Quote (acyroma @ Apr 9 2016 07:48pm)

Like hofx2, I also have mostly japanese knives and sharpen them all with water stones. For me, it depends on the purpose of the knife if I'm going to finish it on a high grit stone or not. For some purposes, having a toothier edge is actually beneficial.

For example, if I'm sharpening the knife i use for slicing fish I will finish it on the highest grit stone that I own, however if I'm sharpening the knife i use for slicing tomatoes then I'll only go up to 1000 grit because I find it makes the tomatoes easier to cut at that sharpness.

Combo stones are a good way to save money but a 200 dollar budget is more than enough to get 2 good quality stones. I agree with hofx2 that having both a 1000 and a 4000-6000 stone is a good starter setup. King, naniwa chocera, gesshin are all good brands. A ceramic honing rod is also pretty important.

Also, you should look at getting a diamond flattening plate or truing stone to make sure your stones stay flat. If they are not flat, they will not sharpen properly. I'd recommend using one after sharpening 3-4 knives on a stone.

Eventually, I'd also look into getting a low grit stone (200-600) for maintenance purposes. They're good to have for resetting bevels, removing chips from your knives, that kind of thing. Ideally you should never get a chip in one of your knives if you use and maintain it properly, but mistakes do happen and sometimes if you over sharpen your knives it can make the edge brittle and lead to chipping. It's a pretty common mistake for people who are new at sharpening knives.

Quote (acyroma @ Apr 9 2016 07:48pm)

Like hofx2, I also have mostly japanese knives and sharpen them all with water stones. For me, it depends on the purpose of the knife if I'm going to finish it on a high grit stone or not. For some purposes, having a toothier edge is actually beneficial.

For example, if I'm sharpening the knife i use for slicing fish I will finish it on the highest grit stone that I own, however if I'm sharpening the knife i use for slicing tomatoes then I'll only go up to 1000 grit because I find it makes the tomatoes easier to cut at that sharpness.

Combo stones are a good way to save money but a 200 dollar budget is more than enough to get 2 good quality stones. I agree with hofx2 that having both a 1000 and a 4000-6000 stone is a good starter setup. King, naniwa chocera, gesshin are all good brands. A ceramic honing rod is also pretty important.

Also, you should look at getting a diamond flattening plate or truing stone to make sure your stones stay flat. If they are not flat, they will not sharpen properly. I'd recommend using one after sharpening 3-4 knives on a stone.

Eventually, I'd also look into getting a low grit stone (200-600) for maintenance purposes. They're good to have for resetting bevels, removing chips from your knives, that kind of thing. Ideally you should never get a chip in one of your knives if you use and maintain it properly, but mistakes do happen and sometimes if you over sharpen your knives it can make the edge brittle and lead to chipping. It's a pretty common mistake for people who are new at sharpening knives.

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Product Summary
The Work Sharp Ken Onion Blade Grinding Attachment is a horizontal belt attachment designed for knife shaping, sharpening and honing tasks. This four-pulley attachment is fully adjustable from 10° to 35° (in 1° increments) and includes 1in. x 18in. engineered abrasive belts in a wide range of grits. The top pulleys have two center distance positions so you can choose your preferred belt deflection to create the edge profile you want, a full convex or a flat convex. This allows you to customize your blade edge. This attachment provides a wide range of adjustability so you can custom shape, sharpen and hone your blades at home. Designed with cast metal components and engineered polymers to hold up to the rigors of heavy sharpening tasks. This attachment can be quickly installed without tools, so changing belts and attachments is quick and easy. The belt speed is adjustable from 1200 SFM to 2800 SFM to accommodate a wide range of sharpening and honing tasks. The blade grinder attachment provides a full selection of 1in. x 18in. abrasive grit belts and also accepts an optional leather belt for power stropping. Premium belt selection provided: Norton ceramic P120, Norax X65 (P220), X22 (P1000), X4 (P1000) and Micro-Mesh 12000 so you can shape, sharpen, hone and strop all of your blades. A flat reference plate is provided so you can level your blade before you approach the belt (which determines your grind angle) and create a very consistent edge angle on your blade. Since the angle adjustment is done in the belt, the sharpening method is always the same: simply hold the blade horizontal and sharpen the length of the blade across the belt. Attachment also includes a flat work space that provides 90° angle access to the abrasive belt for various grinding tasks. The micro-adjust belt tracking knob ensures you keep your belt centered while working, without using tools or losing momentum. The spring tensioner with a sealed bearing has a lock out feature that makes belt changes fast and easy without the need for tools: simply push and turn the tensioner to install a belt in seconds. Not intended for grinding or creating primary bevels into steel blade blanks, but is capable of shaping, profiling, sharpening, honing and stropping tasks on existing blades.