Guangxi Hone

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So I bit the bullet and pick up both the 2k and the 12k Chinese natural stones. I contacted the seller and he tells me I do not need a slurry stone, any feedback on this as I have never used a 12k natural before. The only one I own is my stainless finishing glass stone and it is a 30k. Thanks guys for all the advice.

Guangxi is the one I purchased.

Natural stones don't have grit designations. There is no such thing as a Chinese 12k. Its effectiveness MIGHT be somewhat similar to some particular 12k synthetic but that is the best approximation that can be made.

I've never heard of a Chinese 2k, which also does not exist. Where did you get it? Is there a webpage describing it?

What is a "stainless finishing glass stone?" I'm only familiar with Shapton GlassStones and was not aware they have a stainless version.

I love my Guangxi finisher. Whatever it is, it's fine enough to finish the edges coming off my synthetic 8k. It's a very hard stone; I usually do 60-90 laps.

Search both the forums and the library for "Guangxi", "c12k", and "PHIG". Have fun with it, and good luck!

A bevel setter 1k and a guangxi finishing stone is all I use now. I use a slurry for a 1 stone hone. I slowly dilute down to clear water. It takes many laps but I am rewarded with the best edge I've ever used. Of course they are all different and they take a lot of practice to learn the stone but again it is well worth it if you got a good stone.

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Originally Posted by JimmyWetshaver

Shapton HRs are said to be suited for stainless as well as harder steels if I recall.

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OK I looked it up. The HR is the original GlassStone series.

[QUOTE=Utopian;


What is a "stainless finishing glass stone?" I'm only familiar with Shapton GlassStones and was not aware they have a stainless version.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, let me clarify. When I say stainless it is the stone I used to finish SS presentation colt 1911's after restamp and flattening. It is a very small stone but is the perfect size for what I needed to do.

So no slurry stone is what I am thinking for the finer of the two.

I've heard them referred to as, "The People Hone of Indeterminate Grit." Seems like a fitting name to me. Each one has it's own personality. Mine cleans up after the Norton 8k fairly well, but isn't quite as fine a finish as a hard Arkansas. It does make for a good in between step, I'd gauge it around a 10k or so.

The only real downside to it was how rough the stone was when it arrived. I had to lap the saw blade markings out of it, then spend a few hours sanding off the lapping stone scratches until the stone was about as smooth as ceramic for it to truly become a good finisher. Wouldn't trade it for anything now though.

My "Chinese 12k" arrived with one quite smooth side (guessing somewhere below 400 grit but sure) and the other side I started to lap with 400 grit and gave up after I realised how deep the scratches were on either end with the middle being smoother than the aforementioned smooth side. One day I'm going to take the stone through the grits and probably polish it off at 1k or so.

My stone leaves a noticeably nicer edge to my kamisori than the Norton 8k. As for straights, I only used it once, briefly and when I very first got it, on my straight and it also improved that edge too.

YMMV but I really like mine.

Cannot comment on the lower grit stone.

I have never encountered a natural bevel setter that came close to being acceptable. How does the lower grit hone perform?

I caved in and got a 2x8 lower grit hone for $20. I'll let you know what I see.

It will be interesting to see how it works (hopefully it shows up for the 24th), I haven't found a decent/efficient bevel setting natural stone either.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I caved in and got a 2x8 lower grit hone for $20. I'll let you know what I see.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I caved in and got a 2x8 lower grit hone for $20. I'll let you know what I see.

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I did the same. I messaged the guy and he threw in a slurry stone (2k) for free. If I can ditch the 1k king on all but the bad eBay edges I will be happy. Even if it takes a couple hundred more laps. Send me a PM utopian when you get yours. :)

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Originally Posted by JimmyWetshaver

Here is the thing for me. If your going for efficiency you cant beat some of the 1k or even 800 synthetics. Also you can set a bevel with them and switch to natural stones or even use synthetics up to your finisher and finish with a natural finisher and still get that natural stone edge which I find more comfortable to shave with.
That being said if you like the idea of an all natural progression for whatever reason (which I do mainly for the fun of getting the feel for the stones etc) the coarser grit gunagxi is to date the best one I have found to set a bevel. It takes more laps partially due to its seemingly higher grit than a 1k, but also due to the nature of the guangxi stone. They are not fast cutters by any means BUT the coarser grit guangxi stone I have found to be an effective bevels setter and as far as natural stones go one of the more efficient, that gives an excellent edge. Also the extra time you take setting the bevel with it is somewhat offset by the smoothness of the edge or lack of deep scratches which allows you to work through the rest of your progression much more quickly.
These are all just my opinion. The nice thing is you can pick up one of these lower grit gunagxi stones for $30, you kind of cant go wrong in the sense that its a very low investment to try it unlike so many stones, especially naturals.
I really wish I had one of those USB microscopes to take photos to show what I get off of it but unfortunately I work with a cheap $4 loupe.

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Right now I set a bevel on a 1k king synthetic and then use a guangxi as a one stone hone as I said above. I have been contemplating trying this lower grit guangxi ever since you told me about it in another thread and I just pulled the trigger and ordered it. If I can set a bevel and finish all on a Guangxi stone that would be perfection for me. Either way I will be able to use it in my knives as I sharpen about as many of those freehand as I do razors.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I have never encountered a natural bevel setter that came close to being acceptable. How does the lower grit hone perform?

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There are several, but they do take a little bit more skill or a little bit more touch keeping the stone in shape.

Soft arkansas and binsui come to mind (both of those will set an edge as fast as a 1k synthetic hone, but they have to be prepared properly to do it). Oh, sandstone, too, but sandstone is a bit coarse and not as closely graded as a soft arkansas. Also not that easy to find decent sandstone.

I never saw any of the chinese hones as acceptable bevel setters, but I've never had a coarse one.

I have used two binsui hones and neither came close to being adequate bevel setters. I am largely ignorant about and inexperienced with Arkansas hones.

I'd appreciate it, if possible, if you could recommend a particular Arkansas hone at a particular website that could be used as a bevel setter. This should be by PM of course so that I'll have a chance to buy it.

Soft Arkansas at naturalwhetstone.com

You need to have a fairly coarse diamond hone to keep it "awake". NW's softs are fairly open matrix and coarse cutting, and some others are not.

The multicolor softs are usually pretty coarse, too, but you might as well get one that you know is good when they're only about $30.

You need to use a medium type of oil (like norton honing oil or a mineral oil) with a coarse stone like that, or a water soluble oil with a fair amount of viscosity to keep the stone particles from settling into the surface.

Binsui are apparently inconsistent. Mine sets a bevel fine, but I've heard others say they had one that was too hard and didn't cut well.

Ok so my stones came in the mail today the "finer" of the two is rough but should lap out just fine. The "courser" one is pre lapped and feels realy nice I am going to try it this weekend on one of my King Cutters and see how it does I will try and post picks before and after.

And here they are!

Attachment 189604Attachment 189605
Coarse on top, Fine on the bottom