The GOLDENSTONE: Your Thoughts and Wishes?

[JD Spydo]

AS many of you know I'm a big fan of the GOLDENSTONE which is premier sharpening tool that Spyderco has had on the market for the past 7 years or so. It took me a while to get the hang of using it but the more I play with it and experiment with it I can now see the genius design that Mr. Glesser's great brain came up with. But I'm just a bit disappointed in a way because I think that Spyderco has stopped way too soon. Because I think justice would be done if we had the GOLDENSTONE in more grit selections. I've heard that there is a CBN GOLDENSTONE in the no too distant future and the sooner the better IMO.

My question to all of you is first off what is your opinion of this most interesting sharpening tool? Also do many of you agree with me that it absolutely needs to be offered in more grit selections? What other suggestions would many of you offer to improve on it?

I've also heard that there is a new base unit to hold the GOLDENSTONE at other angles coming out soon. Would that make some of you want to get one? I'm anxious to try that new base unit myself. I believe that the GOLDENSTONE in several grit selections would make it one of the best portable field use sharpening tools on the market if that were to happen and I also believe it would bolster sales greatly.

OK I want to hear some of your feedback>> especially from those of you who own and use a GOLDENSTONE. I want to see the diamond/Duckfoot unit also return but maybe a coarser grit this next time. Oh also how many of you are also waiting for a good comprehensive video on the GOLDENSTONE?

[Evil D]

My understanding (according to what I've seen Sal post) is that lower grits aren't possible because they wear and lose shape. That said, I'd be ok with the same grit as the brown rods. Otherwise if the edges will sharpen serrations then I'm really interested, I'm on the hunt for a highly portable sharpener I can sharpen my SE blades on.

[JD Spydo]

My understanding (according to what I've seen Sal post) is that lower grits aren't possible because they wear and lose shape. That said, I'd be ok with the same grit as the brown rods. Otherwise if the edges will sharpen serrations then I'm really interested, I'm on the hunt for a highly portable sharpener I can sharpen my SE blades on.

I wish Sal would chime in on that one because I've heard him say just the opposite> I heard him say once that it's the gray/medium stone that will eventually wear or dish out over time. I've heard that the Spyderco fine and Ultra-Fine stones should last any of us a virtual lifetime of use. I've had one set of Spyderco's 302 Benchstones i.e. medium, fine & Ultra-Fine since about 2001 and that original set I've used I don't know how many times and there is no visible wear on any of them including the medium/gray stone.

Maybe it's the initial price of the GOLDENSTONE that might have everyone avoiding it?? But actually I doubt it because look at what many of us spend on the knives themselve :rolleyes: .

I've had this GOLDENSTONE of mine since 2011 or 2010 I actually forget which but I do know it's been in my tool box since then. Even Sal himself says he uses his to touch up his EDC blades quite a lot. And yet hardly no one has anything to say about it. I'm kind of surprised that it's still in Spyderco's main line up. And Spyderco waited so many years in order to have the technology to make it??? Well I guess if it gets discontinued then everyone will run out to get one :confused: :confused: >> Beats the heck out of me :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Tucson Tom]

The Goldenstone rocks. I mean it is "the bomb". Seriously. It is so handy and so easy to touch up an edge or drastically improve a factory edge in a few seconds. I am certainly glad I have one. It would be sad if others don't discover it also.

[Evil D]

I wish Sal would chime in on that one because I've heard him say just the opposite> I heard him say once that it's the gray/medium stone that will eventually wear or dish out over time.

I can't remember if it was relating to the Goldenstone or to Sharpmaker stones in general, but I know lower grits aren't possible (or at least are avoided) because of wear. This was why we got the diamond and CBN rods bonded to a metal rod.


In a sort of related subject, I have gotten away from carrying steels like S110V due to what it takes to sharpen them (or more so because I've gotten really lazy about sharpening and really don't need the extreme edge retention anymore). So, only having a fine grit on the Goldenstone won't be too big of a deal for sharpening something like H1. I definitely will stay interested in grit options, but I'm more concerned with how easily they can be used and how effective they can sharpen serrations, or at least how they compare to the Sharpmaker in sharpening serrations.

[JD Spydo]

I wish Sal would chime in on that one because I've heard him say just the opposite> I heard him say once that it's the gray/medium stone that will eventually wear or dish out over time.

I can't remember if it was relating to the Goldenstone or to Sharpmaker stones in general, but I know lower grits aren't possible (or at least are avoided) because of wear. This was why we got the diamond and CBN rods bonded to a metal rod.

but I'm more concerned with how easily they can be used and how effective they can sharpen serrations, or at least how they compare to the Sharpmaker in sharpening serrations.

It hasn't been all that long ago>> maybe it's been about 4 to 5 months ago on one of these sharpening threads I suggested to Sal to make the GOLDENSTONE in Ultra-Fine and if my memory is in tact I believe he said at the time he would consider it. Because I remember saying on that thread that if I had the GOLDENSTONE in UF then I could get by carrying the GOLDENSTONE in the field with those two stones. Seriously the only time I ever heard Sal say anything about one of the Spyderco ceramic stones being subject to wearing out it was in reference to the "gray/medium" stones.

Funny you would bring up serrations concerning the GOLDENSTONE because I heard someone say quite a while back that the GOLDENSTONE could do what the 701 Profiles could do as far as sharpening serrations. And I was told that was the main reason they discontinued the 701 Profiles in the first place because they felt like the GOLDENSTONE would be the only sharpening tool you would need.

Personally I still think that the 701 Profiles are superior to the GOLDENSTONE for sharpening Spyderedges but I was wanting Sal to do his instructional video on the GOLDENSTONE to see how he used it on serrated blades. I still say that just having the GS in one grit is just not completely adequate for many sharpening jobs. Oh it's great for touching up an already well profiled blade but for serious stock removal they need more grit selections in my humble opinion.

[Evil D]

Right...I'm not saying the white rods/stones wear, I'm saying we don't have any grits lower than brown because of wear (not counting the bonded CBN/diamond rods). Now, why we don't have a brown/medium grit Goldenstone is a fair question. If that grit holds up for a Sharpmaker rod then why wouldn't it work on the Goldenstone just as well?

[JD Spydo]

The Goldenstone rocks. I mean it is "the bomb". Seriously. It is so handy and so easy to touch up an edge or drastically improve a factory edge in a few seconds. I am certainly glad I have one. It would be sad if others don't discover it also.

Yeah Tom I agree with you that the GOLDENSTONE truly has a lot of potential and with more grit selections it could even be much better than it is with just the fine grit. As long as the GS has been on the market I can't understand why more people haven't gotten one by now :confused: I was hoping that by now many more people would get one and we could talk about sharpening methods.

Recently I've been using mine a lot on kitchen knives ( SE & PE) and I've been having some very good results. But it would be nicer to have it in more grit selections. Also I'm really looking forward to that base unit they are making for the GOLDENSTONE so you can use it in more angles for different sharpening jobs.

[FK]

I have been using the Sharpmaker since the late 1990's mainly on SE and some PE.

Have been tempted to try the Golden Stone several times with reservations.

How does one eliminate the "tip rounding" with the Golden Stone?
With the Sharpmaker, I will avoid dragging the blade tip over/off the stone triangle edge, then change to the flat edge surface and finish up the tip sharpening.
This does not appear to be an option with the Golden Stone.


Regards,
FK
Member since Feb 17, 2001

[JD Spydo]

I have been using the Sharpmaker since the late 1990's mainly on SE and some PE.

Have been tempted to try the Golden Stone several times with reservations.

How does one eliminate the "tip rounding" with the Golden Stone?
With the Sharpmaker, I will avoid dragging the blade tip over/off the stone triangle edge, then change to the flat edge surface and finish up the tip sharpening

That's an interesting question and concern you raise with the use of the GOLDENSTONE and the tip of the blade getting rounded but I can assure you that it can be done. I'm very conscious about not rounding the tips on any knives I sharpen with any sharpening tools. That's an item I addressed years ago during my learning process while getting acquainted with many of Spyderco's great sharpening tools as well as other sharpening tools. With the 204 Sharpmaker it's very easy you just don't let the tip off the flat part of the stone. But with the GOLDENSTONE it's a bit more tricky because you just have to have the tip end up at the very bottom on the downward stroke. It took me a while to master it but I very rarely now have a tip come off of the Goldenstone anymore.

With Spyderedged blades it's not so critical but with plain edged blades it's something you've got to keep in mind. It's also a concern with hand held sharpening rods and sharpening steels too. But I can assure you that with a little practice and just being mindful of where the tip is on the downward stroke it's not that hard to master.

That raises an interesting point. Because with this new base unit for the GOLDENSTONE about to hit the market I'm wondering if it has something added to keep you from rounding the tip? Or another approach would be not to let the blade get anywhere near the tip and then just do the tip by itself on a benchstone. I have done that before with actually some really good results. But really it's not that hard if you concentrate.

[Evil D]

Well I got one, now what?

[JD Spydo]

Well I got one, now what?

Start out by trying to touch up your kitchen knives with it until you get the hang of it. Yeah we've just got to get Sal & Co. to get out this instructional video he's been more or less promising us. I took my GOLDENSTONE along with my DUCKFOOT and one of my sets of 701 Profiles with me yesterday where I was doing some volunteer work and I ended up using all three tools before the day was over and I just kept thinking how much more I could do with them if I had the GS and 701 files in more grits.

I'm really starting to like my GOLDENSTONE as a portable sharpening tool more and more each time I use it. I'm hoping that the GOLDENSTONE will be offered in more variants and the sooner the better.

[Evil D]

I've used it a few times and it seems like it cuts more aggressively than my other white rods, maybe just because it's brand new. It's a lot heavier than I expected, which isn't a big deal but for something portable I wouldn't mind if it were lighter since I'll be carrying it in my bag.

It does seem to work pretty well for serrations though I have to angle it kinda funny to get onto the smaller part of the corner.

[JD Spydo]

I just ran a similar GS thread over at BF this past week and it didn't get as much fanfare as this one did And it really baffles me to a large degree because Spyderco themselves I remember how enthusiastic they were when they launched it to the main product line up. I bought one within a month of it's release and I still only know of 3 really good friends who have one compared to at least 20 friends I know who have 204 Sharpmaker units>> and some of them aren't even knife people at all :rolleyes:

But I do maintain that there are things that can be done to stimulate sales and stir up interest in it. The concept is very interesting and I do believe this stone could be a great answer for sharpening anyone's serrated knives whether or not they are Spyderco blades isn't even a factor per se. Other than extremely strange serration patterns ( especially the older Cold Steel) the GS can sharpen about any of them IMO.

I sure hope that the GOLDENSTONE doesn't go in the same way the 701 Profiles seemed to lose interest among it's fan base but unless they do something to stir up sales we may not even see them 3 years down the road>> and I sure don't want that to happen especially as long as Spyderco waited for them to be made commercially. If that happens I will sure buy 3 to 4 back up units like I did with the 701 Profiles

[Evil D]

Seems like maybe the guys that this would appeal to (field sharpening in general) may just be freehand guys and carry a diamond paddle or something like that. Guys who are just sharpening their EDC blades are probably more interested in guides systems like the Edge Pro and Wicked Edge just so they can make pretty factory looking bevels. For general edge maintenance it's hard to beat a Sharpmaker. My interest is mostly for a field sharpening serrations, and the Sharpmaker is a little more than I want to pack around. I wish Spyderco had kept the Fold-A-Vee, that seems like exactly what I want.

[xceptnl]

Seems like maybe the guys that this would appeal to (field sharpening in general) may just be freehand guys and carry a diamond paddle or something like that. Guys who are just sharpening their EDC blades are probably more interested in guides systems like the Edge Pro and Wicked Edge just so they can make pretty factory looking bevels. For general edge maintenance it's hard to beat a Sharpmaker. My interest is mostly for a field sharpening serrations, and the Sharpmaker is a little more than I want to pack around. I wish Spyderco had kept the Fold-A-Vee, that seems like exactly what I want.

David, as JD has said in earlier posts of this thread as well as he and I both in dozens of threads over the years, for portability and usability, on PE and SE, recurve straight or hawkbill shapes, the 701s are the best tool around. They are my sole method for sharpening SE. They can still be found occasionally on the second hand market. I take mine in my edc bag daily. My quest is still for the shorter and lighter weight 702MF stone set.

[sal]

My current plan is to offer the "set". Fine grit Golden Stone, CBN Duckfoot and 30 degree base. The plan is to make a video of use.

We could make a medium grit stone, but; 1) it will be expensive and 2) it will eventually wear and need to be replaced like the medium grit triangles. At the higher cost, I felt sales could suffer.

sal

[Evil D]

David, as JD has said in earlier posts of this thread as well as he and I both in dozens of threads over the years, for portability and usability, on PE and SE, recurve straight or hawkbill shapes, the 701s are the best tool around. They are my sole method for sharpening SE. They can still be found occasionally on the second hand market. I take mine in my edc bag daily. My quest is still for the shorter and lighter weight 702MF stone set.

I really want something with a set angle but I guess with some practice I can hold it at the right angle, I did start out with a diamond rod and I was getting by ok. I've just had such good results with the SM I would like something at a set angle.

[xceptnl]

David, as JD has said in earlier posts of this thread as well as he and I both in dozens of threads over the years, for portability and usability, on PE and SE, recurve straight or hawkbill shapes, the 701s are the best tool around. They are my sole method for sharpening SE. They can still be found occasionally on the second hand market. I take mine in my edc bag daily. My quest is still for the shorter and lighter weight 702MF stone set.

I really want something with a set angle but I guess with some practice I can hold it at the right angle, I did start out with a diamond rod and I was getting by ok. I've just had such good results with the SM I would like something at a set angle.

I agree, one of my plans was to make a small base out of PVC with notches cut for the angles I like that the stones could slip into and then could be stored inside when traveling with them.

[Dbigkahunna]

I have been experimenting using the 308 for convex shears. Angles on these can be from 30 to 60. And pressure has to be light. Having this in UF with a base with these angles would make for a ultracompact unit to take into salons in my scissor display portfolio.