Thread: Has anyone bought or used these hones?

Hello,

I am thinking of buying some hones and came across these while searching for a Norton 4000/8000 stone. I was just wondering if any one had tried these? Thanks

Here is the link: 3-Piece Sharpening Set - eBay (item 360226823337 end time Aug-14-10 16:09:35 PDT)

I know there are posts about them somewhere. I believe they are rebranded... was it King/Ice Bear?

These have been discussed a few times before. Sham (Hi_Bud_GL) tested them and gave them his approval, so apparently they are just fine. The top hone is the Chinese hone that is frequently discussed in the forum so there is no confusion about that one. It's the bottom two that are the ones that are uncommon to this forum.

Sham stated that he found them to be fast cutters. That should offset the Chinese, which is notorious for being slow! That said, it is highly rated as an inexpensive finisher, & slurry will speed them up considerably. I quite liked the feel of them too.

Here's his post. Ignore the title, when you've been here a while you'll get used to them!

So I read hi bud gl's thread and it says that the 8k stones edge is dull. Am I reading that wrong? I don't want to buy something that doesn't work well.

Originally Posted by Milkylee

So I read hi bud gl's thread and it says that the 8k stones edge is dull. Am I reading that wrong? I don't want to buy something that doesn't work well.

Yes you are correct.
8 k level edge compare to Norton 8k was dull.
you could say approximately 7k level.
if you could have another stone between 8k and chinese 12 you should be fine.
in fact you can hone without it but process from 8k to 12k will take a lot time.
hope this helps.

I don't have any experience with any of those except the Chinese stone which has come to be known as the 12k. I think the reason for that designation is that it is advertised as a 12k on the Woodcraft site. AFAIK, being a natural stone the designation of grit is questionable. I've got one and it is , as most say, slow but good.

I would tend to recommend the Norton 4/8 because I know from personal experience it is reliable and consistently good. There is a plethora of info on using it in the SRP Wiki and so many guys have experience with them that if you ever had a question come up many would be able to give their input. OTOH, the hones in the ebay listing are relatively unknown to most here unless I'm mistaken.

I was just about to ask if I should just spend the extra $30 and get the Norton 4k/8k and the Chinese 12k separately, but I guess that answers it for me. Is there anything as cheap as the Chinese 12K for finishing? Also I assume I would still need a 1k for setting a good bevel? Any suggestions on what brand of 1k? Thanks

shapton 1k will work and chinese 12 is the cheapest final finishing stone out there.

I also see the Norton 1k/8k combo stone, is this too big of a jump?