Thread: king 1k is this the right one??

Originally Posted by ccase39

Me too. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that its not as wide as my Nortons or Nani's. I haven't been honing long and it adds another dimension to the learning curve. I have just been canting the razor so the whole thing makes contact with the stone. Is this correct?

I've not had much experience of wider hones. I've found that by angling it so that most of the razor is flat works for me to get a consistent edge. Watching Lynn's or GSSisxgunn's vids definitely helps.

Originally Posted by ccase39

Me too. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that its not as wide as my Nortons or Nani's. I haven't been honing long and it adds another dimension to the learning curve. I have just been canting the razor so the whole thing makes contact with the stone. Is this correct?

I had a hard time with that 2" thing at first but after a few laps you get the hang of it. It's just another learning curve I would have liked to pass on but the money made me do it. I don't think I would ever buy another under 3" wide though.

Given the positive responses in this thread, I assume the King 1/6k combo would work nicely for knives as well...

I've used the King 800 and 1200 but never the 1K with that said (neither came with a plastic holder), they work well especially for the price. I use my 1200 all of the time and love it! (I'd given my 800 to a guy trying to learn to hone) Glen (GSSIXGUN) has one (1K) and has publicly posted that if he wasn't honing professionally and only taking care of his razors that he could very easily get by with his King 1K.

I would digress with my friend Neil as I find them one thirsty Son of a B****h! It will take hours for it to go from completely dry to soaked and even then be ready with a spray bottle of water as it will need it. If you aren't going to be using it for awhile plan on allowing it to dry for Days! I"m not kidding.

After consulting with Glen I now store my King in a water bath of Distilled Water with 1 Tablespoon of plain Chlorine Bleach in it and change the water about twice a year.

Yes it will need to be lapped and I lap mine every time I use it, but I use slurry when setting a bevel.

One thing to be aware of is that it's not 3" wide but I don't find that a problem just a little more heel forward and you'll be good.

As far as hones for knives I use the Norton Tri-Stone Setup, not the Mickey Mouse 'mini' but the full size workhorse and have ever since I was a meat cutter. An old friend gave my son a very vintage one/the base is Cast Iron and the top is metal. The stones from his and mine will interchange. It's a good investment and will last you a lifetime/even though the modern ones are made of plastic.

I hope this helps

It is quite a soft stone so I'm not sure it would be the best bet for very hard or abrasion resistant steels but for my carbon pen knives, carbon gyuto and selection of stainless steel budget kitchen knives the king combo worked fine.

I have the same King stone and it works fantastic for the price. Naturally, if you're going to be selling razors then you'd want the fast and durable Chosera 1k. I'm planning on upgrading soon, but I've managed to hone at least 20 very different razors on the same King stone and the only problem I've encountered is the narrowness of it.

I have used King 1k stones since 1978 when I got my first "red brick" in Japan. After using-up close to a dozen of them I also use a Shapton 2k and a 500 because I found that some steels react differently and that some stones work better with some steels. I always keep my King 1k in water all year round, they don't melt. Lapping is just part of using coarse stones for heavy work, the King is cheap so lapping never feels like throwing away grit, the job comes first. Honing or sharpening on and towards the ends of the stone helps relieve the burden on the middle of the stone so less lapping. Focus on the ends and the middle will almost wear by itself.

Alex

p.s. Soak yours until it stops bubbling.
alx