You kind of set yourself up on this one, 1- your stroke is not that even so I suspect that you would have had an issue with most knives, and 2- all my opinels are fussy to sharpen, what works well with other knives doesn't with them, and it seems like a little too much or too little pressure sharping them and you never get them really sharp (though with that blade profile they still cut OK, and when you get them sharp, they're SHARP), 3- the slurry that you get with that stone is not like what you'd get with some of the higher quality stones, you can leave it there when you're roughing out the edge, but you need to really flood that stone when you're trying to refine it to something truly sharp. I bought one of those stones with the same idea, just to see how bad could it be and I could leave it somewhere if I needed to and not care. I found that it worked quite well, especially on some of the inexpensive stainlesses, think the cheap Chinese Kershaws, most AUS8, 420.... It seems to work on some of the harder stuff, which I'll include the 440c used in Ganzo knives (something that people watching this might own), and even S30v, S35vn, but I wouldn't waste my time with it on them, they're hard enough that you'll be there a long time. I use it hand held under a dribbling faucet and I can get a hair shaving edge just with it. With some stropping I can get reliable push cutting. I haven't tried it on carbon steel like an Opinel, but I suspect with a little fussing you can get it to work (usually carbon steel is easier to sharpen, it's just something with those Opinels, at least for me it is) The MDF strop probably didn't help things either. With the hard surface of the MDF there is no real give and you need to get the angle just perfect to have it do anything useful. Kind of think of it as putting a micro bevel on the edge. A little too low and angle, or even right on and you'll polish your bevel but you won't sharpen the edge, and a little too much and you're blunting the edge. This could be made to work if you have just the right touch, you could have push cutting/hair shaving, but beginners won't have much luck with it. One bad stroke will negate 100 good ones on that stone. A cheap set of crock sticks or something similar won't be as fussy and will give beginners better results. Automotive wet/dry sandpaper is another one that is good for a beginner to learn holding an angle on (it has some give and can even be put on a surface with a little more give to make it easier), but the stroke is different than on a stone.
I’ve purchased a handful of stones over the last decade and i’ve come to the conclusion that the darker side of the stone is almost always the coarser side. But one can always feel with the fingers. Thanks for posting. I would definitely take a 3$ stone over having to sharpen my blade in the field with stones found in nature. Some of them have to be ground smooth to be efficient.
You have to put the stone in water for at least 20 minutes... You can clearly see that the stone is dying for water, it is disapearing. Im not saying that you should get a nice edge out of this cheap stone, but you did not give it any chance.
Fiesty Taquito Yeah, they work, have I said the contrary? I don't believe that they are close to a good stone, but they work. What I have said is that if you would use the stone properly, it would be better. As for the "razor sharp", this is always a matter of opinion... I have seen many people claim "razor sharp" on blade that can barely shave arm hair. So what is razor sharp for you may be dull for someone else, there is no point in arguing here.
I use a $3 stone and a leather strop with green compound for my work knife, Manix 2 light weight with, BD1 steel and make it hair popping sharp. I agree with you there is 1,000 different ways to do things like sharpening a knife. I sharpen free hand and I do it completely different than you. I prefer diamond stones but I started sharpening knives around 6 yrs ago and i lots of cheap knives for my sharpening time. I like to sit around after work and sharpen on knives, sharpening knives is my hobby and I sharpen everybody's knife at work. It may be weird but I just enjoy putting a razor edge on a good expensive knife or a cheap knife.
great vid. I just forwarded this to my 12 year old grandson. he wanted a CRKT chogan t-hawk for his birthday. I thought that was cool. thanks again for a very informative vid.
I had used a river stone flatten on a flat cement surface followed by newspaper and ended with my leather belt. Not shave quality but it got me a sharp edge
FYI ; If your goal is to strop on the cheap I get a free paint stir stick from Lowe's and load it with Veritas compound. Works real good. I leave one side normal and light sand the other with 400 grit sandpaper.
I use similar stone for my knifes. I keep it in water it sharpens really ok. With finer side + leather strop with polishing compound I can get knife to shaving sharp. It works fine for me
I found a sharpening stone at the Dollar Tree. It did not say whether it was wet or dry, but it does work better wet. It even past the paper test With ease. I even used it on my machete. My machete is now able to cut through an inch and a half branch. I barely even notice the machete hitting the branch it went through so clean. Before I sharpened it, it had problems cutting through quarter inch twigs.
I had the same stone. I bought it when I was first getting into knives and used it to practice free hand on cheap knives. Just like you said, for $2.99, it's no Chosera, but will help develop technique.
@@JimmyRnj Well you've been lucky then. What grits do you have? Are they the original Chosera or the newer "Professional" version? I've heard of both of them cracking but it seems the Pros are the worst offenders there. I've always found Choseras to be quite hard and resistant to losing flatness quickly. You should try making a conscious effort to use the whole stone, I like to use the high spots at the ends of the stone for things like the tip. You may also just be using too much pressure. Try lightening up on your hand pressure and see if that makes them dish a little slower 🤷♂️
@@JimmyRnj The original formula seems to have less issues. I'm a big fan of the 400, 800 and the 3k. Not a fan of the 5 and the 10k is just too expensive when I can just use a strop loaded with 1 micron diamond compound or something
I made MDF wheels for my grinders, plus the kit I was given with the metal grit you glue on and the other red rouge. Mostly for my work knives that have to be sharpened quickly, the spinning wheels are the very fastest way. From a chunk of steel (I even did a butter knife!), I go to the regular grinder with whitestone, to MDF with metal, green rouge wheel, then white and red last. Daily maintenance will depend on wear & damage, but usually is just the 3 rouges. I have discovered that a work knife can be TOO sharp when cutting anything that will slide on it, like rope. So, my secondary blade will top out at around 3-400 grit. Oh, and for a toolbox carry, I glued a leather belt (fuzz out) to a 5-gallon paint stick, half rubbed with green and half with red rouges for that quicky touch-up. And we ALL like a quicky now & then!
I hope you've learned since then, sharpening on a dry stone can work, but it will clog up fast, being marked for water or oil, it needs to be soaked completely to be able to use the water/oil as lubricant.
I'm married to Harbor Freight (wife is manager) and, yes, the darker is obviously more porous and the lighter is fine. YES... The stone needs to be soaked for, preferably, a couple of hours. 30 min at least. They work OK to put a "working edge" on a knife but don't expect a good hone. HF also carries diamond sharpeners which give a better hone but be prepared for them to have glue failure where the abrasive is attached to the base, depending on what you get. They're all fine for the occasional home tune-up. The stone here is best for something like re-touching an ax, etc.
Great video. I gained some info out of it. Im not the best sharpener in the world but am working on getting better at it. Thanks for the ideas and some of these people dont understand doing it on the cheap. Theres alot of people that are are a tight budget. But definitely got something out of it. Thanks
Everything I've seen about Opinel's Carbon steel has said it's XC90. Zknives says it has low wear resistance, but pretty good shock resistance. All my practical use on my Opis have pretty much confirmed that. If I remember correctly, their stainless blades are all 12C27?
Honestly if you want my opinion you should just be lifting your right elbow to get the belly and the tip. Driving the knife into the stone point first like you're doing is either going to produce a flat spot at the tip or you'll end up rounding your tip. I can see the edgeline is already starting to develope a flat area from the belly to the tip from that motion you're doing. Just lift the knife. No reason to change its orientation
Sharpening a knife, chisels, etc., depends on the metal to be sharpened. Hi carbon knives, chisels, etc., are very forgiving when sharpened. Stainless steel really gets an edge and seems to hold it longer. But, the worst culprit is the way cooks at home, just throw knives into the utensil drawer, thus dulling the blades. After I use my sharpening rods, then I use my Dremel, a 1 inch(25mm) buff and Mothers polishing paste to gently put on a shine and a good sharp. Had to edit got my medal and metal mistooken.
I own a similar stone that I take in my pack and these super cheap stones are VERY thirsty and just won’t work dry. Most of the time I’ll stop at a stream or something and soak the stone for 25-30 minutes to saturate it completely. I’ll then put it in a ziplock to try and maintain the water and the stone is good for most of the day if you just feed it water while sharpening. Without being completely saturated it’s a pretty useless item but if you saturate it and feed it a bit of water they work fine. Mine was $7 at a hardware store same medium/fine deal. I’d say the medium is roughly 200 grit and the fine is roughly 500 grit. Both of which I consider coarse when buying nice stones. In the field i just strop on my pants or my palm it works fine.
On the other hand you’re completely correct about people and sharpening. So many people believe there is one way to sharpen. It amuses me they say the Japanese technique won’t work but the Japanese are the finest sharpeners the world has ever seen.
some say use oil, if want have ok, but this is wet stone were used normally water,soak stone one night in water bowl and then sharp all you knifes working well and not need more. i just yesteday sharp same stone all my kitchen knifes sharp and have good now longtime. NOT oil and not need expensive 300-1000 grid stones anywere.
Hey I don't know if I would say there bad for the money, but I saw one of those stones at harbor freight that had fell off the counter and chipped one of the corners. And the center of the stone looked like a different material than the abrasive on top.
I had this stone. It is terrible, but very durable ;) and difficult to use. When I got a $12 stone from China I thought it was great ;) It is a very expensive in the end because I don't think it is possible to sharpen a knife without loosing insane amount of time.And it is frustrating trying to get sharp edge... Piece of junk!
I don't understand what the difference between a "Bevel" and a "Micro Bevel' are. Can someone please-patiently, explain what each is? When I sharpen or attempt to my knives, aren't I sharpening the "bevel" the part where you put the marker...right? So then, what is the "Micro Bevel"...?
Hey it seems like the stone is a wet stone, And you will need to soak it in water, Or add water as you sharpen your knife, If you do not do this, You will destroyed, your stone in no time, As it can also break your knifes edge. Good trick, Let it soak over night if you want to, If not, Just soak it in water before use, And add alot off water as you go. Enjoy. :)
I just bought this stone and about to throw some 3in1 on it when I saw your video. Would oil give a different result on an oil stone and if so what oil is best?
I use stone up to around a 1000grit then switch to paper on a marble slab .and go up to 15.000 grit. and I get a super mirror polished edge I do this as I can't afford decent stones
I've been using cheap stones (the most expensive one I have was 5€ around $6) for years and those made a hell of a job in my kitchen knives, and folding knives, like my opinel nº 9 and my 3 victorinox. I can sharpen those to the point of shaving my wrist hairs with them even without stropping them, so either you were unlucky with your stone and it was really shitty or your technique needs some improvement. Anyway, thank you for your vid, and please excuse me for my poor English (not my mother, nor daily, tonge).
I know this video is old.... But for EVERY asshole saying his technique is incorrect, or the stone is not ment for water, or any other critiques... Put up a video and show him/the rest of us
So if you're sharpening and the flat and belly seem sharp but the tip isn't getting quite there would you suggest just spending more time on the tip? Mind you in using a lansky system. Just didn't know if the curve in the blade changed the angle and that's why it wasn't working as well.
It's 4:28AM and I'm watching knife sharpening/ bushcraft videos for about 6 hours what am I doing although it is interesting and I am learning so I can't say it's a waste of time just not a healthy way of spending it
It'd definitly better after than when you started. Of course, it would have been super impressive if that stone put a mirror edge and the MDF strop made it gleam, but the stone was brand new and probably not perfectly flat and there is the the pressure of the camera and the new materials and I bet if this is all you had and you practiced with it for a day or two, you could produce very fine results and slice that phone book paper like a laser. That kind of paper is hard to cut anyway, and I bet if you used printer paper it would have sliced it like butter :)
you really should have soaked that stone for at least 4 hours before this. without it being properly wet, it isn't going to POLISH the knife like it is intended to. Whetstone doesn't sharpen. it polishes an edge. which in turn sharpens the blade. also, the Stine didn't develope a slurry because it wasn't wet enough.
No, he shouldn't have soaked it at all. Is there not one person in this thread who know s anything at ALL about the difference between Japanese water stones, Arkansas oilstones, and manmade whetstones? This is eight year old child knowledge. How on earth can you even own a knife without knowing this much?
James Ritchie...I dont...at all. It is like trigonometry or calculus for me. Could you please,patiently, explain it to me, either here for or via email, for me,which I think is displayed in my "About" thing in m profile? Thanks.
I know this video is old, but you should really blur out the last four numbers of your creditcard on the receipt. A lot of accounts for websites that you use creditcards for only require those numbers and your email to change the password on.
Sharpening stones are obsolete in my opinion, I don't want to give brands but I got a diamond rod-guided system and I have zero problems even with hard steels as the ZDP 189. I glued a leather strap to one of the rods to polish the edge and... man, shaving razor blades! I guess stones are nor made for me.
+Perico De Lospalotes Stones give you much more options than guided systems do. Especially if you want to reprofile a blade or any task that requires grinding down large amounts of metal.
Olga Dachdecker Yes, It could be but you should watch the effect of the rod guided coarse diamond "stone". Before I purchased that system I was a dumb at sharpening freehand with stones.
I am looking for a way to make my knives WICKED razor sharp,I can my knives push cut paper and shave but I want them hair whittling sharp, should I buy a wetstone with a very high grit or should i get a strop and use red and green compounds
Getting an edge hair whittling is 80% technique and 20% equipment. Many guys (I can almost) can get hair whittling edges off of 600 grit. It's all about keeping an angle and removing the burr. I originally got hair whittling about a year after I bought my DMF continuous surface diamond stones (120-1200 grit) and my Spyderco UF bench stone. If you really want nice mirror polished hair whittling edges freehand, GET A SPYDERCO UF BENCH STONE! But since it's probably about 8000 grit, you'll need to work up to that grit. I'd say don't start on the 8000 with anything less than 1200, but preferably higher like a 2000 then 4000, but those grits usually only come in with waterstones.
I was wondering if you could use a cheep oil stone like this to flatten waterstones? this stone looks similar to the flattening stones, anyone try it out?
thay may vary widly. You can get a 20 dollars ok stone. Or a 10 dollars ok diamond plate. See ebay. But you may want a 300 dollars Chosera 10000 grit. Although I got the Choseras and like it, I wouldn't recomend it for beginners even if rich. My 5000 grit is full of cracks... Not easy to use at all! I would recomend sand paper, the 10 dollars diamond plate and stroping (compound and mdf or even paper).
Dymomd stone plates r cheeper need no water or oil easy to clean but the sound or feedback is so harsh to the ear look u get what u pay for and not everyone knows how to fix a stone when it bowls up just buy a good hard stone up front and know what u r doing with the stone and steal
