Question about this set of sharpening stones

[Sean Walker]

I need a good set of stones to get me started in sharpening. The set below appears to be a great starter kit but doesn't have a polishing stone (extra fine stone). Can i use the 3 stones, then use the paste as a finer polish, or do I need to get a finer stone to polish the blades before going to the paste?

Kit: http://www.amazon.com/DMT-W6EFC-6-Inch-Diamond-Whetstone/dp/B003NCVFC4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=4HC4FK782OM5 &coliid=I2JESB3W56P63M
Paste: http://www.amazon.com/DMT-DPK-Dia-Pa...I2AAD59MQCASQI

Thanks

[Richard Line]

Those diamond stones will work for chisels, but many (most) plane irons really need to be wider. You might want to consider getting the combination 325 & 1200 mesh (i.e. blue & green) 8 inch DMT stone. I think it is about the same price as the set your looking at. It is about 2-5/8 wide and it handles my 2-1/4 plane iron well. If/when you need a coarse stone (red) sandpaper on glass works well. As for polishing you might want to consider Lee Valley's diamond lapping films. I've been using them for a little while and I'm happy with them. They do last and they can be easily applied to a piece of glass or granite.

[Dale Cruea]

I started out with a set of these diamond stones.
I found that first they were not that flat.
When they start to wear it takes longer and longer to get hone a blade.
I found that a good set of stones that you can flatten and refresh are a lot better and last 2-3 or more times longer.

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Sean,

If i were buying my first set of stones I'd buy these:

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1667

PHM

[Sean Walker]

Hi Sean,

If i were buying my first set of stones I'd buy these:

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1667

PHM

Where can I buy them? The price on that site, converted to US dollars... is a bit extreme.

[Paul McGaha]

Where can I buy them? The price on that site, converted to US dollars... is a bit extreme.

Sean,

With that kit you get 3 premium water stones and a diamond plate to keep them flat. The owner of that store is Stuart Tierney, he's a creeker and knows a great deal about stones. Great reputation. Gives great advice about stones. I like buying from Stu. A lot of us do.

PHM

[Steve Friedman]

Only place to buy them from is Stu at Tools from Japan. They are well worth the price, but there is a cheaper set without the 13000 stone. You can replace the 13000 with a leather strop.

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1668

[Sean Walker]

Only place to buy them from is Stu at Tools from Japan. They are well worth the price, but there is a cheaper set without the 13000 stone. You can replace the 13000 with a leather strop.

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1668

Would you guys make sure my google powers are not wrong? When I Google 12,000 Yuan, the price of the stone above, it says 12000 Chinese yuan = 1921.4760 US dollars

I apologize if I'm not even close to right.

[Ryan Mooney]

Would you guys make sure my google powers are not wrong? When I Google 12,000 Yuan, the price of the stone above, it says 12000 Chinese yuan = 1921.4760 US dollars


I apologize if I'm not even close to right.

Japanese Yuan More like $151 dollars which isn't nearly as hair raising.

[Sean Walker]

Japanese Yuan More like $151 dollars which isn't nearly as hair raising.

Wow, do I feel like an idiot. Sorry everyone!

[Paul McGaha]

Sean,

There is a currency selction thingy on Stu's site. That first set is a little over $300.

PHM

[Sean Walker]

That is a little out of my range. Can you guys recommend another set, that is from a store in the US? Possibly Amazon.com.

[David Weaver]

Get a shapton pro 1000 and a kitayama 8k.

Forget about amazon, get them from Chef Knives to Go.

[Sean Walker]

Would it work if I bought 4000 and 8000 stones and used 1000 wet/dry sand paper for rough work? It seems going from 1k to 8k is extreme.

[Archie England]

Hi Sean,

If i were buying my first set of stones I'd buy these:

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1667

PHM

Yep! That's what I did; and, I really like these stones. The 1200 is better than the 1000--by far!!! The 6k and 13k stones are superb!