Thread: Looking for sharpening stones

The scratch pattern will correspond to the grit size of the stone regardless of the abrasive. The abrasive will determine how quickly the stone removes metal. The naniwa 220 is an exeption. Because it forms a thick polishing slurry on top, it leaves a finish that is finer than other 220 grit stones.

I dont use my norton 1k, and I've never used a king 1k, but they probably work fine on most steels; someone else will probably chime in soon. In my experience, the shapton 1000 removes the scratches left by the 120 silicon carbide stone (water or oil) or extra-course DMT. The 4k and 8k shaptons make the scratch pattern even finer--almost a mirror finish but not quite. If you want a mirror finish with no visible scratch pattern, you need a polishing stone. The two most economical options I'm aware of are the naniwa super stones and kitayama 8000 grit. There are probably plenty of others; e.g., natural japanese water stones. Stones that work up a thick slurry on top of broken down abrasive particles will leave a mirror finish.