I just got my new stones from Amazon.
DMT DiaSharp diamond stones - course-fine-xtra fine, and a Spyderco ultra-fine ceramic stone.
That looks like a good set to freehand sharpen.
Do you use your diamond stones wet or dry? I’ve always used my Lansky diamond hones dry, the same with all my diamond sharpening plates and paddles, then washed with a toothbrush and water after sharpening. Also the Diamond kit from Lansky comes with a bottle of honing oil. I use it with the stone hones but not the diamond. Am I missing something?
A day at home today so I’ve been carrying this around, builds the muscles up!
For years I’ve looked at all the sharpening systems and decided I wanted to sharpen free hand. I’m determined to keep practicing until my skills are honed razor sharp. It’s like a hobby in itself.
The diamond stones can be used wet or dry(don’t use oil on them!). I use the diamond stones wet. It helps float off the debris and makes for a smoother glide of the blade. Very minute pessure. You have to learn to let the diamonds do the work.
The ultra fine ceramic is used dry. It really polishes the edge.
I have some DMT DuoSharp stones, but decided that the perforated surface was too noisy and I couldn’t concentrate on “feeling” the edge as it slid across the stone.
Practice, practice, practice. That’s what I’m doing. I’m really determined to master this art.
I was in the joinery trade before I retired and had to sharpen all kinds of blades from hand plane and chisels to making spindle moulder blades to the correct profile from blanks and 24” planer thicknesser blades and you get a feel for the right angles once the muscle memory has set in.
It’s nice to be able to take time over sharpening rather than have your livelihood depend on getting a machine back up and running sweetly. The diamond and ceramic rods, hones and plates were just starting to emerge, at a staggeringly high price, when I was finishing work so I’ve had only limited exposure to them, they are great. I can agree about the plates with the holes in being noisy, I’ve got a cheap set of three and don’t use them much - mostly because of the noise.
The hardest part is going around the belly to the tip.
Nice blades! I had a Spyderco until i managed to loose it… Then bought Sanrenmu 710, nice little thing, handy at home.
EDC, though… Carbon steel Opinel No8 and i just love it! :8)
I work as a carpenter in a facility where, well, less aggressive look is always better so that anyone gets that knive´s a tool, not a weapon. And even the tools are behind locks. Opinel sits secured in my pocket.
I don´t care that it doesn´t hold the edge that great, it´s more important that i can get it sharpened just about anywhere. The locking mechanism is nice also.
Had to do little mods, grinded it more to drop point for usability and drilled the hole for lanyard. And of course onion treatment to the steel… 
At the end of a day i think i just like it´s simplicity most!
But these new sharpening systems seem to be SWEET! Had to try one… I sharpened a mini grip last night. I wasnt disappointed
There are some really nice systems out there, but I really like the idea of being able to pick up a blade and bring it to razor sharpness by hand. It’s not something that will come without lots of practice though.
I may still pick up something like an Edge-Pro to re profile a knife though.
Agreed
Sorry for the off topic, but what’s a good 200-300 and 600-800 grit diamond sharpening stone?
I can’t seem to justify spending $70-110 for a DMT diamond stone for a single grit.
Today I gave my 740 DeJavoo a new pair of pants.
I found this set of custom scales on eBay, and had to have them. All the way from Bulgaria.
Now that I have a white knife, I might have to buy a white hat to go with it.
There’s always the DMT double sided DiaSharp. Course/Fine
http://www.amazon.com/DMT-D6FC-6-Inch-Dia-Sharp-Double-Sided/dp/B000GD8WHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413927308&sr=8-1&keywords=DMT+D6FC+6-Inch+Dia-Sharp+Double-Sided+Fine%2FCoarse+Bench+Stone
Thanks, but still a little too expensive for me.
Any ideas about these $10 sharpening stones?
Ryan, those are stones. Diamond is just the brand name.
Pretty sneaky.
Heh, sneaky indeed. Thanks for the info.
I guess I’ll stick to stropping my knives.
That’s classy.
What is it made of?