[capsaicin]

So...  I've been sharpening for a while and was wondering about something: do I really have to start with the coarsest stone each time?  I understand that I need to raise a burr and all that, but if I start with, say, a 3000 grit, don't I just raise smaller burrs?

 

[lennyd]

Cap I am finding most everyone has a little different take on this, and some seem to like to grind away more steel than others etc.

FWIW I have found my J knives just do not seem to need as much work as my old Germans did, and since they do get so sharp it seems I notice when they fall off of being tops sooner, and they just do not need as much done to them to get back to where I like them.

Except for repairing my previous sharpening errors and just basically trying to make them better I have not gone lower than my 2K glass stone and that seems to work out well, but it is only 5 months since I got them and they are used at home so they do not get the same work out or abuse as if they were used everyday in a pro kitchen etc.

I guess what it comes down to (for me at least) is if they need a full sharpening, or just a "touch up" etc. Also keep in mind I still consider myself a newbie and I am still using silicon carbide wet paper (mostly 1000, and 1200) below the GS.

Hope that helps till you get some better answers!

 

[capsaicin]

Okay I went to Korin's sharpening class just to ask questions and the knife master had answers for me (yay!).  Basically, you can get away with just using the fine stones for daily maintenance.  But once a week or so you will need to go down to the mediums (which he placed at 800-2000).  That assumes a 60+ HRC knife -- basically Japanese knives.  For home cooks, think of it as hours -- every 6-8 hours of hard use requires a touchup with fine stones (or stropping if that's your finishing technique), and once every 40 hours or so you will need to go to the mediums.  Softer knives maybe two thirds to half that.  Lower is just used for shaping and repairs.

 

[phaedrus]

Sounds about right to me.

 

[benway]

To your average cook, 1000 grit is pretty fine and is almost always where I start.  If my borosilicate glass steel won't bring it back, and my felt paddle strop won't bring it back its time to hit the stones.

 

[capsaicin]

Yeah when I first bought a King 1000 stone a year ago I thought it was the shiznit because I had been using a cheap stone of 250/500 or so for years before that.  Turned out 1000 is not even on the higher end of "medium" stones by Japanese knife standards.  Once I got a couple of Aotos I was really hooked.

King 1000 -- the gateway stone.

 

[benway]

Not even all 1000 stones are equal.  A Chosera 1000 grit is much faster cutting than a stone like that king.  A fast cutting 1000 grit is probably the most important stone in my series, it does the bulk of the work that needs to be done every few weeks.

 

[capsaicin]

Yeah...  I've begun to find my King 1000 a little frustrating with the harder knives...  But the Chosera series is sooo expensive.  Does it really work that much better?  I've been thinking about buying a coarser stone like Beston 500 or Bester 700 instead.

 

[capsaicin]

Update:  Just ordered the Beston 500 and the Bester 1200, both of which seem to enjoy a good reputation for superior speed for their grit levels.  If they work as well as people say they do, my King stone will become a lapping stone to take out scratches on the stone surface after flattening with the D8XX.