What are your favourite knife hones?

[cotedupy]

Chosera 400. The feel and feedback are heaven, it's splash-n-go, wears slow, and cuts fast. There's nothing for me not to love there.

Honorable mention, at least so far as feel and feedback, is the Cerax 1010... it has a very pleasant, creamy feel that makes it a joy to use. It's a soaker, wears fast, and cuts at a moderate pace... but, man, that feel...

Godammit!!! I thought I'd tried every stone in the NP/Chosera range, but now that you mention - I can't remember using a 400. Will have to check it out. Although I'm not a massive Naniwa fan generally, the Superstone 400 is actually very good too as it happens.

If you like the Cerax 1k... then the 1.5k, 3k (Ouka), and 5k (Rika) are gonna be right up your street. The Ouka in particular might just be the best and loveliest sharpening stone anyone has ever made ever.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

Godammit!!! I thought I'd tried every stone stone in the NP/Chosera range, but now that you mention - I can't remember using a 400. Will have to check it out. Although I'm not a massive Naniwa fan generally, the Superstone 400 is actually very good too as it happens.

If you like the Cerax 1k... then the 1.5k, 3k (Ouka), and 5k (Rika) are gonna be right up your street. The Ouka in particular might just be the best and loveliest sharpening stone anyone has ever made ever.

I have the Rika 5k, and you're right!

I'm going to have to add the 3k. I've been curious about it for a long time now.

 

[cotedupy]

I have the Rika 5k, and you're right!

I'm going to have to add the 3k. I've been curious about it for a long time now.

Only thing I would say is that they're probably closer in grit than their rating suggests. The Ouka is a true 3k, but the Rika reads more like 4k than 5k. The Cerax 1.5k might actually be more in the middle of the 1k and 5k/Rika.

But they're such lovely stones so why not have em all eh! I do (in fact I've got two Oukas).

 

[rhgg2]

Any suggestions for a tool progression? I just bought a set of chisels:

I am thinking:

Coarse/fine India for basic bevel setting
Softer awasedo or suita for final finishing

But probably I need something in between.
Chosera or shapton rockstar 3k maybe?

 

[Tirvine]

My prior comment about stones was really directed to sharpening. For honing I'll take an F. Dick 14" polish or sapphire steel.

 

[Legion]

Any suggestions for a tool progression? I just bought a set of chisels:

View attachment 1761180

I am thinking:

Coarse/fine India for basic bevel setting
Softer awasedo or suita for final finishing

But probably I need something in between.
Chosera or shapton rockstar 3k maybe?

Unless they have damage you probably wont need the coarse India. I'd probably try starting on the fine side with a bit of pressure and see how you go.

Using soft stones like suita for chisels is kind of asking to wear out the stone prematurely. I prefer to follow the India with something hard like a fine Washita, Arkansas, Charnley, Idwal...

 

[rhgg2]

Unless they have damage you probably wont need the coarse India. I'd probably try starting on the fine side with a bit of pressure and see how you go.

Using soft stones like suita for chisels is kind of asking to wear out the stone prematurely. I prefer to follow the India with something hard like a fine Washita, Arkansas, Charnley, Idwal...

Indeed, I was thinking to start with the fine side of the India.

So maybe I can find a use for those not-really charnleys with the layer cracks after all... I guess I should finish them quite coarse and/or raise slurry with a diamond plate?

 

[Legion]

Indeed, I was thinking to start with the fine side of the India.

So maybe I can find a use for those not-really charnleys with the layer cracks after all... I guess I should finish them quite coarse and/or raise slurry with a diamond plate?

I'm not sure how a not really Charnley works, but with my regular really Charnleys I just try to deburr as well as possible on the India first, at which point it should be shaving arm hair pretty well, then just go to light pressure, edge leading laps on the Charn. Just oil, no slurry. Maybe two or three on the bevel, to one on the flat.

 

[rhgg2]

Using soft stones like suita for chisels is kind of asking to wear out the stone prematurely

I think I solved this problem with the suita I got in today. It's laughably hard. It was convexed end to end by about 0.5mm and it took 90 minutes on a 100 grit diamond lap to get it flat. I think it will handle a few chisels without much fuss.

 

[Steve56]

I do most of my synth work with Shapton Glass HR because I have some knives that are the new powder metallurgical steels, namely SLD, HAP-40, R2 and the Glass Stone HR series will deal with these steels easily because it’s what they were designed to do.

I prefer finishing on naturals, JNats, cotis, and I’m fond of a suita edge.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Japanese chisels are softer than Western chisels except for the edge. So, a fine India, 1k diamond or Washita will get the backs flat and cut a nice bevel.

On my Japanese chisels I use a hard 1k, Nubatama Jump to an 8k Snow White or 8k Naniwia Diamond stone, finish on a Shapton 16k. Strop on .50um CBN or Maas or any good metal polish, on leather.

Steel wool and WD40 will clean and remove all the rust and dirt, 15–20-minute vinegar soak and steel wool and stainless brush scrub if you remove handles). Thinned 50% BLO Boiled Linseed Oil and mineral spirits painted on and allowed to soak, then light coats of rubbed on 100% boiled linseed with a paper towel will give the oak a nice deep reddish hew.

Remove, deburr/ re-shape and re-set the hoops, de-rust them while you have them off and dome the ends with a polished hammer.

They file easily and should be shaped like the hoop of the last chisel on the right. You can re-blacken with Birchwood Casey’s gun blue. Tip, pour a bit of gun blue from the bottle into a ceramic container or glass jar and use from the container, I use Japanese soy sauce dishes. If you work from the bottle or lid, you will contaminate the whole bottle and it will be less effective in the future, though it is not expensive.

BTW Soy sauce dishes work great to hold multiple nagura, (2x2” square ones) and prevent cross grit contamination while honing.

Lost of good videos and post on other fora on restoration and hoop setting.