Thread: Spyderco ultra fine

Hi,

I'm trying to get an idea of the grit number of a Spyderco Ultra Fine.

From navigating the threads, I get the feeling it's between a Chinese 12K and a Shapton 16K.
Does it need to lapped ? If so, could it be lapped with a DMT 8K ?
Which would you recommend Spyderco or Shapton ?

Thanks,

McKie

As an old tool salesman I knew (he has since past on) and whom I would deal with in a heartbeat without hesitation once said to me (and I'll make this relevant to the issue at hand). The Spyderco is a fired ceramic hone, not grit bound by a binder and costs ~$50, the Shapton 16K is a ceramic grit hone, bound by a resin binder and costs ~$100. The Spyderco is NOT a $100 Shapton for fifty bucks......

Grit rating is irrelevant to the Spyderco, it does not shed grit and while some have reported improved performance after lapping, I did not find the same after lapping mine on a DMT D8C. and frankly it ruined my DMT for sharpening HSS cutters that I use in my shop. The DMT still works fine for lapping hones, including my shiny new set of Shaptons but it's too dull for those cutters that I need to sharpen on a regular basis.... I don't have the Spyderco anymore as it did nothing for me. This does not mean it's not good...... only that it didn't do anything special for me. I know of one gent whom I trust implicitly who does use the Spyderco UF and who also owns a full set of Shaptons, including the 16K and 30K hones and claims to get good results from the UF after his Shapton ritual. Me.... I hone to 16K on the Shaptons and then will either visit my Coticule, Chromium pasted strop or go directly to shaving... it all depends on the razor in question.

That's the way things worked out for me.

Regards

Christian

Originally Posted by McKie

Hi,

I'm trying to get an idea of the grit number of a Spyderco Ultra Fine.

From navigating the threads, I get the feeling it's between a Chinese 12K and a Shapton 16K.
Does it need to lapped ? If so, could it be lapped with a DMT 8K ?
Which would you recommend Spyderco or Shapton ?

Thanks,

McKie

I've got both the Shapton GS 16K and the Spyderco UF, I think you're right with your guess on the gritsize, it seems to be not as fine as the 16K, but it'll still give me a shaveready razor. I've lapped the Spyderco on a DMT E and I felt it improved the preformance of the hone. If you decide to go with the UF, try it before you lapp it, and if you lapp it, don't use your DMT 8K as lapping the UF might decrease the preformance of the DMT afterwards. I usually finish my razors on either the UF, a yellow coticule or a Shapton 16K depending on the razor in question, of those three options the Shapton edges feels the sharpest, but all of the options gives me equally good shaves.

Which one to get?

Both hones will give you a shaveready razor, at least that's my experiences with them, but if I had to get one of them again, I would get the Shapton if I had the money for it, if not I'd get by with the UF.

You need to "break in" ( not lapping) ) the UF before you use it, it has "high points" and also soften the edges of the hone.

I do not know if this applies to the Shapton glass hones.

Shaptons are conventional (made with modern materials) hones, they need to be lapped flat and have the corners/edges relieved to avoid them digging into the edge of a razor should you drop the tang too low during a stroke, just like you would do with a Norton, Coticule etc.

Christian

they say the uf is rated at aroung 12000-14000 grit but who knows i kind of like mine if you do all else correct and give a good 50 passes or a little more you will have a very nice shaving edge to use, ive tried the slurry method with mine and it does seem to refine the edge faster but you still need 50 passes on it after you do that before you sre ready to strop

Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

The Spyderco is a fired ceramic hone, not grit bound by a binder and costs ~$50, the Shapton 16K is a ceramic grit hone, bound by a resin binder and costs ~$100. The Spyderco is NOT a $100 Shapton for fifty bucks......

Hi!

I'd be interested to know where I can find a Spyderco fo 50 $, the best I found was 74 $. Spyderco sells them for 129.95 $. I'm talking of the 3" x 8" stone (306 UF).

The best I've found for the Shapton 16 k is 98 $ and change.

Good day,

McKie

Originally Posted by McKie

Hi!

I'd be interested to know where I can find a Spyderco fo 50 $, the best I found was 74 $. Spyderco sells them for 129.95 $. I'm talking of the 3" x 8" stone (306 UF).

The best I've found for the Shapton 16 k is 98 $ and change.

Good day,

McKie

The $50 figure applies to the 8x2 ultrafine. The 8x3 is more expensive, $74 for that stone is pretty good. Note the 8x3 is a fairly new product from Spyderco, the 8x2 has been around for a while. People are used to refering to the 8x2 as the ultrafine.

Lou

Thanks to those who responded to my question, it wasn't in vain, I bought a Shapton 16K.

Good day


McKie