Help making a kit for HARD steel Japanese knife sharpening.

[Henry]

Hi- reposting to main forum to hopefully get in the right place.

Lord help me, but WE has inventory (shhhh, don’t tell anyone.. yet please) and I’m about to pull the trigger but want one last set of eyes on this and hope for LOTS of feedback.  (Yes I’ve been reading a LOT on here and watching YouTube etc….).

Sorry but this will be a long post.

My question is, which stones / kit  to get to kick this off?

I’ll be generally maintaing already sharp edges on this kit and am not worries about the cheap beater cleaver that I can easily sharpen freehand on a battery of whetstones or diamond plates or even a 25 year old Tormek (big green one) – which can / is / will be used for MAJOR work .. aka that friend who has a knife never ever sharpened or horribly chipped.. You know your “friend” who’s  has those Henkles for 20 years, cuts on a glass “cutting board” and didn’t know knives could be sharpened?

I realize, or have read many comments (Thanks in advance MarcH, TcMeyer and others) that diamonds can be / are problematic on certain steels  ~ >60 Rockwell (generic statement). I’ll put together a kit list below including both direct WE products and three Shapton Pro Kuromaku Stones Pack for Wicked Edge (again – MarcH find / recommendation). I’ve read some contrarian opinions that low-pressure, edge leading strokes starting at 1K is not problematic. I want to try stuff, but not break the bank (this kit will soon be more $ than most people spend on three generations of knives for three generations of family).

So, I’ve got a mix knives. Kitchen and folders. I’m “very experienced (25 years +-)” on whet stones but only as a home sharpener so I wouldn’t call myself an expert by professional standards. My current arsenals of whetstones starts at ?200 and goes to 10k. UltraSharp diamond plates ~100-1200, a very old Tormek (non-Japanese wheel), a paper wheel, and lord knows what else has been tossed or  is sitting in the back of  shop-cabinet / drawer.

My biggest “concern” is my very hard Japanese kitchen knives as well as some of my folders actually. I’ll list them out below, but my biggest concern is the super steels or super blue’s; I think??? HELP PLEASE.  If anyone has specific experience on any of these steels or blade geometries PLEASE ADVISE.

Help me choose the right kit please.

Knives I own:

Gyuto – Kohetsu – HAP40, 240 mm, Togatta shape, HRC: 65

Kiritsuke, Yoshihiro Aogami Super Blue High Carbon Steel Kurouchi, 210 mm

Petty – Yoshihiro Aogami Super Blue High Carbon Steel / Knife Type: Petty

Cleaver – thin- JAPANESE 67-layer Damascus Steel, VG-10 cutting core, HRC 60-62 hardness. Blade size (length x width x thickness): 8 inches x 4 inches x 1.8 millimeters

Cleaver – thick – IKEA 8x4x ? – beater – bone chopper

Yanagiba – Shun Pro Yanagiba Kitchen Knife Kai VG0270Y Shun Pro Yanagiba 270mm Knife

Gyuto – DALSTRONG Chef Knife – 8″ Shogun Series X – Damascus – Hammered Finish – Japanese AUS-10V Super Steel -G10 Handle – w/Sheath. -OK but just ok … 62+ Rockwell hardness:

Paring knife – Shun 90mm, VG 10

Utility knife – Shun 150 mm, VG10

Utility knife – Iseya VG10 Damascus Petty-Utility Japanese Knife 150mm VG-10, RC60-62

180 mm Santuko – calphalon katana

125 mm Usuba – calphalon katana

Bread knife – Wustof Classic 220mm

Fillet knife – Henkles 160 mm

“Slicer” / Ham knife. IKEA 25 mm

Folder knife collection.

Spyderco paramilitary 2- 3 7/16 S110v
Benchmade Osborne CPM-S90V
Benchmade Axis Flupper 154CM
Zero Tolerance TI flipper -Sinkevich 20CV
Zero Tolerance Hindener G10/CPM 20 CV
Zero Tolerance 0450 -carbon fiber – S35vN
CRKT 1063 directive 8CR14MoV
CRKT Squid 8Cr13MoV
Ruger R2410 Windage (CRKT product) -SS- unspecified
Kershaw Launch 6- CPM164
6 Opinel – 4 carbon steel, 2 ss- 2” – 8”
Plus some others floating around

 

Here is a list / Bill Of Material / Shopping list but I’d like to perhaps pare it down (save $) if reasonable and still get me some knives with a bit toothy edge but many that’ll be silly sharp.

 

Are 12″ rods the right size for 420 mm Gyuto on the raiser?

Does the range of shapton feel right? Again, any “deep work” will be few and far between and I have the Tormek or Diamond plates as options.

 

Gen 3 pro $799.00

Includes Coarse 100 Grit / Medium Coarse 200 Grit Diamond Stones Pack

Includes Medium Fine 400 Grit / Fine 600 Grit Diamond Stones Pack

Includes Extra Fine 800 Grit / Ultra Fine 1000 Grit Diamond Stones Pack

1500 / 2200 diamond

$89.00

4/2 Micron Diamond Emulsion and Leather Strops Pack

$66.00
Edge Refinement Kit 2 – Polished Edge

$177.00

set of the 3000 Grit Diamond Stones paired with a Glass Platen. A sheet of the 3 Micron Diamond Lapping Film, to be used on the Glass Platen, and a set of the 1/0.5 Micron Diamond Paste with Leather Strops.

Edge Refinement Kit 3 – Maximum Edge Sharpness

$268.50

set of the Micro Fine Ceramic Stones and a set of our Blank Kangaroo Strops to be used with the included 0.25 Diamond Spray and 0.125 Cubic Boron Nitride Spray.

go with 10″ rods. 8″ rods good for upto 15″.. ask about 12 with LAA

$30.00
Extra shelf

$20.00
Low angle adapter

$75.00
Blank Handles and Glass Platens Pack

$45.00
6 Micron Diamond Lapping Film

$30.00
1 Micron Diamond Lapping Film

$30.00
add 12″ Guide Rods

Shapton Pro Kuromaku Stones

320/1000
$104.50

2000/5000
$134.50

8000/12000
$154.50

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