Customer Reviews

King 01096 1000/6000 Grit Deluxe Combination Stone

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After some hesitation, I bought one of these to hone my hand plane irons and chisels. I ran water on it for about 15 seconds before I started the honing, using a Veritas honing guide. The 1000 grit side took 5 degrees off the edge in no time. I flipped the stone to put the finish on with the 6000 grit. The result was a perfect edge with a mirror finish!

This stone is quite a bit cheaper than Arkansas stones and easier to use. It is a bit softer also - don't try to use the corners. I tried to sharpen a Spyderco "spyder" ground edge, lots of serations, and concluded this is not the stone for that task, I went back to my ceramic stick for it. For plane irons and chisels, it is the best. You can redress the surface with a diamond stone.

I looked at the reviews and the item for a few days. I bought the stone and will never go back to oil stones. English instuctions are included. Soak in water for 5-10 minutes. Then start sharpening. The 1000 Grit will quickly sharpen the knife. I had a pocket knife with a few nicks in the blade. I used a file to remove the nicks on the blade. I used the 1000 Grit side to sharpen the blade and then used the 6000 Grit side to polish. I had a razor sharp blade in a few minutes. I recommend this stone for pocket knives and kitchen knives.

While this product is certainly fine, the instructions are in Japanese and there wasn't an English translation that I could find. Luckily I know somebody who could translate it for me.

For those of you purchase this, know that you have to soak it in water for 2 minutes before use, that a slurry of water and stone powder will form while using and this is OK (and preferred), and just wash it down with water after use.

Oh, and for those of you who haven't used such a stone before, know that it does take a bit of manual labor to sharpen a chisel. People with poor hand mobility or joint problems probably should look for a power tool instead.

I bought this stone at Woodcraft and took it back after realizing that it was exactly the same width as my plane blade. No room for error. I have a Veritas honing guide, which only allows me to sharpen the blade 'straight on'. Therefore I can't use my honing guide and angle the blade for a narrower sharpening profile such that I could avoid using the soft shoulders of this stone. I realized that the outside edges of my plane blade would not remain square if I used such a stone with my honing guide, and I wasn't about to get rid of my new honing guide, nor was I going to trust sharpening my new plane blade 'freehand'.

I was reluctant to return the stone. It looks like a great value. I ended up buying another King combination stone with 800/4000 that was 2 1/2 wide. But I would have preferred the 1000/6000 if it were just a tad wider.

There are no dimensions on the description of this stone, so if someone decides to add those dimensions and it turns out this is a different size, then obviously my complaint doesn't hold. For sharpening items other than 2" wide and with a honing guide, this stone looks like a great buy.

This stone will Hone your chisels or planer blades to a mirror finish. It does take a little patience, but the results are worth it.

These King Stones are legitimate Japanese Water Stones made in, you guessed it, Japan. They are extremely versitile and are the highest quality stones I have used. However, there are a few more good companies out there. Water stones are true to the craft of knife honing and sharpening and is a useful skill to teach yourself. I highly recommend watching virtuovice (YouTube Name) on YouTube for excellent tutorials on how to sharpen with stones.

The lower grit stones like the 250 and 400 are great for taking out chips in the blades or reprofiling the edge to fit your needs or preferences. As a camper who beats on knifes and axes, I really need this benefit to take out those chips and these stones do so beautifully.

A good stone grit to breach the gab between the lower grits and the finishing stone is the 1000 grit. This will help smooth out the edge and give it some great sharpness. It also makes finishing the edge with a 3000 or 4000 grit stone an easier and less time-consuming step in the process. Finally, you should use a leather strop with a green and black compound to really get a good edge.

Bottom Line and Reccommending Sharpening System:

1.) 250/1000 grit King Water Stone
2.) 3000 or 4000 grit King Stone
3.) Leather strop with compound

You only really need the 250, 1000, and 3000 (or 4000) grit stones with the strop. I have seen the strop put a better edge than 8000 grit stones. Keep in mind a strop is only 30 bucks or so, and you could almost spend $100 on an 8000 grit stone. This reccommended sytem will make a butter knife scary sharp if you wanted it too. However, the stones are expensive and will loose shape over time depending on how much you use them. But the time you use them will definitely yield better results than a spyderco Sharpmaker (I have one). I also reccommend some sort of a stone holder like the Steelex Sharpening Stone Holder (If needed). This works well and makes it easier to work with.