started sharpening. This video is quite informative and a person just getting into sharpening needs to see this. Thanks For sharing

[@TheMasterLuke89]

Love your videos always very informative and helpful. Just a heads up at 4:47 you mentioned a link to your sharpening video but it didn’t get added.

[@yellowdog762jb]

Regarding flattening or removing a nick in a stone. You are correct that using one stone to flatten another is not super effective as they reshape each other. In a pinch, use two different stones to flatten a third. You can also use the first two on each other a little. By using two stones to flatten a third, the second stone corrects any issues the first one didn't. Wet/dry sandpaper glued to a pane of glass of very flat granite will work pretty well also. Of course a diamond plate made for flattening is best, but they are expensive. If you don't sharpen many blades, yet you have a stone that gets a nick in it, or gets a slight dish, a flattening stone may cost more then your stone. In that case, start with some course wet dry sand paper and move up to a finer grade a time or two as needed. I picked up some very cheap sharpening stones at Harbor Freight to use on lawn tools, axes and machetes. They are junk, even at their low price. They dish out if you stare hard at them. They are double sided though. You can rub them together and flatten them out pretty well. I have used them to flatten some natural Arkansas stones I picked up at garage sales. They may be too soft for ceramic stones though. If you come across a nice natural stone though w a few small nicks or mild dishing at a good price, grab it and try the wet/dry sandpaper glued to a sheet of glass. I've picked up some fairly good sized, vintage stones for just a few bucks. They make nice stones to store as backup stones at fishing and hunting camp, or to use on lawn tools, or to teach newbies to sharpen on. Once someone gets the skill down you can even gift them the stone.

[@ignacioperfetto4319]

Have an old Norton India oil stone that’s never been used and a nice Santoku Japanese vg10 knife. Will that stone work?

[@fightingusik4265]

Nice fellas. What is your personal preference for a finishing stone for SLD say in a beautiful Ittetsu Bunka for general purpose?

[@SharpKnifeShop]

For my personal knives I don't really take my stainless (not powdered) knives past 2-3k. That said lately Ive been spending a generous amount of time on the strop with really good results on my stainless

[@Ahmed-lc7ow]

As a home cook would you recommend "honing" the edge with a ceramic rod or a leather stop? Thanks for the informative videos !

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Yes, absolutely! Honing will keep your knives performing better for longer before they go back on the stones. However its important to know the line when honing is no longer effective and you start damaging the profile with rods. We've got a video all about honing you can check out on our channel!

[@Ahmed-lc7ow]

@@SharpKnifeShop Great to know. But would a leather strop be safer for the knife for a first time user or just use the rod? Thanks so much!

[@MrBayeasy]

@@Ahmed-lc7ow A little late but... a leather strop loaded with a diamond compound like Gunny Juice (12,9, or 3 Micron) , Jende Poly Diamond Emulsion, or DMT Diamond Spray (all of similar Micron rating) will keep your knives performing at their peak for a lot longer once sharpened, it is a much more delicate method of honing and works best when done daily or at the very least every few uses. As an example I personally sharpen my knives with Naniwa SS up to the 5k stone (I've also stopped at 3k on a Naniwa Pro), then use a strop loaded with 3 micron gunny juice. If I simply keep stropping every use or few uses I can keep it shaving sharp for months longer than if I did nothing. A ceramic rod is decent too (basically the only rod I would really recommend if you're gonna use a honing rod), however without proper technique it can mess up the knife, not to mention a ceramic rod isn't going to be as fine of a hone as the 3 micron diamond compound, which will keep a mirror polish intact unlike the ceramic which leaves fine scratches on the edge (essentially indicating that you are honing at something far below the 3 micron, probably 1500-2500 if I had to guess). I didn't think stropping with diamond compound would be so good, that was until I took a knife that didn't bite into my nail at all and managed to get the entire edge grabbing again by doing 20 or so passes on the 3 micron gunny juice. I have found that going any higher than 3 micron (8000 grit) makes the stropping not as effective, if you must go higher then use a strop progression of 3 micron to revitalize the edge then move on to 1 micron (about 14k grit) to further refine it, that or take your knife to a 5 or 8k stone and then move onto the 1 micron. Strop progression is probably easier though and less involved, just make sure to wipe off the edge of the knife with a damp cloth/napkin to remove any residual compound before moving up to the higher grit so you dont contaminate it.

[@ardabayram7055]

Thanks for the video. Very helpful.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ianmorton8047]

just bought the beginner set and wanted to know the difference between the two sides of the leather strop and which side i should be using to finish my blade on

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Hey Ian, the suede side is a little rougher and should be used first, this is also the side you'd put your compound on should you want to, and the smooth side is the side you finish off on!

[@ianmorton8047]

@@SharpKnifeShop thanks for the info on the strop. One other question i have some dull stainless knives should i get a lower grit stone like a 300 or a 320 to start them on and then go to the 1000?

[@enriquegonzalo5764]

do you have any more of the intermediate or beginner kit? i only see the pro and gage option on the website

[@gregorybupp]

Do you like the 600 or 1200 atoma diamond plate better for flattening stones?

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We actually use the 140 exclusively at the shop! Its more aggressive and much faster and I dont have any issues with the surface of the stone on higher grits with a 140!

[@barashkaz]

Nicely done. Nice intro. I'd suggest messing with mics a bit so you don't get as much echo.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Our mic failed so I had to use the backup shotgun audio for this one :'(

[@jonathanvella7789]

Boys why can’t we all just get along and watch the video damnnn ;p

[@georgemamakos9288]

I can't find the products you advertised on the shop

[@mikelongboat6211]

are all your stones splash and go's?

[@SharpKnifeShop]

They're soakers!

[@xxespi7114]

these guys don't miss.

[@MrSATism]

I don’t know if it was my comment specifically that inspired this video, but I’m glad to see it either way!

[@JamesGCorlett]

It may have been! We really do appreciate video ideas, can be hard to figure out what to do sometimes!

[@camerongunn7906]

That Pro set is pretty sexy.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Its our daily driver!

[@fredrikliljeblad1209]

yOUR VIDEOS USED TO APPEAR ON KZbin QUITE FREQUENTLY. LATELY, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN POPPING UP NEARLY SO FREQUENTLY. iS THIS AN HOMMAGE TO SPRINGTIME, OR IS THERE ANOTHER REASON???

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We've been busy at the shop with reopening and havent had as much time to be uploading as many videos lately, more to come though!

[@emieloss7229]

Thanks for the video. I don't fully agree with the not removing material with a honing rod part though. A honing STEEL re-aligns te edge but a CERAMIC honing rod usually is harder than the steel of the knife and will do some sharpening. The material of the ceramic rod is pretty much like a whetstone. You can also see the effect of it, because the white rod turns grey because of the residue from the removed metal. Using a progression of stones is quicker and more effective though. A ceramic rod is usually about 1k grit size and isn't as easily to rinse of residue as a stone is. The same goes for a diamond rod. You definitely remove material with those. I usually use a honing steel for softer (German) style knives. a diamond or ceramic rod is better for harder (Japanese) style knives.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

The amount of material removed from a ceramic rod is quite minimal and if you're using it to remove enough material that you're into sharpening territory you're not going to get near as consistent an edge as you would on a stone which is why we don't recommend that, diamond rods are too aggressive and we don't much care for them because they eat material too fast and thats not what we're looking for when honing the knife and it often causes a rut near the heel of the knife where you lose board contact. A couple good ways to remove residue from your honing rods is to use a rust eraser, or if you dont have that get a few paper towels, dampen them and pour a bunch of coarse salt in and use that as the to scrub the rod down, that should get it pretty clean!

[@emieloss7229]

@@SharpKnifeShop Good tip on the rust eraser.

[@yellowdog762jb]

A green scotch bright pad and some dish soap works pretty well also.

[@webmasterhelpguide]

First!

[@hello.itsme.5635]

You're late 😉

[@hello.itsme.5635]

I hate those guys who call "First!"

[@webmasterhelpguide]

Damn you

[@matrosejackson]

Jessy pinkman what happened to you ?

[@eyeontheprizenc3440]

Your audio is echoing. Try using a personal mic or similar.