I am refurbishing my first knife, which was given to me as gift but has been languishing in storage for many years. After some polishing and a rehandling, I am on to my final step: a thinning.

Any advice on how to approach this bevel? It does wedge a bit so I’d like to take it thinner overall. By my eye it is a bit asymmetrical. Should I try to keep that (is it an intentional chisel grind?) or take it to more even.

And any tips in general? This is my first attempt at a big thinning/bevel reset (more than just taking off a tiny bit of primary bevel)

Both of these stones are highly regarded, but is it make sense to own both of these stones given it's #1000-#2000?

It seems the Pro #1000 is more closer to a true #700, but I'm not sure about the Pro #2000. I've read one review where someone said the #2000 is closer to a #3000, so if that's the case, it seems they are far apart enough from one another that it would make sense to own both.

Hello, I'm not new to sharpening but still a Novice to the education of stone types. I have some Kings from 300-6k, shapton glass to 4k strop past to 12k.

I'm looking to add some Natural stones to my collection and improve my kasumi finish. Looking for any recommendations and perhaps where to buy. I'm in Canada and I've only really found things on eBay which may very well be my only option. I seeany Natural stone names but don't know what they represent.

TIA

I purchased a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in S110V coming Thursday. To pass the wait i started watching a ton of reviews and videos about the knife and sharpening s110v. A lot of videos are 7+ years old and I am wondering if there is a consensus about S110V carbide tear-out. Disclaimer I only have Shapton ceramic stones and one DMT 400 I use for flattening. I’ve gotten hair whittling knives with these stones but I haven’t tried any over S30V

I have been steadily learning Japanese now over the past couple of years and started putting a lot more effort in at the beginning of the year.

I'm not at the point yet that I can read native level texts, but I am starting to get curious.

So my question, does anyone know of any (good) Japanese-language sharpening forums? Or really any other resources you could recommend?

As per the title. I read a lot that unloaded bare leather strop can round the nicely sharpened apex, when not done properly at the right angle or over stropped.

I also read a lot that properly apexed and deburred edge sharpness should last a long time. Like tomatoes test sharp or shaving sharp after many cutting sessions.

Isn't chopping boards gonna be harsher to your edge compared to a bare leather strop? Is one of the above premises wrong?

Hello,
I have a TSPROF Kadet Pro-T with the bundled #150, #220, #400, #600, and #1000 grit stones, along with Shapton Kuromaku stones from #1000 to #30,000. I also have a leather strop (blank and with red compound from Dialux) and a wood strop.

After researching (via OUTDOORS55), I realize my setup may not be ideal. Here’s my issue:
I struggle with profiling blades. The TSPROF diamond stones seem ineffective—barely removing material, and it now takes me at least 40 minutes to profile a blade.

When I finish with the #30k Shapton, I’m hair-popping sharp but not consistently hair-whittling. I check for burrs using a magnifier and ensure none are present before moving to higher grits, but I'm still not satisfied with the results.

My questions:

1. What stones should I get to replace my sub-#1000 grit stones? How many grits, and which brands? (Gritomatic is out of 6" Atomas).
2. Should I replace some Shaptons?
3. I’m considering a better compound—should I get StroppyStuff’s 1 micron or sub-1 micron?
4. What’s the best stone progression after profiling? Is #1000 → #2000 → #5000 → #30k → stropping a good progression? Would it work just for burr removal without fully refining the scratch pattern?

Thanks for your time!

I realise nothing new under the sun, so if you've come across the main idea below before, please link.

Please don't bother with "you're overthinking" just move on to another thread if you do not enjoy abstract / conceptual / theoretical discussion of such details for learning purposes...

Givens: forget knife aesthetics, "sharpness functionality" only. General kitchen and maybe outdoor use, not high-volume commercial, also not meat processing, neither slicing nor chopping bones I imagine. Assume guided systems not freehand, if that is relevant. Every factor that can be quantified, could be discussed absolutely, here we're sticking to relative terms and generalities, but IRL testing BESS will be the ultimate arbiter.

Also given, a pretty well thinned blade (if not a thin design to start with) and a convex-ground back bevel, as low / steep an angle as the steel hardness will support for wear/ damage resistance and good edge retention

And a very small cutting edge, living up to the term micro-bevel, barely (if at all) visible to the naked eye, ofc at a slightly flatter / obtuse angle, maybe 2-3dps greater compared to the back bevel

(side Q: which is the "primary" bevel? I would have thought the cutting edge apex, but then I've see that called secondary - thus I avoid both terms)

...

So (finally 🤣) here are my thoughts on grit ratings and toothiness:

Grind that back bevel with a low grit abrasive to leave a nice coarse scratch pattern to help with slicing, whether soft tomatoes, gravlax, paper or rope

Use a progression of fine grit abrasives to leave a super polished microbevel for the actual cutting edge.

That's it! Any constructive feedback welcome 🙏

...

Separate issue for extra credit 😉: flat V profile on that edge?

or just continue with convex, just transition to a flatter angle while finishing with finer polishing ?

Related: the system used for edge maintenance during extended usage

fine grit ceramic rods? if the cutting edge is a flat V

or strop(s) with low-micron embedded diamond abrasives for convex microbeveling ?

Katsus and a couple Rockstead clones. I have a KME setup coming and was wondering if a convex guide rod is a good add-in or are they junk?

https://preview.redd.it/nysc23djodwd1.jpg?width=912&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d9f4414711816ce5b42437d58aa36dc9662404d

Hi - I have an old wallet I’d like to use to create a strop that will work for my quality kitchen knives and chisels. The leather isn’t thick so I’m not sure if it’ll work. Any direction would be great. I’ll upload a few snaps of the piece of leather once I get home.

Hi there. I own a SOG Terminus knife which I currently sharpen with a Victorinox Sharpy. It does the job kind of, but I feel like it removes a lot of material and it really doesn’t give a sharp edge. Not looking for that hair whittling sharpness, just factory sharp or a bit sharper than that.

I’d like some guidance or a fixed angle solution but the thing is I’m on a tight budget and would like to spend less than 30 for something decent that will last me a while. Knife isn’t used very heavily.

Thanks for your advice!

In the past I have gotten a Sharpal strop that came with green compound. I’ve switched to using diamond emulsion, so I bought a new strop for that. However, I cleaned the old Sharpal strop thoroughly—first by scraping everything off and then by using WD-40 to remove the remaining residue. My question is: can I now use this strop for 0.5-micron diamond emulsion? It would save me around 30 bucks, so that would be great if it’s possible.

Please let me know :)

Got a Wicked Edge for $100 secondhand. Figured I’d learn how to sharpen my collection.

I’m currently visiting Japan and looking for whetstones for my Kai SHUN Classic Kiritsuke DM-0777G, so for stainless steel. Using a HORL 2 rolling sharpener right now and want to get into using whetstones. I’ve heard that naniwa choosera 800 and 3000 are good stone parings. I’m not sure if I want to spend that amount of money and am therefore looking for alternatives (e.g. Shapton). Any specific recommendations and grid parings?

https://preview.redd.it/vdozztdwc7wd1.png?width=835&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4ea6f5e7897a84e0f0df55b818c176db3b8ea08

What stones are these? What are they made of? Are they soft or hard?
They are sold by oka factory, a japanese leatherworking tools manufacturer.
Their instructions on how to use them is quite good btw: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpZy35FuKW5
Though i dont understand why they seem to soak the diamond stone, but maybe they dont lol

EDIT: The middle stone seems to be a "naniwa gouken", which seems to be exclusive to the japanese market.

I often see a cheap 400/1000 combo stone recommended on youtube but it‘s not available near me. It‘s called SATC and costs $20 it would be great if there is a similar product for the same price in germany.

I was gonna get a reprofiling stone for my system and settled on atoma but it is unavailable, what else can i get that is comparable with similar grit or even lower.

looking for a finishing/polishing stone and debating on a Kitayama 8000 or a Morihei Hishiboshi 9000? Can anyone with any experience with these weigh in?