I'm a recovering sharpening fanatic.

I use both water stones, diamond stones and pastes. Once the back is flat I use a Brian Burns jig to do the initial edge and major touch-ups. The Burns jig is super beefy so you can put some muscle into it, easy to use and easy to set up to be dead nuts accurate. I do use a 12000 grit water stone but those things can load up pretty fast so it's worthwhile to have a nagura stone on hand.

But ... overall I don't like water stones. It's not that they don't cut well ... it's that they're a pain to keep flat. If you have a stone that's even slightly cupped it can drive ya nuts to get an edge ... and since ya have to move from one grit to another it can be maddening. Added to that you can add twist to the surface when ya flatten 'em ... you get the picture. The wider the blade and the harder the steel the more important it is to have flat stones.

These days I use a 1200 diamond stone and move straight to a 12000 water stone with maybe a swipe on a 6000 water stone before the 12000 ... but usually not. To finish the edge I strop it on a piece of hardwood charged with chomium dioxide or boron paste. I never use a leather strop because it rounds the bevel and that makes resharpening harder ... I've never used a barbers strop so I dunno if they round the edge or not.

If ya get a 10X or 20X loop to check the edge with ... it'll tell ya when to move up in grit.

I hate resharpening so I make sure I keep my edges sharp. I do that by frequently touching the edge up on a flat MDF disk charged with chromium oxide or boron paste mounted on my lathe ... works fine for both backs and bevels.

On Scary Sharp ... check out the 3M films ... they're super smooth and they cut well and last long. They're the ticket if you're using Scary Sharp on a granite reference block.

Ken

: Hello all,

: I just bought some waterstones and thought I would share the link
: to where I got them because I thought it was a pretty good deal.
: I am in no way affiliated with this company- just sharing
: information on a good deal. I got two combination stones that
: give me 220, 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit, plus a flattening stone
: and an instructional DVD all for $128. I have read a lot of good
: things about the Norton stones, and that's what I got. The
: company only sells sharpening supplies which may be the reason
: they seem to sell cheaper than knife stores, and they offer free
: shipping on this kit so it was an even better deal.

: Here is the link:
: http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Water-Stone-Kit-P94C53.aspx

: Before I have used the "scary sharp" method where you use
: wet sandpaper on plate glass, and got great results, but I've
: always wanted a set of water stones, and I don't think you can
: get sandpaper in 8000 grit. This company also sells Naniwa
: stones at really good prices. They also have a set that has
: diamond stones for the coarse grit, and waterstones for the
: finer grit for those that prefer diamond stones. I may break
: down and get a Naniwa 12000 grit stone for $80, but for now I'm
: just going to play around with the 8000. I have read that the
: Japaneese system actually stops at 8000, and manufacturers
: selling 10000, 12000, and 15000 grit stones are actually using
: arbitrary systems beyond the 8000 mark. I read some reviews that
: said there was not much difference between 8000 and 12000 but
: that there was some difference under 30x magnification. If any
: of you have experience with the higher grit stones I'd like to
: hear it. Also anyone that uses diamond paste on a strop I'd like
: to hear about that too. I am kind of a sharpening fanatic. I
: have a machete that will cut a tomato as good as any kitchen
: knife.

: Best regards,

: Malcolm