Thanks George

[ken hatch]

I've been using the brown and the white Spyderco ceramic stones for final polishing after establishing the bevel with either the EZE-LAP fine or the Tormek and skipping the strop for the last couple of weeks. My irons have never been sharper.

[george wilson]

Glad it's working for you,Ken. I had the funds to try many different stones in my years in the museum. The ceramic stones,preceded by the diamond stone,if needed,has proven to sharpen any steel,including D2(Which is too abrasion resistant for an Arkansas stone to sharpen). My main concern is the surface prep that may be required for the white stone. I haven't seen their newer issue stones. My own stone did not need a lot of prep.

I think their ultra fine stone may be already prepped,but cannot be certain.

Stropping is optional. Perhaps not needed if your stone is fine enough. I strop a few strokes on MDF with LV green compound.

I doubt the sharpening debate will ever end here. I just know what works for me. But,sharpness,or SUFFICIENT sharpness,is just one stepping stone towards doing good work. Nothing is guaranteed. It helped my apprentices quite a bit,to get them started on doing their first decent work. Certainly they would have been severely hobbled had their tools not been sharp.