Thread: King 1k

I hear what you guys are saying. The chosera 1k is the pro choice though. Most pro honers(Im not a pro) use it for its speed and clean scratch pattern, its splash and hone and really doesnt need much lapping. Im not answering for anybody, but if I had a bench full of honing work to do, I wouldnt use the king if I had a chosera. There is a VERY big difference between the 2 and if you hone more than 10 blades with it, the $60 more is worth it only for the time you save. I dont own chosera stock nor do I have one for sale. Just trying to share my experience with it.

Kings are one of the most popular stones in Japan for knives. They are however a 'soft' stone that 'slurry' a lot & need constant lapping & do soak up water.
No offence , you just need to know how to use them on razors. There are easier stones to use as you found but it does not make Kings a bad stone, just less appropriate for razors.
Go back to your King in a few years time & I bet you'll find your edges are ok off it. You'll even find it's not as slow as you remembered.

Thanks for the tips. Would you use a king or a chosera if you had both and why? Thanks.

So y would I use a king.. If u listed so many bad things about it,there are easy stones to use??so y make my bevel setting harder especially for a noob.. Mayb there cost efficent..??

Originally Posted by bill3152

Thanks for the tips. Would you use a king or a chosera if you had both and why? Thanks.

Never used a Chosera so can't talk about them.
I used Kings from 300 - 8000 grit for a few years & never had trouble with edges, just slow getting there. Swapped to Shaptons for more speed due to volume of work & the fact that I don't have to lap them while I work especially with edge restores. ie the lower grits pre 4k.
btw.. The 300 King is the slowest cutting stone in all of history.

I still use some Kings on Jpknives infrequently.

Originally Posted by Airportcopper

So y would I use a king.. If u listed so many bad things about it,there are easy stones to use??so y make my bevel setting harder especially for a noob.. Mayb there cost efficent..??

Not suggesting you use a stone you don't want to use. I don't use them on razors any longer either but some of the 'bad' things as you describe them, are 'good' things for honing knives & yes they are cost efficient, less than half the price of a Chocera down here. Theyr'e just not as 'imossible' to use as you seemed to imply. I could never have afforded to get into honing without my Kings.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...l-setting.html

My King 1K is an older stone, coffee brown with a wooden base, I got it used it is probably a pretty old stone and it may be different than what is currently available.

I soak mine for 20-30 min before using and flood with soapy water. I do notice that the King does load up more than any of my other 1Ks.

A scotch bright sponge and a squirt of Simple Green removes all the swarf quickly and easily.

The Chosera is definitely an easier stone to use, in that it does not load up as much, cuts faster and feels smoother than any other 1K, but in the end they all do the same thing with the same results.

You have to learn the idiosyncrasies of any stone and how to squeeze the best performance from it. I read in another thread recently about how slow a particular natural stone cut, yet how good the edge was.

It is not that the natural stone is slow… New synthetic stones as much faster and smoother… And we are spoiled and they keep getting better. Putting a couple of turbo’s on a motor doubling the horsepower does not make you a better driver.

I would venture to bet the OP learned a lot from his King that contributed to the results he now gets from his Chosera, it is unfortunate he never mastered the King.

As Onimaru says go back to the King and you will be surprised how good the stone really is.
It’s not the tools…

I learned on a King 1k, went to a Norton 1k ( nudged by a friend and Glen's link above) and see no need to go to a Chosera. If I honed a hundred razors a week I would definitely go Chosera. I can understand coppers going to Chosera though. He is getting great compliments on his hone jobs now so his choice worked out for him :<0)

Originally Posted by coachmike

Glen could use a piece of coal and get an edge on a blade. That being said, both are good stones, the "green" one , as was posted, is just better in the sense of being much faster and i believe a little more forgiving to us mere mortals....

Just because he CAN it doesn't mean that he prefers it

Originally Posted by Ludvig

Just because he CAN it doesn't mean that he prefers it

Actually, the abrasive in DOVO black paste is burnt cow bone, if I'm not mistaken. Glen, would you mind burn down something and shave off it?