Stock Diamond Stone longevity
- This topic has 10 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 12/17/2015 at 11:19 pm by
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Just as a note for some of the new guys… I am seeing about 400 knives or so out of each set of stones before I consider them worn out. The 800/1k maybe sooner if I want good crisp apexes and no burr.
Curious to hear other’s thoughts too…
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I’m not sure about longevity because I do not have enough data to support any real facts. I think for those considering a W.E. and not making a living, the stones should last a life time.. I think once your knives are sharp, the stones do not see as much sharpening time, to keep them sharp. many knives have had their edge destroyed, trying to sharpen them by hand. I can tell you that I’ve been trying to sharpen knives for 50 years, and have only been able to make them fairly sharp, which is a big difference from being wicked sharp. If 400 knives could be a yard stick for longevity, for most that would be a life time. I think keeping the stones clean will do a lot to keep them from wearing out.. when a stone is filled with metal, it requires many more strokes to achieve the same effect. A loaded stone is a useless stone. the 800/1K stone, is probably the most used stone in my kit. the stones below that see very little action compared to the 800/1K and higher. This is my insight from a very limited experience. If I find I need a set of stones down the road.. be it 2 years or five years. so be it, anyone who spends 800 dollars on a knife sharpening system can afford a set of 70 dollar stones.
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You nailed the truth there ET! The cost of a set of stones is minimal compared to the cost of the equipment. I have no complaints about either I guess I have learned that buying the best is worth it in the long run.
Until I got my WE and started sharpening my knives, I did like most of my friends…made a terrible mess of blades trying to make them sharp. Once the guys I hunt with saw my WE sharpened knives, they started asking questions. I started sharpening theirs too, without charge of course. In the past month. I have sharpened over 50 knives for them. Believe me, some of them required major surgery! So, if I keep this up, my stones won’t last me a lifetime…I hope!
I enjoy it though and my buds appreciate it, so all is good.1 user thanked author for this post.
I guess 400 is a good estimate. I’ve changed all of my stones once and the 800/1000 grit ones twice. But this includes the year I was sharpening for a restaurant and many times I just touched up their knives using the 800/1000 grit.
It also depends on what you do most. If you do a lot of work for others and you are reprofiling a lot, the 100 grit stones will probably suffer most. You indeed notice they get worn out by their lack of performance, Gary. The good news: my worn-out 100 grit stones have long lasted me as an alternative to my 200/400 grit stones 🙂 .
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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I have maintained this expression for many years, that is: ” I can not afford to buy anything cheap ” I say it all the time when giving advice to people, no matter what forum I am on. usually when you are young, you lack the wisdom of us old guys. For many young people with a definite focus on cost, they usually buy the cheapest they can find, because money is more of a challenge when you are younger. they figure why spend 40 dollars on an oem battery when Ebay sells batteries for 5 dollars, that fit your camera.. It takes a while to realize the factory oem battery has a reputation behind it, and the need to be a quality product. The 5 dollar Ebay battery it’s a knock off, its sole purpose to get you to buy it and it be too cheap to send back,. when if fails to hold a charge, or worse, leaks and destroyes your 800 dollar camera body.
WE have all spent money on cheap knife sharpening systems.. 5 dollars then 30 dollars, then 79 dollars then 129 dollars, all yielding less than desired results. At first anyone looking at a 400 dollars knife system to sharpen a few knives would be considered insane . For me, I would recommend the Wicked edge system basic system to get started, and build on it as you need. The W.E. system has evolved also, so now the choices are better and the research has advanced. Anyone who has purchased this system wont be looking in the rear view mirror to see all the stones, techniques and systems they left behind.
so when I say ” I can’t afford to buy anything too cheap. ” it cost me more money in the long run to buy all those inferior systems instead of buying what I should have in the first place. Buying an entry level anything, or seaking the cheapest is usually more expensive, down the road. when you add in its cost to the product or service you finally were happy to purchase in the end.
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Josh, what type of knives are you sharpening (of your 400 per stone)? Quick sharpenings at the same angle, big re-profiles, touch ups?
I have noticed my 100’s are smoother than my 200’s. No surprise to me since I do a lot of re-proiling then just use the 200’s to get the scratches out. Since the 200’s feel rougher I spend more time with 400 and 600’s.
While we are on this topic has any one worn out strops? And cutting them to shreds doesn’t count.
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I never heard it either.. it came TO ME.. about 20 years ago and I’ve been using it ever since… It fits so well into so many discussions.. when you are young, you think you know it all, but with age truly comes wisdom.. usually when you are young and do not have too much money, you think a battery is a battery… A 9V Duracell that cost 3.00 is insane when you can buy a no name 9V battery 2 for 99 cents. you put one of those Chinese batteries in your, smoke detector and a year later you find the battery has leaked all over your 10 dollar smoke detector and at some point during the year you became unprotected from smoke because the battery killed the smoke detector, now that 50 cent battery cost you 10 dollars for a New smoke detector Plus 3 dollars for good Duracell battery.. total cost to buy a 50 cent no name battery 13.00 dollars. it applies to many things.. people in my automotive forum are always asking where to buy cheap brakes for their 430 horse power 10 year old Corvette… Now ” That ” is insane .. when I find the person asking the question is 22 years old and thinks brakes are brakes.
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