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Shapton Hones

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/shapton-stones.html

At the top of this link it tell the difference between the Shapton Glass Stones and Shapton Pro Series. My understanding is the glass stones are ceramic sitting on a piece of glass while the pro is a solid piece of ceramic. If I am correct, is the glass used to prevent breaking? There is a price difference in the two different series. I would like to hear opinions if you have any at all.

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Replies to This Discussion

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Dave Taylor on September 27, 2013 at 21:39

Jack, I haven't tried the Shaptons with my EdgePro as yet but have been thinking about getting some because I know how good a job they do. Currently I am using the 2000 and 3000 grit polishing tapes that EdgePro creator, Ben Dale, sent me mounted on glass.

I would be very interested in knowing how you like the Shaptons with your EdgePro.

Do you have a good source to purchase them (besides Evil Bay)?

Thanks for your input. Always welcome.

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Dave Taylor on September 27, 2013 at 21:49

I did find the Shapton stones for the EdgePro on the Chefs Knives To Go website, so no problem there.

I think I know where I am going to be spending some of the money from the sale of my 5 stones.........Hmmm.

Permalink Reply by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 27, 2013 at 22:53

CKTG is the only place to get Shapton glass stones for the EP. They made a deal with the Shapton company to cut them 1x6". Then they glue them to the blanks at CKTG. That's my understanging anyway. I like them on the EP as much as I do as bench stones. The only thing that I dislike is they don't absorb water like the water stones that come with the EP. After you squirt water on the stones that come with the EP and they are pretty well saturated you wipe off the excess water. Therefore there is no water excess getting on the blade or the blade table, etc. The Shapton glass stones don't absorb water so it's much messier. In fact I wipe the blade off every time I flip it over to avoid water and swarf getting into the pivot. It's not a problem if it does though. When this happens I just run the knive under running water and use dish soap while moving the blade back and forth. This rinses everything out of the pivot. Then I dry it with a hair dryer (for speed) and apply oil. I just try to avoid getting water in the pivot to save me from needing to do this. The Shapton glass stone perform much better than the EP stones though. I always seemed to have random scratches on the bevel even when it was almost a mirror finish. The random scratches were much deeper than the normal scratches that should be left. It was like a tiny rock or something was embedded in the stone. They also wear much more slowly than the EP stones I recommend checking congresstools.com and look at the moldmaster type stones. These are actually supposed to be used with oil but I use them dry. I just don't want the mess of oil. I have the moldmaster 320, 400 and 600 grit stones. THese three really do a good job. Since I use them dry they get clogged faster and need to be flattened more often. So, they need to be replaced more often. But they only cost about $5 each. You can buy them in different sizes. The EP needs them 1x6". If I ever get more of them I'll get them 1/4" thick instead of 1/8" thick. For one dollar or so more (max) you get twice the thickness. The down side of these stones is they don't come on the aluminum blanks. You can buy them from Ben Dale or what I did was get the material in 36" or 48" long aluminum bars 1/8" thick. Then I cut my own. You can do this with a hack-saw and a file. I have a Dremel which is much faster. But by doing this you save tons of money. I'd recommend getting moldmasters for the coarser grits and Shapton glass stones starting at 2k and any higher grits you want. I don't see spending the extra money for coarser grit stones. The benefit I see in the Shapton glass or any other expensive stones is for the final result of the edge. I LOVE the smooth edge an 8k Shapton glass stone leaves. But for most needs and if you don't need or want super smooth edges you can just get the 2k Shapton glass stone. This grit is a really great stone for the final stone on pocket knives and is perfectly fine for kitchen knives unless maybe you are a chef (pro or home) and really want top notch edges on your kitchen cutlery. If you did want to go to a higher grit than the 2k there are several VERY experienced knife sharpeners that say going from the 2k to the 8k is doable. That would save the money on a 4k. The 4k IMO is nice to smooth the progression but to save some money it's the one to skip. They are always available later also. I have a full set from 500 to 16k but I didn't buy them at once. I bought them in 3 seperate purchases. The main reason was when I had the "play money" for my knife hobby for a couple of stones I bought them. Then I could see how they performed and then decide if I wanted more and if I wanted coarser or higher grits. I get really long winded and I apologize for that. I'm hoping what I think is explained as thoroughly as I can so you or anyone can understand my opinion and why I feel what I feel.

Jack

Dave Taylor said:

I did find the Shapton stones for the EdgePro on the Chefs Knives To Go website, so no problem there.

I think I know where I am going to be spending some of the money from the sale of my 5 stones.........Hmmm.

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Dave Taylor on September 28, 2013 at 9:55

Thank you Jack.

It appears your experience with the Shapton stones on the EdgePro pretty much match what is accomplished with free hand sharpening. I have long experience with both, so I will likely try a selection of the Shapton stones for my EdgePro for the finishing/polishing work. It appears they will give the same excellent results that I always obtained with the glass backed bench stones.

Thank you very much for sharing your views and experience.

Permalink Reply by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 28, 2013 at 16:06

You're welcome Dave. Two things I've learned from using the Shapton glass stones with the Edge Pro. NEVER buy an Edge Pro. But,,, if your're dumb enough to do that NEVER NEVER buy any Shapton glass stones. :) lol

Jack

Dave Taylor said:

Thank you Jack.

It appears your experience with the Shapton stones on the EdgePro pretty much match what is accomplished with free hand sharpening. I have long experience with both, so I will likely try a selection of the Shapton stones for my EdgePro for the finishing/polishing work. It appears they will give the same excellent results that I always obtained with the glass backed bench stones.

Thank you very much for sharing your views and experience.

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Dave Taylor on September 29, 2013 at 12:05

Well I can quite honestly say that I do not consider myself as "dumb" for buying my EdgePro from my friend Ben Dale who created it, nor for using the Shaprton Glass Stones, IMHO. Both have given me excellent service and results for quite a few years. I do not claim to be an "expert" here, so perhaps I should leave this Group to those who are.........

Permalink Reply by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 29, 2013 at 12:09

Dave, I was joking about the "dumb" statement. Didn't mean to offend if I did. Sometimes I joke around as if I knew people better than we do know each other. Therefore sometimes my "jokes" aren't received as I intended them. I'm aorry about that.

I treasure my EP as I have the help Ben has given me several times. The Shapton glass stones also.

Jack

Dave Taylor said:

Well I can quite honestly say that I do not consider myself as "dumb" for buying my EdgePro from my friend Ben Dale who created it, nor for using the Shaprton Glass Stones, IMHO. Both have given me excellent service and results for quite a few years. I do not claim to be an "expert" here, so perhaps I should leave this Group to those who are.........