Thread: Best Stones for Kitchen Knives

What’s the best stone for kitchen knives? Natural? Synthetic? I don’t know. I guess a little depends on how “toothy” an edge you want or don’t want.

Now first off, for all those people who say naturals can’t hone today’s supersteels, please don’t participate. I just put increadible edges on a 154CM, and a VG10 using Arks and a Coti respectively. They work great. What naturals don’t do well i’ll propose, is set bevels well on a badly damaged edge.

Anyway, it just so happens that I have two identical 6” kitchen knives. A couple of Swiss Classic 6" Chef's Knife by Victorinox.


https://www.swissknifeshop.com/shop/...-by-victorinox

I have no idea what they are made of, and we’ve long since replaced them with some Shuns. But I found them today, so I thought I’d experiment a bit.

I sharpened the first with my Arks, and the second with a Coti.



When I was done with the Ark edge, I just didn’t think it could have been improved on. I mean this is going to be subjective, but it cut through paper like it was butter. Not a single hiccup! As well it should have after a three stone progression that took the better part of 14 to 20 minutes. I was proud.

So when I got to the Coti, I was still excited to try but... I mean I get WAY better edges on my Arks over my Coti on my straights. Ten minutes later I was done and let me tell you, I was stunned!

If the Ark edge cut through paper like it was butter, the Coti edge had an advance laser that cut before it even touched the paper. Wow!

So round one goes to the Coti. Who knew. Round two I’ll mess with my Pigg or maybe my diamonds? Who knows. It’s all for fun. Just too many what-ifs to be anything but subjective. But two identical knives that I don’t use anymore makes for some fun experimenting.


What do you use for your kitchen knives?

I use a fine DMT card. Gives good and lasting results. Easy to do.
Every time I tried and got a shaving-edge on a kitchen knife, it dies as soon as it hits the board. JMO

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I use a fine DMT card. Gives good and lasting results. Easy to do.
Every time I tried and got a shaving-edge on a kitchen knife, it dies as soon as it hits the board. JMO

Diamond works great in my opinion. The sawing/toothy edge works better on a tomato sometimes than a good “shaving-edge.” But I’ll disagree with the shaving edge dulling the second it hits the board. Well ok, if it hits the board, yea. But if your slicing, no problem.

When I was living alone, I could keep the edge for a long time. But now, with my wife lol, I don’t put the effort in I used to we’ll say.

been using my SS 1k on some of my kitchen knives, though i recently read that most kitchen knives aren't hard enough to hold a 1k edge. That was kind of surprising to me though it does seem it doesn't take long for me to see the light reflecting on the edge like it is rolling. Usually try and maintain it with one of those ceramic rod things or a knife steal. Besides if i make them too sharp someone always cuts themselves.

I use a dmt 1000, then hit it with a steel. If I can keep my wife in the habit of doing a few stroke on the steel and not scraping vegetables into the pan with the edge leading I only need to hone them every few months. I use the dmt because it’s fast and relatively cheap. I find myself touching up every 2 weeks or so on the most often used blades.

Used my Norton 4000/8000 on a 25-year old Sabatier boning knife. Peeled meat of the bone very nicely and sliced through gristle like it wasn’t there.

I use the Chosera 1K for the kitchen knives I do freehand, others I have a Wicked Edge with several options of stones. Works like a charm! I too suffer from the wife AND children abusing my knives. I love to see them cutting on granite... Makes me so proud.

I get very upset when I find my good knives in the dishwasher.

Wife complains that she is afraid of cutting herself when the knives are too sharp. There is no such thing as too sharp for a good kitchen knife I say - doesn’t seem to ever convince her.

Looking back,
We had the tri-hones in oil and are synthetics.

When sharpening butcher shop knives and chefs' knives each had a slightly different bevel angle depending of use. All were steeled during and after use... don''t let your thumb hang below/ beyond the handle on a steel!
Just my memories
YMMV
~Richard

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I use a fine DMT card. Gives good and lasting results. Easy to do.
Every time I tried and got a shaving-edge on a kitchen knife, it dies as soon as it hits the board. JMO

The Japanese use Paulownia for cutting boards. Saves their laser sharp knives.