Thread: 1k Chosera or 1k King Stone

I am building my first razor with a Gold Dollar blade blank and off the shelf plastic scales. Don't say it...Yes...I know. But I really want the experience before I tackle more advanced projects.

My question is simple-- I need a stone that can remove some serious metal to set a good bevel on the GD blade I don't want to use my nice 1K Naniwa stone...I am looking at either a Chosera or King stone. Certainly the King is less expensive. Any comments? Ideas?

I started out with the k 1000. If it was the only stone that I had to choose from, I probably would have left the hobby. Go with the Chosera.

If all you want is serious metal removal get a diamond plate and then go to your naniwa 1k. Having both would be redundant and not advised for what you're looking for.

The Chosera is the standard by which all other bevel setters are judged; to me, it feels much smoother than my Norton 1k, is easier to use, and gives better results. If you build a slurry on it with the included rubbing stone, it will remove all the metal you want (and probably too much if you're not careful!).

You won't regret getting one, and you could resell it easily if you change your mind. There's a reason you hardly ever see them for sale on the secondary market.

After getting into the Choser I have barely touched my 1k Super Stone. I tend to agree with others though that you might be better off getting a diamond plate if you don't already have one.

Yea, seriously a 400/1k diamond plate from Chef’s Knives to Go, $35.

Then any 1k will smooth it out. I think the King with slurry is more aggressive than a Chosera.

But as said you will most probably need to remove some steel. Once you get the geometry straightened out and the stabilizers ground down, you can make them shavers.

The scales are Crepe, and the blade design is clunky and poorly ground, but, it is the cheapest “Razor Kit”, on the market.

I'm gonna say, since you own a 1K, why not try a Chosera 600. Love mine, it's a lot less aggressive than a diamond and is fast enough. You may find it very useful later when you need to do more subtle work, like removing larger chips or pitting from the edges. I'd say going from 600 Chosera to 1K requires less work, than going from a DMT325, or Atoma 400. This has been my experience, at least.

Originally Posted by Srdjan

I'm gonna say, since you own a 1K, why not try a Chosera 600. Love mine, it's a lot less aggressive than a diamond and is fast enough. You may find it very useful later when you need to do more subtle work, like removing larger chips or pitting from the edges. I'd say going from 600 Chosera to 1K requires less work, than going from a DMT325, or Atoma 400. This has been my experience, at least.

This is along the lines I was thinking. Rather than another 1K, why not step down to 4/6/800 grit since you know you'll want a LOT of material removed without a large time expenditure.

Not that a CKTG diamond plate is a bad option, I'd kind of like to get one myself for exactly this type of thing. But I've got an 800 grit Super Stone and can attest that it works scary fast. Much faster than I anticipated an 800 grit stone to work. I almost botched bevel setting on a new to me razor and cost myself time fixing a mistake. Side bonus there isn't a ton of work needed to get the scratches out from that stone. I jumped up to my Norton 4K with relative ease. I think 400 or 600 to 1K would be a bit better though.

The reason to not go lower than 1K for me is that you have to get the 600 grit scratches out of the edge. A 1K stone will set the bevel well & unless you had a really messed up blade it would to be a wast of money going lower than 1K unless you wanted to sharpen knives & axe's.

Slawman

True, but when talking about setting the first proper bevel on a Gold Dollar I'd rather spend an extra 5-10 minutes on 600 grit scratches than several hours whittling away on a 1k. I'm sure we've all tried that once.