Shapton 320 or Chosera 400?

[Dave Cav]

For flattening backs and rough work. I have Shapton Pros in 1K, 5K and 8K and I am very happy with them. I have used all of the sharpening systems and I think I've finally found my permanent setup. I have a DMT coarse plate for flattening the stones, but I don't want to use it on irons or chisels, and I have 3 really old DMT bench "stones" in blue, red and black, but I have doubts as to their overall flatness.

[Archie England]

First, I'm not anti-Shapton Pros!!! Though I prefer Sigma Power or Chosera stones, I'm convinced the SPs are great stones, too. With that said, "No, don't go with a Cho 400"; and, it's every bit as good as the SP 320. I had that Shapton stone (if I remember correctly) and gave it to a friend. It (and the Cho 400) works but not nearly as fast as the King Deluxe 300, which is slower than the Sigma 400 (I have) or the Gesshin 400 (my friend has). According to Stu Tierney (TFJ) the new Cerax ceramic 320 is better than the Sigma 400. BTW, if you really want a Cho 400, I'll sell you my not-so-used one. However, I'd recommend putting your money toward the better stones.

[Tony Shea]

The Cho 400 is def not as coarse as I thought it would be and does take much longer to flatten backs than I expected. I do still use it for that purpose once in a while when things are not real out of flat. I have no experience with the other stones Archie recommended but the thing the Cho 400 has going for it is its' a pretty hard stone for that coarse. It does a # on my DMT flattening stone though which I try to stay away from.

[Dave Cav]

The Cerax 320 looks good on Stu's site, but is it splash and go? That's what I like about the Shaptons, they are quick to use and not messy. Also my shop isn't heated when I'm not using it and it will occasionally get below freezing so I don't keep stones wet.

[Archie England]

I don't know about the Cerax but the King 300 is a splash and go. It works just as well with or without soaking. The King D 300 is faster and significantly more capable than the Cho 400 but it's slower and not as capable as the Sigma 400. I've used the Sigma 400 as a splash n-go but like it better with a short soak (YMMV).

[Steve Friedman]

The Cerax isn't splash and go, but doesn't need more than a couple of minutes of soaking. But, I don't think the Cerax #320 replaces the Sigma #400 - they are completely different stones. The fact that the grits numbers are similar is misleading.

The Cerax is really (really!) soft and lightening fast. I love it, but only because I have the Sigma #400 to use between the Cerax #320 and the Sigma #1200. Not sure that I would love it if I didn't have the super hard Sigma #400 as an intermediate stone - especially for back flattening. I added the Cerax #320 only to be able to use less sandpaper. The Cerax #320 is so soft that I can go to it directly from 120 grit sandpaper easily. Without it, I needed to go to 400 grit sandpaper before transitioning to the Sigma #400 stone.

Steve


By the way, Stu has a relatively new combo stone (Suehiro Gokumyo ??) that sounds like a Cerax #320 on one side and a Sigma #400 on the other.

[Dave Cav]

Thanks for the input. After considering the costs, I just ordered the King Deluxe #300.

[Archie England]

Good for you! Enjoy.