Thread: Honing with a Shun kitchen knife whetstone

Hey everybody,

I have a Shun whetstone that I use for sharpening my kitchen knives. It is a 1k/6k combination stone. Supposing I flattened it before using it for razor honing, do you think it will work using it in combination with a naniwa 12k (for finishing)?? I am mostly concerned with honing a good razor every ~3-4 months, not talking about restoring old blades.

Thanks!

I'd be really surprised if it was actually 6k... my wusthoff 3000 8000 is more coarse than a 1600 grit chinese scribble stone... and an 800 king stone

Andre, How can I tell what grit my stone actually has?

You can't really tell by feel, try searching for the manufacturer. I bet you could hone a razor using it and a naniwa 8 or 10 or 12k. You would have to find out by testing it.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

You can't really tell by feel, try searching for the manufacturer. I bet you could hone a razor using it and a naniwa 8 or 10 or 12k. You would have to find out by testing it.

I'll do some more research before I try it out. But I was hoping I could use it with a naniwa 12k for my razors.

You could... i use a 1600 for my razors... but i am a noob... at least you could set the bevel... but i just cautioned against taking the grit and including it in the progression at face value. In any case using very light pressure makes the grit scratch finer up to a point too... i apply too much pressure mostly so... just make sure you clean them well...

Originally Posted by AndreGrobler

You could... i use a 1600 for my razors... but i am a noob... at least you could set the bevel... but i just cautioned against taking the grit and including it in the progression at face value. In any case using very light pressure makes the grit scratch finer up to a point too... i apply too much pressure mostly so... just make sure you clean them well...

Understood! I appreciate your thoughts!

Originally Posted by manuelz

Hey everybody,

I have a Shun whetstone that I use for sharpening my kitchen knives. It is a 1k/6k combination stone. Supposing I flattened it before using it for razor honing, do you think it will work using it in combination with a naniwa 12k (for finishing)?? I am mostly concerned with honing a good razor every ~3-4 months, not talking about restoring old blades.

Thanks!

You could use the 12k Naniwa once a week or so & not be concerned about the other stones unless you have an accident & blade needs repair.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

You cold use the 12k Naniwa once a week or so & not be concerned about the other stones unless you have an accident & blade needs repair.

Great option. I find the problem with these cheap Chinese water stones is that no one knows their true grit rating and even less want to find that out by trying. It's a sad state of affairs.

Yea, probably, but as Oz said, you really don’t need to. The 12k Super Stone is a very aggressive, vestal stone and will actually set a bevel if the damage is not too bad.

You 1-6K stone is probably 1,6k grit but there is a lot more to a stone, that will hone a razor than the grit size. For razors how the binder released and the kind of grit or grits, is as if not more important that the size.

Many inexpensive stones release and break down way to quickly and the surface will not remain flat.

But again, is all moot, if you just maintain your razor with the 12k. Here is a thread on removing a small chip with a 12k Super Stone.