Thread: Stone set (mainly shapton) buying advice?

Originally Posted by Ben325e

Isaac, I'm pretty sure these are the glass stones. Who'd go pro when they have the glass? plus, the 16k isn't available in pro.

I am the "voice crying in the wilderness" on this topic. When I was deciding whether to go glass or pro I did a lot of reading and studying. I went pro. I got 15mm of honing stone versus 5. I got a heavy duty plastic container to store the stone in which doubles as a stable honing platform. No there is no 16K but there is a 15K. The proof of the pudding for me is that the pro series does a magnificent job. AFAIC, the pro is the way to go.

I really appreciate all the input so far.

It just occurred to me that the SET holder is different than the STONE holder.

the Shapton Set Holder provides a stable sharpening base and storage for up to three GlassStones.

I'm assuming the utility as a sharpening base is equivalent? I'm guessing the set holder is lacking the weight of the stone holder. With the set(s), which include the set holder, you get about $30 off. The set holder by itself costs $60 and the stone holder $75. If there's a large difference in utility then that might push me over to going alacarte... (over analysis? heh, I'm an engineer with OCD )

Originally Posted by JimmyH-AD

I am the "voice crying in the wilderness" on this topic. When I was deciding whether to go glass or pro I did a lot of reading and studying. I went pro. I got 15mm of honing stone versus 5. I got a heavy duty plastic container to store the stone in which doubles as a stable honing platform. No there is no 16K but there is a 15K. The proof of the pudding for me is that the pro series does a magnificent job. AFAIC, the pro is the way to go.

Info from shapton regarding the glass stones from their website:

Shapton® Glass Stone™ abrasives have been carefully manufactured to achieve the highest levels of performance and durability. They may appear thin at first glance but, don't let that fool you. They will out last most other stones that are three times the thickness. These abrasives are extremely uniform. Consistency is the primary goal for Shapton's engineers. The abrasive that you encounter with the first pass will be the same on the 5,000th pass. And, this will be true for every every abrasive size.


Apparently in shapton glass math, (5mm glass) =/> (15mm anything else)!

Not to mention the price: 130 for the shapton 15k vs 99 for the glass 16k,
and 635 for the pro 30k vs 280 for the glass 30k. (prices in MSRP)

If you leave out the 220, 3000, and 6000 stones, you can buy the entire shapton glass series for about the same price as the pro 30k. That's a lot of pudding.

Originally Posted by Ben325e

Info from shapton regarding the glass stones from their website:

Shapton® Glass Stone™ abrasives have been carefully manufactured to achieve the highest levels of performance and durability. They may appear thin at first glance but, don't let that fool you. They will out last most other stones that are three times the thickness. These abrasives are extremely uniform. Consistency is the primary goal for Shapton's engineers. The abrasive that you encounter with the first pass will be the same on the 5,000th pass. And, this will be true for every every abrasive size.


Apparently in shapton glass math, (5mm glass) =/> (15mm anything else)!

Not to mention the price: 130 for the shapton 15k vs 99 for the glass 16k,
and 635 for the pro 30k vs 280 for the glass 30k. (prices in MSRP)

If you leave out the 220, 3000, and 6000 stones, you can buy the entire shapton glass series for about the same price as the pro 30k. That's a lot of pudding.

Yes, I read all of that and more when I was making my decision. Reminds me of Mark Twain,"There are lies, there are damn lies, then there are statistics".

IOW, I don't necessarily believe the hype. I don't have any of the glass stones. The fellow that sold me his Shapton Pro 15k sold it to me to finance buying the 16K glass. After he got it and used it some he told me that it is really good but no better then his 15K pro. He is IMO of honemiester status so I took what he said seriously and went with the pros for the rest of my Shaptons. I probably woul've been as happy with the glass but I really do endorse the pros. YMMV.