Thread: Natural replacement for DMT 8K?

Don't use the slurry with the coticule and Belgian blue if you feel they(it) are(is) counterproductive.
And there you are with natural stones filling the slot.

We are here to help.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Don't use the slurry with the coticule and Belgian blue if you feel they(it) are(is) counterproductive.
And there you are with natural stones filling the slot.

We are here to help.

Well, I have a coticule and it's way too fine to go from 1200 without taking all day. I heard a belgian blue was too slow without slurry, hence my reluctance to purchase such a stone.

you won't find a replacement for that diamond speed. i suggest you find something constructive to grind on over the whole surface some more, maybe a lot more ;0

there's always ceramic varieties to choose from : why you looking from diamond to natural?

probably some shobu, narutaki, etc that would suit that are not over the top $wise

Originally Posted by kevint

you won't find a replacement for that diamond speed. i suggest you find something constructive to grind on over the whole surface some more, maybe a lot more ;0

there's always ceramic varieties to choose from : why you looking from diamond to natural?

probably some shobu, narutaki, etc that would suit that are not over the top $wise

Yeah, diamond is faster, but that gets me into microchipping territory with harder razors in my stable.

I have a Spyderco set of hones, but I don't like the feel of em. They seem to dull down after a while and need refreshing. Plus they don't feel as good as naturals.

I have been lookin' at some shobu and narutaki stones, but I don't know much about em, and I don't want to get saddled with something that isn't going to work for razors due to inclusions or somesuch...

What is wrong with a Shapton? There I said it!

Later,
R

Originally Posted by riooso

What is wrong with a Shapton? There I said it!

Later,
R

Well.... I sure did like it... but I would really like a natural hone. I have a coticule that is awesome for the pre-final finish, and my new bestest finisher the Nakayama.

I just wanted something to go before the 1200 for aesthetic purposes.

I wants it, I needs it...

I haven't yet shaved off the sougoroh i got on ebay. that's a shobu stone. It is soft,pretty cheap. 20$ best offer got it. At first I didn't think much of it: it's homely, inexpensive, soft, as I said. Lately I have been sharpening a few knives on it and I'm starting to like it. I have no clue on the grit. but it does indeed cut and polish

I won't promise it's what you're looking for but it's an interesting stone. Ive been fairly sloppy with lapping- It makes a huge amount of mud and the black seems to get way down in there... I can almost make sense of the sellers description in that regard.

You've got sort of a tall order here: natural, not slow, but no slurry...

My feeling is give the belgian blue a shot. The blue-yellow sequence after dmt is in my experience very different from just yellow. The blue with slurry gets the scratches out in a hurry, and though it does dull the edge a bit, it doesn't dull it as much as yellow with heavy slurry. I think this has to do with less concentration of garnets in the blue...

Then when you go the yellow, your DMT scratches are already out and your heavy work is done, and you can use a very light slurry with the coticule. The grabby edge comes back in a hurry. Then another 30 or so laps with just water and you're in business.

The whole process is very quick indeed. As in, 50 or so laps on blue w/slurry, 30 or so on yellow with light slurry, 30 with plain water.

The blue is cheap, has a lovely feel, is a nice match for your coticule, and works great on kitchen knives.

The other option is the Dalmore Blue, but those are a little harder to come by. I have a 6x2 Dalmore Blue/Dalmore Yellow combo that I'll be putting up for sale here pretty soon, but I'm not sure just when, and frankly a belgian blue of that size will be cheaper.

Well... I am not dead set against something slow... I know nothing is going to rival the diamond's speed.

I am looking harder at Howards 8" belgian blue...

A bunch of guys around here bought some Dragon's tongue hones, but last time I checked that thread, few had responded with results or comparisons. That makes me wonder.


A few guys have some Tam O Shanter's, and those had piqued my interest over the last few months, but they are very hard to find.


Dalmore blue? I haven't heard anything about em. How do they compare to a belgian blue: speed wise and polishing-wise?

Good morning Joe. The only stone that comes close to the DMT 8K for speed is the Shapton 8K. For $80 it seems like a bargain to me. Shapton GlassStone Waterstones I sold my DMT 8K and my Norton 4K X 8K on the BST when I got my Shaptons.

bj