Thread: Help choosing hone

I haven't used this stone, so I can't say. I have
heard from others that the new Nortons are
not as good as the ones manufactured in the
US.

Hopefully someone can chime in about the 8k!

- Scott

After extensive reading I think I'm going to settle on this set:
Buy Woodcraft DMT 80th Anniversary Diamond Stone Boxed Set, Woodcraft DMT 80th
I will also get a strop and this 1 micron paste: Diamond Paste - Lee Valley Tools and this Veritas® Honing Compound - Lee Valley Tools 0.5 micron honing compound.
In the end I will have King 4000 grit waterstone, 8000 grit DMT diamond stone, strop, 1 micron paste and 0.5 micron compound.
I hope this will be sufficient to achieve shave ready sharpness, while keeping costs down.
Please feel free to critique my choices.
Thank you.

Originally Posted by iakov

I'm pretty sure that Gold Stone is a King brand made in Japan, I think it's a good brand but don't quote me on that.
Thanks for that Craftsman studio link. Unfortunately, after currency conversion and shipping accross the border and possible duty, their stones will be even more expensive then at Lee Valley.

I'm not sure that's a King stone...King stones are all stamped very clearly on the stone itself (in fact, most Japanese stones are...). King does make an 8000, but it looks a bit different--it's much bigger, for one thing, and the stand is more ornate. But it might be different for the foreign market.

I have a couple of King stones that I've just started using, but I think O_S uses Kings. They're not great, but they do the job, is I think the best way to put it.

Picture on Lee Valley website is not exactly what is actually being sold. When I was buying King 4000 stone I didn't know it was King until I actually got the package.

Originally Posted by iakov

...
Please feel free to critique my choices.
...

Looks good to me. I have one of the Woodcraft 80th DMT sets myself, it works good for knives and razors. I actually retired my D8EE when receiving the "D6EE" in the Woodcraft set.

If pastes don't work out for you, I'd suggest maybe something in the 12k to 16k range (until HAD sets in).

You could get a shapton from Fendrihan or a bbw/coticule combo.

Coticule is what I would get. I have one as my main hone bevel setting-finishing and I love it. A combo with a BBW on the other side would be great, you could hone anything with those two.