Help identify King waterstone

[Luis Reyes]

Hi All,


I picked up a couple of used king waterstones and I can’t figure out their grit level. Pictures below.


The far right is a 4000 grit I bought from Lee valley. The middle one looks darker than the 4000 but when wet they look similar to me.


The far left is a combination one that’s 2 inches wide. Is that a 1000/4000 or 1000/6000 or something else? It looks dark to me so thinking neither of the above.


Thanks in advance!


LuisB6F77BCD-B645-454F-A407-21D336BE7874.jpg433A45A3-F5DC-47EC-88E3-EAA5874049FE.jpgF270C94A-03A4-4308-81B7-1F5D9BB0B355.jpg67FBEF76-D347-4CE9-B2F5-85D7CB40A0C1.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

You may find the only way to determine what you have is by comparing the scratch patterns of your various stones.

Things can be confusing because the standards for abrasive size have changed over time.

This may be the chart that made me feel a King 4000 may be about the same as a Norton 8000 > Attachment 361038

If that attachment doesn't lead to a grit chart, let me know and another attempt will be made. It was copied from an old post.

jtk

[Luis Reyes]

This is really interesting. Are the King water stones under "JIS New"? I was actually thinking of getting a Shapton 8000 stone for Christmas thinking it would be the next one up from a King 4000 but now I'm thinking it isn't so black and white.

You may find the only way to determine what you have is by comparing the scratch patterns of your various stones.

Things can be confusing because the standards for abrasive size have changed over time.

This may be the chart that made me feel a King 4000 may be about the same as a Norton 8000 > Attachment 361038

If that attachment doesn't lead to a grit chart, let me know and another attempt will be made. It was copied from an old post.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

This is really interesting. Are the King water stones under "JIS New"? I was actually thinking of getting a Shapton 8000 stone for Christmas thinking it would be the next one up from a King 4000 but now I'm thinking it isn't so black and white.

That is unknown to me. What is known is my old King was bought before 2008 and is finer than my Norton 4000/8000 combo stone on the 4000 side and about equal to the 8000 side.

The chart shows the Shapton 8000 at 1.84µ and the a 4000 at 3.68µ. This would make the Shapton 8000 particle size roughly half of the 4000 stone's particle size.

It all depends on how far you want to go with your sharpening. For me a Norton 8000 can produce an incredible edge. In cold weather, water stones are not used in my shop. Arkansas stones can come close, but not quite equal to the edge produced by water stones. This hasn't stopped me from using them during the warmer months because they are easier to use and produce an edge that is good enough.

jtk