I’ve used these stones dry for years. But they really are a finisher, very fine. Especially the white ones. Clean them with Comet at the sink and they will last forever. These are not like water stones. They are hard as a rock. I love them for the no mess sharpening if I just need to touch up a blade - and don’t want to drag out all the water stones and required accessories.
I have all three of the Spyderco bench stones. I use them mostly for my folding knives or when I don't want to get through the hassle of getting my waterstones out. They are quick to use and put away again. That's also the reason I never used them with water. Maybe I should try that out some time. I would love to see you test out the fine and ultra fine stones as well. Oh and one tip to clean your stones: just use a pencil eraser when they are dry. Works better than anything else I tried.
My favorite stones. I use dmt diamonds to repair and reprofile and the spyderco stones to finish. I’ve used these stones for years with no water. Great video!!!! Clean with bar keepers friend.
No flattening but the medium stone will wear some. The fine and ultra fine are my absolute favorite stones and are lifetime stones with no flattening needed.
How do you like using the DMT to reprofile and spyderco to finish? I was of getting a coarse DMT stone since spyderco doesn’t offer one but I was having a hard time deciding
Hey Ryky. Where is Part 2 and 3? U are going to test the fine and ultra fine? I'm just starting with sharpening and I'm not sure which stones to buy. Maybe the spyderco are good for beginners? And last for ever....
Great video! I actually asked you about these stones a while ago! I have all 3 of them and I love their performance. Great stones in my opinion! Great job! Keep up the great work!
Have you made a part 2 or 3 regarding Spyderco and its other two stones you were going to demo? I know you are a busy guy so if you get to them, you get to them, lol. If I missed them and you or any of your friendly neighborhood followers have a link they can post me I'd truly appreciate that. Thanks and you're the best!! ;D
I haven't used Spyderco's stones, but I have used Spyderco Sharpmaker. I believe they have the sharpening rods with the same material (medium & fine included, coarse & extra fine for purchase). It was really nice when I couldn't control the sharpening angle. After using the extra fine rods, my knives can easily split a hair. Eventually I learned to use Japanese water stones and grew out of the sharpmaker, but I still think Sharpmaker is a great piece of device. And no, the rods don't get worn out.
9:55 this thing lasts forever without dishing so it's not a concern but great tip for typical whetstones, I've been wondering if others do this too :) As to edge repair - you can do it but, unless you're really patient, it requires running a knife across it at 90° and putting beveling from scratch.
Nice technique! This is spydie medium stone is my go-to for most edge maintenance. For my larger Global knives, the medium gives anough finess but more bite than the fine spyderco stone that I have. Stropping on medium or even coarse compound from Bark River. Against more severe wear of damage, I reset my edes on two E-Z LAP coarse and medium stones, then finish on spyderco medium and/or fine stone, then strop. This week I've done a touch up on all my knives in about 3-4 hours total, spread out over 2 days, including a fully serrated kitchen knife (coarse strop only with a slight touch on a fine stone for the flat side). So far, I've never needed a traditional ceramic stone, which I prefer to stay a way from because I don't like the messy slurry and quicker hollowing out they give. But then again, my edges are sharpened only for daily practical use. My friend from the knife store goes until almost anatomical level in detail on high end wet stones. Another level alltogether.
Hi Ryky. Thanks for all of your sharpening videos. I have the spyderco stones. I am still a novice at sharpening. These stones do feel much better with water. I suggest you try and run one side of the stone on your atoma 140. Then feel both sides of the stone. It will have a different feeling on both sides. It won’t feel as rough on the side run on the atoma.
Great vid. I have the medium and the fine Spyderco stones. So far I have only sharpened a couple of pocket knives. Like you, I think water makes the sharpening "feel" much better. I am looking forward to the next vids you make on these stones.
Good review Ryky, I still prefer using water on a waterstone as I use the slurry to help gauge the sharpening progression. Question: where did you get the awesome end grain tabletop? and could you also include a BD1N sharpening test in the future?
05:40 That's why I use ballistol oil. It's thicker and rests on the open cells longer, plus food safe. Scrub with dishwashing detergent and a sponge, rinse with water and soap will remove all the oil along with the scrub that it had absorbed. Today I sharpened our sous chefs' Zwilling Miyabi using a spyderco medium and an ultrafine stone and razor stropping paste on jeans. One trick with the ultrafine stone : if you use its sides you get the fine grit as a bonus because the sides arent lapped the same way!
Hello. Great video. Are there others about the other spyderco benchmark stones? Fine and Ultra fine? I can't find them but you said you will do... Really wanna see them!
Lubrication or cutting fluid. I think the purpose of a metal cutting agent is to remove/ float the swarf off the surface of an abrasive block. It may be that cutting agents have no effect on the Ceramic abrasive block and the swarf is galled into the block to be removed with a washing agent.
Finally!!! Now also do the ultra fine stone 3micron. I dont flatten it, its not supposed to be flattened. Ive using it to sharpen my s90v steel pocket knife.
They don’t need to be flattened. They are flat, and the fine and ultra fine will never dish. I’ve sharpened hundreds of knives, mostly pocket and hunting knives, on mine and they have never dished out and still cut well.
Long format is great, missed it. When i brought this "Stone" here in the UK i was given the tip to us "Windex" to wet the stone. It works really well, i take it camping with me and use without lubrication. I go right to the strop after. On S30V, BD1, VG-10 and ZDP steels its been fine and fast. On M4 and 3V it takes fair bit of time to work up an edge.
I have all three stones and like them a lot. I soak them before use. Then I use either water with just a bit of soap or Windex. Both methods work well for me.
Can you also try the Spyderco sharpmaker, I've had that for 4 or 5 years now it's been good for maintenance on a dull knife with an undamaged factory edge. You have to clean the rods ever now and then but I've never actually seen ware on them or any need to flatten. I don't sharpen knives as often as you do but I've been building collection for a while now so it does get use often
Nice work 👍. I ordered the stone on Amazon and looking forward to giving it a go. The ability to get in out and use it with minimal setup is a bonus. My diamond plates are more involved to use and I don't get nearly enough practice. Thanks for the video.
Ricky just a quick question about sharpening I was wondering if over the years have you felt your craft get better or are you like at the same level you were at awhile ago. Or once you find your rhythm with you stay at it just a random question
People say these stones don't wear. Either mine came slightly dished or I dished it with use, they definitely will. They are extremely hard to reflatten when the time comes. Silicon carbide powder is what I had to use, then finer grits of sandpaper to get as close to the original finish. I intentionally left it a little coarser than it came with. I think it's pretty fine for a medium.
recently viewed some of the older videos where you had a 3 view setup during sharpening sessions. Would be very helpful, if you could get that going again. Thanks!
I've been using the Spyderco Tri Angle Sharpmaker for my pocket knives for almost 10 years. It's one of the easiest sharpening tool to use (for me). I just clean is occasionally with soap, water, and scotch brite. I used to use it for kitchen knives, until I found your RU-vid channel. I do find that using the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, the edge doesn't keep as well as sharping on a more "traditional" stone. If you have a chance to check out the Tri-Angle, I'd love to hear what you think.
Philip Temiyasathit: i bought a Sharpmaker many years ago. I found that the holes the triangle stones sit in got a little tweaked, so the angle they were held at became more obtuse over time. It was very early in my sharpening journey, and I only had fair results with it. Once I bought whetstones I never looked back!
Bradley Gong I agree! There’s some “play” for slots of the sharpening stones. I might not have used it as much, so the wiggle hasn’t gotten much worse.
Philip Temiyasathit: I also think that set angles that you CAN sharpen at don't offer enough flexibility. I agree with Ryky's approach to sharpening at the existing angle unless you are purposely trying to change it.
Adam Yarbough I’ve used these for years dry. After a knife or two I just clean them at the sink with comet. Something about that white powder with a little water cleans all the grey metal shaving marks right off, were no other cleaner can.
@@Chinookman bar keepers friend has oxalic acid (works like bleach and will ruin fabric/ bleach colors like chlorine bleach would) and it's more abrasive = so maybe it would work better for this Stone but it can damage aluminum surfaces and I've Been Told ruin the finish on stainless steel appliances ... Maybe it's something to do with those applied finger proof finishes but they don't work right after you use Bar Keeper's Friend although it can polish hard stainless steel cookware very well. It's much harder on the skin so you should never use it on your bare hands and remember it can bleach clothing just like chlorine bleach
I love the Spyderco stones. For the field and smaller knives, it works very well for me. Ive yet to throw it in the dishwasher yet, but I have all three stones and it can put one heck on an edge on a knife.. in a tent in the desert. :)
I was surprised when you said that you were going to use the buffalo leather to remove the burr. Isn't that what the alternating single strokes were for (16:30)?
The problem with ceramics is it does not wear and metal builds up quickly. I use old water stones of smaller grit size to create a slurry on top of the ceramic stone to help carry away metal particles and clean the surface afterwards. Fortunately, Japanese water stone is soft enough to not wear away ceramics. Spyderco Medium is 800 grit, Fine is around 1500 grit, Ultra-fine is 5000.
Thanks for the tips. I have managed to get a burr on the middle section of the knife. Do I switch to working on both ends only, or keep working the whole blade? 8 inch Zwilling knife I bought about 30 years ago, I've been trying the push pull technique. Cheapish stone, 1000 /6000.
Stumbled on your videos before buying a new chef's knife. Very informative. Tanx for all the great information. What's with that hairdo? Any story behind it?
I have the ultra fine it’s the black case one I use oil smoother edge and cleans up very well these stones are dishwasher safe so don’t be scared of the oil cheers
Hey Ricky how are you not causing lots of tears and wear from the style of tip sharpening you are doing. Whenever I adopt a poking type of forward push into a stone, it creates large wear marks. Are you just using no pressure? because it looked like you were putting a little.
You have to check, if they are flat. I use to get uneven burrs. I have ultra fine, and have better results, after flattening. I use 60 and 120 silicon carbide power. The white bench stones, get finer as you use over and over.
windex or similar window cleaner works well to keep swarm suspended and from some buildup. Do the rust erasers work on cleaning up the loadup? the oil will soak into the pores also, it is very difficult to get out once you have oiled the stone. The stone being ceramic, it should never dish. use some hard metal with lots of carbides! high HRC with lots of Vanadium content please!
Andrew Bounds use comet cleaner or bar keepers friend with water and a normal kitchen nylon bristled scrub brush. Never put oil on it. They will never dish or need flattening . I’ve used them for years. They are a true ceramic stone. Not a Japanese Waterstone. I use them dry and have for years. Couldn’t live without them.
i would really like to see and hear what you think of this complete set for super hard knives like Yaxell Dragon and Myabi SG2. i have the Ultra fine and have used it for polishing after a set of natural stones, for years its never needed to be flattened but i have so far only has softer knives and carbon steel, and will soon invest in Yaxell dragon and Miyabi SG2 knives
The concept of adding water to the stone is to cool, isn't it? Wouldn't dry sharpening locally mess up the HRC rating of the cutting edge? Just wondering
I'm not an expert, but don't believe so. Folks can correct me where needed. I would be surprised if the edge was getting hot enough against even a dry stone to affect the crystal structure/heat treatment of the edge. In general, I believe that water/oil is used to lubricate the knife to slide more smoothly over the surface (Note the much louder, scratchier sound of the knife against the dry vs the wet stone.) as well as to carry away buildup of metal dust and stone particulate (AKA slurry) to prevent buildup of material in the surface of the stone.
so that you can arrange the stones Medium 20 micron(~800 Jis) grinding results 3000-4000 Jis Fine 6 micron(~2000 Jis) grinding results 8000 Jis UltraFine 3 micron(~4000 Jis) grinding results 13000-14000 Jis Unfortunately, the stones look flat, but so far I could not find a Spyderco that was also flat, you have to make these stones themselves flat until then the potential of the stones really comes into its own
Can you mentioned why you finish sharpening with leading edge strokes rather than trailing? It makes sense to me that you would get less burr this way, but I've always been taught to finish with trailing edge strokes only, like I'm stropping.
if you want to use the stone with water just let it soak for 5 min in water so it wont absorb as much. I must say you will have less of a problem with Fine and UF fine stone.
Ricky, I have a question. If you are sharpening a chef's knife (dual-edge) with a very thin core layer and let's say 60 layers on each side, then you have to be very sure you're sharpening right along the centerline, or else your edge will form on the cladding, not the center steel. How do you ensure that you're sharpening the exact center?
I have always stayed clear of any sharpening system that does not use a lubricant. Knife steels contain a number of elements that are dangerous to human health. They normally pose no hazard, but when you create dust and spread it around your home, this is not ideal. Keep that water on your stones! It’s good to see you sharpening again Ryky.
It all depends. If you're sharpening a few knives every year in your home, or if you're sharpening hundreds of knives as a business. The former will cause no issue. It's about exposure and limits. Sharpening a few knives won't cause exposure issues. There is no issue with the extremely, tiny, negligible amount of dust that comes from sharpening.
Dan Dildarious, that’s not true. If they trap the dust then they would simply plug up and never abrade the knives or wear themselves. You just may not be able to see the dust easily at that point because the particle size is so small.
From the outset I felt he'd have to find an excuse not to like this stone, and he did. He complained about it's size at 8 x 2 inches, yet a stone he recommended, the Shapton glass whetstone is only slightly bigger at, is 8 x 3 inches. Despite saying he didn't know much about the Spyderco ceramic stone and hadn't researched it he'd decided, against the manufactures advice, that it would work better with water, even going on to say that he guessed it could last two or three dozen sharpenings without flattening. It's ceramic. We'll all be much older by the time it wears significantly. He did point out that this stone is intended for sharpening only and not for repairing nicks in blades, a different skill set entirely.
I like this video. I have bought Myabi pro stones #400 #1000 #5000, and Yaxell combo #3000/#8000, could you get those to test? Or have you already tested them? From the Shady..........Eskimo :D
I enjoyed the video. The idea of your sharpening videos remaining longer is also something I enjoy 😎 You should try a damaged knife on that stone once your comfortable with it. That way we can see when this stone really shines; as a repairing stone or more of a refinishing stone, ya know?
Ryky has seven videos on repairing big chips. These are NOT the stones for that job. They are all very fine and rock hard ceramic. They do not wear away like a Waterstone. You would need a much coarser stones to repair damaged knives. Even the brown medium is smooth, the white ultra fine feels like glass. You need a fairly sharp knife before you use these. Speaking from a person who has used them for years.
Ryky, try using a baby oil, dish soap, and water mixture on it. A friend of mine came up with a magic formula of 1 part baby oil 1 part dish soap 4 parts water. It will improve the feedback and greatly reduce loading. Great video, I fully support the long format videos. Take care :)
I tried baby oil and threw the stuff away because of the stink. I dunno how people tolerate that toxic waste fragrance on their precious babies....but maybe it's just me. I use unscented oil if I need oil.
the fine and ultra fine are white and if you want to keep them that way use green scrubbing pad and cleanser it will take all of the grey material out of them and they work better clean
how does it compare to chosera 800? is chosera also a ceramic that doesnt need water? which one dish out faster? and is the grit of spyderco finer or coarser than chosera 800?
Another great video. You hit on many things I agree with. I wonder how you feel it acts with powder metallurgy steels; if you could use a HAP40 which is a 65HRC but more interesting to me has the vanadium carbides. I was always a diamond and Spyderco ceramics sharpener for my outdoor and carry knives in all sorts of powder steels by Crucible, etc. ZDP-189 another example as in the Sukenari line. Of course there aren’t tons of Japanese chef knives in PM steels other than HAP40. I’m not blowing smoke here but your videos have both educated and inspired me to get better and try some other stones and even techniques. I’m sure I’m not alone in writing that. Then I’ll close by saying that I have greatly improved!
Sadly all my Spyderco stones (M, F & UF) arrived warped, so SiC (80 grit) was necessary, and... what a pain to flatten! They are good stones nevertheless.
Thank you for making this video but , I prefer to use a “normal “ stone with water. A quick question about KITAYAMA 8000, is possible to make a video? My Kitayama stone (2/3 thickness left) absorbs water more than before. Is it normal? I never soaked it in water. Thank you
and Spyderco also makes some of the greatest outdoor kniives, in spite that many are made in China. This is what can happen when a company is actively involved in ensuring the subcontractor treats employees ethnically and does NOT take shortcuts in the production processes. There are also other good examples of good knives made in China, but unfortunately they are the exception, not the "rule". I haven't tried the spyderco chef knife yet, but I'd absolutely think of owning one. And I would try the spyderco stones
Some of Spyderco's knives are alright, but a good portion of them are shitty plastic. They just feel like chintzy shit in your hand. Even their G10 knives feel crappy. (My other G10 knives, of the same construction, don't feel as shitty as my Spyderco Para.)
I love Spyderco products. The brown stones, depending on the hardness of the steel you're working, will show slight wear over time, the white stones are basically eternal, no wear as long as you don't chip or break them😃 I use the Triangle Sharpmaker stones free hand all the time. Clean with Beekeepers Friend and a greenie pad and water. Lubrication with water is optional, just a great product line for edge making Ryky. I need to get the stone you are using in this video, as well as the ultra fine stones and the small pocket file set in the leather pouch which is all white stones in various shapes. Round, square, triangle etc. I have the fine bench stone... You really need a rougher stone for repair of nicks or rolls in an edge IMHO.
Comet cleaner or barkeepers. It’s a white very mild abrasive powder used for kitchen and bathroom keening for the last 80 years. Available at every Walmart, Target, or major grocery store. Just mix with a little water and scrub with an ordinary kitchen brush. 30 seconds later, rinse well and they’ll be sparkling white. Or brown. I use all 3 bench stones and have for years.
