John's sharpening system

[John Coloccia]

Here's my new sharpening system. I was looking to get away from soaking waterstones, but I also wanted to be able to flatten my stones without resorting to sandpaper. Here's my latest sytem that's working well for me.

DuoSharp-coarse/fine. Coarse for flattening stones and establishing bevels. Fine for scratch removal from the coarse.

Norton 8000: hone from duosharp fine or touch up honing. I find if I touchup frequently, I rarely need to hit the coarser grits.

Shapton 16000: wow...just wow

leather honing: dry

This is what's currently working for me, and nothing requires any soaking. Just a spritz of water. Anyhow, I just wanted to share. I'm thinking of adding an extra fine dmt step before the 8000 stone but right now it doesn't really seem to be a problem.

Comments and suggestions welcome :D. I'm always looking for a better way to chase this particular carrot.

[Lex Boegen]

Like you, I liked the results that I got from waterstones, but not the soaking and maintenance that went along with them. I recently got a full set of DMT diamond bench stones, from extra-coarse to their 8000 grit extra-fine stone. I just give each stone a spritz of WD-40 and hone away. I still think that the gold waterstones give a finer finish than the 8000 grit diamond stone, but it's pretty close. I don't have the 16000 grit stone, so I can't compare there. I use a leather strop wheel on a drill for the final polish. I think that chasing the perfect sharpening setup is addictive in itself. I have ceramic, diamond, water and oil stones, as well as various honing jigs. I shudder to think how much money I've spent on this over the years. Oh well, if it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble...:D

[Rick Erickson]

Gotta love the Shaptons. That is my stone of choice - all the way to 16000.

[george wilson]

I use water.take 8 ozs. water,add about 4 drops of liquid dish detergent(not soap). 3 or 4 drops of Aqua Cut water based cutting fluid is also added,though the detergent is good by itself.

You must wipe off the stones,or the steel left on them will leave a rusty deposit after the water dries.

Years ago I used light oil,buy this newer way is handy.

[Richard Dooling]

I've been using the water and dish detergent mix in a spray bottle ever since I first saw George post the recommendation here some time back. Works like a champ and the price can't be beat.

But I'm using diamond plates and sand paper for the coarse work and ceramics and green compound for the fine work. I use a little oil with the green compound and I'm very careful not to let the water and oil sources mix.

.