Diamonds or Chosera

[Andrew]

Hi,

I’ve just ordered my WEPS. Don’t have it yet, but have read a lot over the years.

I’m pretty much just going to use it for sharpening my kitchen knives, so 1000 grit will be ok.

Is there a benefit to the increased cost of using chosera’s through the girts instead of diamonds?
Is one better than the other? Having read one of Josh’s posts where he had issues with chosera’s breaking,
are these best avoided, or has that been resolved?

Just looking for guidance as to whether there is justification in me adding stones instead of diamonds,
or are the diamonds fine. I know you all get good edges with them.

[Mark76]

Welcome to the forum, Braveheart. Enjoy your WEPS when it arrives!

I guess it’s pretty personal what type of stones you want to use. Up to 1000 grit I nearly always use the stock diamond stones. They hardly wear, don’t dish, stay flat and don’t require water. And they’re high quality. All the convenience you can get. They just need some breaking in.

Only for the higher grits I normally go to the water stones. The 5K-10K combo Chosera’s will give you a beautiful mirror edge. And Shapton stones go even up to 30K, should you have the inclination to get your knives that polished :cheer: . But it’s simply fun to do an all-waterstone sequence sometimes.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Mr.Wizard]

This topic has been explored in other threads. I do mean that it should not be discussed now, but here are some past discussions:

Why water stones?

diamond vs naniwa super vs ceramic vs shapton etc

WEPS Chosera Stone Progression

Diamond &Ceramic Plates – Microscope progression

Chosera Vs Ceramic Stones?

Chosera 5000/10000 or super fine ceramic?

Chosera Stones

Shapton vs. Chosera WEPS Stones – The Great Debate

Stock stone/strop progression (Lots of Pics!!)

[Andrew]

Thanks Mark

When you do the 5K/10K stones, do you do an intermediate step from the 1K diamonds?
2K/3K Chosera’s or Ceramics perhaps or go straight to them.

I notice you mention Shaptons. I don’t see them any more in the accessory stones section.
Only chosera’s.

[Mark76]

Yeah, in between the 1K diamonds and the 5K Chosera I either use ceramic stones (I prefer the 1200/1600 ones for this) or the 2K/3K Chosera’s. Some people use both, but to me that’s a bit overkill.

There’s a wealth of information in the topics Mr Wizard linked to. Thanks!

Shapton stones are not offered by WE, but there are third-party suppliers that offer them,

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Andrew]

This topic has been explored in other threads. I do mean that it should not be discussed now, but here are some past discussions:

Many thanks for your links. I’ll look at them. I’m sure they will answer all my thoughts.

Sorry to have reposted a similar thread

[Geocyclist]

I have found the grit numbers are not absolute, especially when you switch from one type of stone to another (i.e. from diamonds to choseras.)

I always take every knife to 1000 diamonds, just because it is fast and easy once you get the diamond stones setup. When I want to use choseras I start with 400 and go up from there after 1000 diamonds. Based on the numbers this sounds backwards but it isn’t (at least in results). After the 400 choseras the scratch marks are hugely improved and the edge is much sharper.

I use ceramics after 1000 when I want a finer edge than 1000 diamonds, but don’t want to spend the time with the choseras.

I also never mix stones. So I don’t use diamonds then chosera then back to diamonds.

I have not not had any breakage with my choseras. I also use very light pressure with these. When you get the water slurry going they just cut on their own magic.

I don’t use them for kitchen knives, just pocket knives that I want a mirror polish on.

[Marc H]

I don’t use them for kitchen knives, just pocket knives that I want a mirror polish on.

May I ask why no Choseras on kitchen knives? I assume you don’t feel the mirror polish is necessary. Doesn’t the smooth edge indicated by the mirror polish cut better?

Marc

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Geocyclist]

It does cut better. With 1000 diamonds it will slice paper, shave hair, etc. I just don’t care to spend the time on them as they get touched up more frequently. If I was cutting sushi I would probably do it. For the basic cooking I do 1000 diamonds are good enough. Also I probably the slowest sharpener here. I spend 2-3 evenings, (2-4 hours a night) to get a pocket knife looking perfect, diamonds, choseras, then strops. That is for a first time knife on the WE. After that touch ups are much faster. Many other folks here get the results I do in much less time. I do hit the kitchen knives with the ceramics to get some more scratches out.

[Author]

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