What grit do you consider coarse or fine?

[jackknifeh]

The better question is what grit do you consider leaves a coarse (toothy) edge or which grit leaves a smooth edge?

Coarse or fine can mean different things depending on the stone, manufacturer and how the stones are labeled. Example is Spyderco has medium, fine and ultra-fine with no grit equivalent assigned. The grit assignment to different type stones can have a different result on the knife edge also. But generally, if you want a coarse edge what stone or grit would you stop at? If you want a nice smooth edge what grit would you need to progress to to get a smooth edge. I'll give you my thoughts as an example.

For a wide range of grits I have Shapton glass 320, 1k, 2k, 4k, 8k and 16k. If I want to leave the edge toothy I stop at 1k. 320 leaves a really toothy edge and may be ok for some people or uses but I prefer 1k on EDC knives. I'd like the Shapton glass 500 grit for a more more specific option but I don't have one right now. May get one someday. Some people I think consider a 600 grit stone to be a good edge for EDC knives. If I want a smooth edge I go to at least 4k. I consider 4k on the smooth side of the line but 8k is a definite smooth result. I have the 16k but even though I wanted one I didn't get a 16k stone until I started honing straight razors. I see no need for that fine of a grit for EDC knives. Not for my needs anyway. Definitely leaves a nice finish and is nice to have in case you need a knife edge that smooth once in a while OR JUST FOR FUN! :)

For the Spyderco stones you only have medium, fine and UF. I'd say they leave a knife edge coarse, average and smooth respectively.

For DMT stones I think the fine grit leaves what I'd consider a coarser edge. It is rated at 600 grit. The extra-fine at 1200 is getting pretty smooth but I think that being diamond stones they seem to leave an edge a bit coarser than other stones at the same grit rating. Different diamond stones (DMT vs Atoma for example) may leave different edges at different grit levels. I don't know. Everyone who I've read say they have used Atoma's and DMT swear by Atoma's quality and results.

Anyway, which stone grit leaves a coarse or smooth edge apex in your opinion? This info may help someone decide which grits to select when shopping. I've gotten the stones I have over a large amount of time. But when starting out we may need to know what we need first when we can't afford to get a bunch of stones all at once. Coarser grits or smoother.

Jack

[WMR]

I mostly stop at 1K for everyday use. It is toothy enough to get most jobs done. When you move on beyond 1K, it will look better, and if you like a mirror finish on your knife edge it looks great. But, for me, it is not worth all the extra work for an EDC knife.

Your question asks for an answer to coarse or fine. But it seems to me that you must consider the purpose of the edge. If I want to shave my face, 1K is horribly coarse. If I am opening today's mail, 1K is as fine as I need, and I slice carefully.

I should add that, even though I have a large assortment of Shapten glass stones, spyderco stones, etc, I have ended up almost always using a sheet of 1000 grit wet or dry sandpaper stretched over a piece of old mouse pad. You may judge my opinion accordingly. :D

[jackknifeh]

I mostly stop at 1K for everyday use. It is toothy enough to get most jobs done. When you move on beyond 1K, it will look better, and if you like a mirror finish on your knife edge it looks great. But, for me, it is not worth all the extra work for an EDC knife.

Your question asks for an answer to coarse or fine. But it seems to me that you must consider the purpose of the edge. If I want to shave my face, 1K is horribly coarse. If I am opening today's mail, 1K is as fine as I need, and I slice carefully.

I should add that, even though I have a large assortment of Shapten glass stones, spyderco stones, etc, I have ended up almost always using a sheet of 1000 grit wet or dry sandpaper stretched over a piece of old mouse pad. You may judge my opinion accordingly. :D

Anyone who has sets of nice, high quality, sometimes expensive sharpening stones and still uses sandpaper and a mouse pad,,,. Well, I just don't know what to say! I didn't spend all the money I have on sharpening stuff just to have you PROVE the job can get done for under $25!!! Thanks a lot!!! :D

Jack

[Buzzard]

In order to keep mine sharp I regularly run them across a 10k stone.

[JD Spydo]

Other than sandpaper I haven't really paid too much attention to the numerical grit size ratings of benchstones in particular. I just go with what works. The trio of grits Spyderco offers in their ceramic stones seems to do a pretty decent job overall and I'm from the old school "IF iT AIN'T BROKE, THEN DON"T Try TO FIX IT". Which is what I try to go by when differentiating between the different grits.

Cliff's recent thread covering all the different types of abrasives and how they react to finishing different steel alloys has me re-thinking the grit ratings all together. I tend to like the ceramic because it not only abrades easily but the finer grits tend to have a polishing effect on an already fairly sharp blade.

I'm currently trying to investigate the impact that "burnishing" can have to enhance a sharp blade and what steels can tolerate burnishing.

Spyderco's Medium (Gray) stones are not really medium by my definition. If I have a gripe about Spyderco's great stones is that they are lacking a coarse or aggressive stone for rapid stock removal of a really banged up blade.

I have an old NORTON stone that I won on Ebay almost 9 years ago. It's called the "Queer Creek Stone" >> it acts kind of like a coarse, rapid removal type stone but it really cuts consistently and evenly. That's the type of effect I look for is consistency.

Now the 3M company does seem to have their diamond benchstones and files rated pretty accurately from what I can tell. And it seems like DMT does a decent rating as well. I've yet to own a Shapton Stone but I've heard really good stuff about them. But I'm hesitant to rate them because it's truly an "Apple versus Orange" comparison. To me it just depends on what you have good luck with.

[.357 mag]

I've been using DMT stones as of late. I've been stopping with the red 600 grit stone. Leaves a great edge.

[jackknifeh]

Other than sandpaper I haven't really paid too much attention to the numerical grit size ratings of benchstones in particular. I just go with what works. The trio of grits Spyderco offers in their ceramic stones seems to do a pretty decent job overall and I'm from the old school "IF iT AIN'T BROKE, THEN DON"T Try TO FIX IT". Which is what I try to go by when differentiating between the different grits.

Cliff's recent thread covering all the different types of abrasives and how they react to finishing different steel alloys has me re-thinking the grit ratings all together. I tend to like the ceramic because it not only abrades easily but the finer grits tend to have a polishing effect on an already fairly sharp blade.

I'm currently trying to investigate the impact that "burnishing" can have to enhance a sharp blade and what steels can tolerate burnishing.

Spyderco's Medium (Gray) stones are not really medium by my definition. If I have a gripe about Spyderco's great stones is that they are lacking a coarse or aggressive stone for rapid stock removal of a really banged up blade.

I have an old NORTON stone that I won on Ebay almost 9 years ago. It's called the "Queer Creek Stone" >> it acts kind of like a coarse, rapid removal type stone but it really cuts consistently and evenly. That's the type of effect I look for is consistency.

Now the 3M company does seem to have their diamond benchstones and files rated pretty accurately from what I can tell. And it seems like DMT does a decent rating as well. I've yet to own a Shapton Stone but I've heard really good stuff about them. But I'm hesitant to rate them because it's truly an "Apple versus Orange" comparison. To me it just depends on what you have good luck with.

I think the DMT coarse is 325 grit. I have that and the Shapton glass 320 grit stones. While at the same grit they leave a completely different result on the edge and bevel. The Shapton stone leaves a much smoother looking bevel than the DMT. The diamonds cut deeper I suppose. This may be a situation where you "go with what works" instead of a grit number. BUT, I think the Shapton glass cuts just as fast. I haven't used both stones then compared the edges just for a comparison of the two type stones at the same grit. This is just how I remember it. I think water stones by nature leave smoother finishes. But I'm only familiar with the Shapton glass water stones. I may be wrong but if someone is considering stones and you want fast steel removal without the coarser looking appearance on the bevel diamonds may not be the way to go. Also, I tend to look at the scratch pattern on the bevel to give me a basic idea of how toothy the stone will leave the edge apex. I figure when a stone leave deep scratches the apex will have to be toothy. But the stone that leaves a mirror finish (naked eye) the edge apex should be smoother. Again, no testing to verify this. One thing about judging the results of diamond stones is you need to make sure the stones are completely broken in. Until then they leave scratch patterns like a coarser grit. Personally, I think DMT should offer a "break-in" stone so the customer can quickly break in a new stone. I use water stones on a new DMT stone. I go through the water stone lapping routine to get the diamond stone broken in so it performs more consistently. Just using the stone to break it in is an extremely poor way to do it. By using a water stone the entire surface of the diamond stone gets broken in evenly IMO. DMT recommended to me to rub two of their stones together to break them in. Stan said to use LIGHT PRESSURE FOR A FEW SECONDS UNDER RUNNING WATER. I guess I used too much pressure because I destroyed the extra-fine grit stone. They replaced it. This is why I like using water stones. They won't destroy the diamond stone. In fact diamond stones are often used to flatten water stones with not damage to the diamonds.

[_centurio_]

I prefer a toothy edge for the most tasks (600 grit Atoma micro bevel). I only polish the edges of axes.
In my experience slicing aggression stops at 800 grit (jis) and edge retention decreases dramatically. I know it depends on what you are cutting etc. but for me this way works extremely well. I also don't like the look of polished edges.

BR Oliver