I ordered a sharpener

[Constance]

DH uses an electric one that I bought him from Bass Pro. It is wonderful.

I know there's an art to doing it with a whetstone, but it's sure a lot harder work, and this thing does a perfect job every time.

 

[SShepherd]

wow..320--800 800--3000 are HUGE jumps in grit

that's going to take alot of effort to get the scratches out

theres nothing that will fit in between those grits?

 

[buzzard767]

wow..320--800 800--3000 are HUGE jumps in grit

that's going to take alot of effort to get the scratched out

theres nothing that will fit in between those grits?

Hi Shep. EP used to provide a 6k as their top end. They have discontinued it and now finish with 8k. The referred to 3 & 7k are polishing tapes. I've used them plenty of times. The 7k gives a finish equal to about 1/3 that of a Naniwa 10k Super Stone and it takes about ten times as long to get there.

The EP is a wonderful tool and produces very good edges, especially in the hands of someone like now banned from this site Chico Buller. I have witnessed his work first hand and am in awe. However, in my world, as an insane edge aficionado, the EP does not (yet) provide the tools. Why should they? The audience is a small one.

 

[buzzard767]

In all fairness, the EP grits have their own numerology. This chart shows the comparison of EP numbers verses Japanese waterstones, so the EPs are not as coarse as the numbers would leave one to believe. Thank you for the reference, Pam - even though you aren't on this site.

 

[SShepherd]

well, he may have been good using the EP, but he was a bit too full of BS, and himself for me to take him seriously ( especially after how I saw his comments about his "customers")
sometimes, it's just a bit cheaper and easier to do it with stone,,IMO

 

[buzzard767]

Edit to above: The chart also shows why you wouldn't dream of trying to profile something like ZDP-189 with the EP 120 stone. It could hardly scratch it.

 

[SShepherd]

Thanks for the chart, it seems people just come up with numbers willy nilly when it comes to grit sizes

 

[buzzard767]

well, he may have been good using the EP, but he was a bit too full of BS, and himself for me to take him seriously ( especially after how I saw his comments about his "customers")
sometimes, it's just a bit cheaper and easier to do it with stone,,IMO

LOL

You are correct. Perhaps I just don't understand Zen, but even if I did I'm way too practical and wouldn't allow myself to be carried away. Chico is a perfectionist. The results of his work with an EP are beautiful, as far as an EP can take you. However, there are other roads......

 

[SShepherd]

to be honest...it really has nothing to do with "zen".Sometimes people like at add mystical tags to things to make them seem extraordinary. Sharpening is just a skillset, it takes practice with correct form-just like cutting perfect 1/4" cubes.The cutlery industry is entirely too full of myth and legend that simply become accepted as fact because it's been repeated over...and over....and over.

 

[buzzard767]

couldn't agree more ;-)

 

[pacanis]

Nice chart. I was wondering about grits myself, since this is what I have in my kit: (1) Medium India stone 8" long, (1) soft Arkansas stone 8" long, (1) Hard Translucent Arkansas stone 8" long.
Do you have any idea where they fit in with the Japanese waterstones? Is the M India the same as the M Arkansas on the chart? It sure would be nice if all stones had the same rating system.

 

[buzzard767]

Do you have any idea where they fit in with the Japanese waterstones?

No

It sure would be nice if all stones had the same rating system.

Yes

Even when the grit number is the same the stones are made from different materials and hardnesses so the number doesn't do much more than give a hazy relative value. Some stones of the same grit cut much faster than others. They leave different finishes. Some work on practically all knives, some better on stainless, some better on carbon. My only suggestion is to search this forum, knifeforums, foodieforums, etc. and see what others have found to be true for them.

 

[SShepherd]

unless you enjoy collecting expencive rocks (japanese water stones)

go with the glass stones. I find I keep buying waterstones just to try

them out

 

[buzzard767]

unless you enjoy collecting expencive rocks (japanese water stones)

go with the glass stones. I find I keep buying waterstones just to try

them out

Ditto Shep. They work quite well on both SS and carbon. Also, they are quite hard and don't dish easily, especially if you use the 45 degree blade to stone angle instead of 90 degrees so that the entire length of the stone is being worked.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I'm still hoping to get GlassStones that fit the EP...that'd be a great Xmas gift for myself!

 

[buzzard767]

I'm still hoping to get GlassStones that fit the EP...that'd be a great Xmas gift for myself!

There won't be any for Christmas, Rob, but I can tell you this. Ken Schwartz recently told me that someone is sending him a GS for him to cut down to 1X6 and mount on a EP blank. If it tests out okay, and why wouldn't it, Ben Dale should be pushed and hopefully might try and cut a deal with Shapton. We'll see. I'll be right behind you in line to buy a set. I'd be tempted to get the entire line - 220, 500, 1k, 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, and 30k. Now *that* would be a sharpening system.

 

[buzzard767]

Strange thing, Shapton sells a GS set:

GlassStone Knife Sharpening Set
$239.95
This stone set is designed to sharpen and polish knives. It includes Shapton's field holder and the 500, 2000 and 16000 GlassStones

I can see the jump from 500 to 2k, but from there to 16k????? If that is possible without adding too much work time, why in hell have all the intermediate grits? I think I'll let someone else try it first. If it works, a lot of stone money would be saved.

 

[pacanis]

I like it!
I grabbed a cheapo chefs knife that still had an edge, albeit dull, and now it cuts hanging paper like it's going out of style. So, I grabbed my old D-R Chinese knife and put an edge on that lickety split. Then I went for my DP. No problem. It could already cut paper, but now I can get further away from my thumb and with less of a slicing motion. The other two knives could not cut hanging paper before I sharpened them. I don't really know how else to test the DP without grabbing an onion and dicing it up, because this is where it felt like I was losing a little something.... But this sharpener rocks.
As you can see, I took Buzz's cue and set up a jig, where the only thing I had to think about was keeping the blade level. Very cool idea, Buzz.

 

[buzzard767]

I like it!
I grabbed a cheapo chefs knife that still had an edge, albeit dull, and now it cuts hanging paper like it's going out of style. So, I grabbed my old D-R Chinese knife and put an edge on that lickety split. Then I went for my DP. No problem. It could already cut paper, but now I can get further away from my thumb and with less of a slicing motion. The other two knives could not cut hanging paper before I sharpened them. I don't really know how else to test the DP without grabbing an onion and dicing it up, because this is where it felt like I was losing a little something.... But this sharpener rocks.
As you can see, I took Buzz's cue and set up a jig, where the only thing I had to think about was keeping the blade level. Very cool idea, Buzz.

Excellent. I'm glad your new stones are working for you. The idea of setting the bevel angle with the stone instead of the knife is neither mine nor new. It works well as it is easy to visualize the blade being parallel to the Earth. Welcome to free handing.