Evan, I use Arkansas stones. I get mine from Dan's Whetstones and Hall's pro edge, which has recently gotten new owners. Medium Arkansas soft is what I use most, then strop.

I have finally gotten to a point where I can use stones and get some decent results. For what seemed like a great majority of my life...I had a really hard time with angles, etc. At the moment, I use one of those 3 sided blocks-coarse, medium, and fine (I know, pretty generic...). I really only use the fine stone for finishing up my blades after my belts. I've been looking at various stones a lot, including some Arkansas stones.

Some of my "problems" is the stone size. Perhaps it's more to do with me and how I sharpen, but I like a larger (width) and longer stone. I think I'd like to get some Arkansas stones in various grades, but would like to find them bigger than what I typically find (only 6" or so). I was at a friend's shop and he had a pretty sizable stone he finished his blades on that sat in a plastic base with a lid. I want to say it was a Norton, I think?

Then there are the various diamond "stones", ceramic ones, and on and on. I've looked at many of them, partially because I've also looked at making some straight razors. Since I've only recently gotten to a point where I'm using stones more, I'm very curious for what others use and like. Great topic.

Jeremy

Evan,

I have King stones that I received as a gift (1000 and 6000 grits) and they work well for me. I 'rough-in' the new edge on the 1000. After finishing on the 6000 I then move to a leather strop, which as an overall system/process seems to work well. When the stones get 'dished' out I have a couple of DMT plates in different grits that I will use to lap the stones flat again.

A site that has a selection of both synthetic and natural stones to choose from is: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/sharpening-stones.html

The gentleman who owns the site (I think his name is Mark) is super helpful.

I use a Norton fine india for the initial, then a hard arkansas stone. Finally I strop the edge. I also have hand hones that are hard arkansas that I use for some things.

Brion

Curious. What do you guys treat your strop with?

Gary I use white buffing compound.

Brion

Gary

I use a leather strop that I made out of 3/4" thick and 5" wide x 12'' long red oak with a tapered handle at the end. I glue on leather to cover each side. On one side I apply a mixture of red rouge and olive oil and the other I apply a mixture of green chrome and olive oil.

This is the link to a photo of the strop that I made and use, click: Handmade strop

I used a similar but smaller strop with the same red rouge mixture to sharpen my straight razor when I was working as a Master Barber many years ago. I was told by Master Smith Jack Fuller who was trained in Bill Moran's shop that Master Smith Moran would use a similar strop as the final step in sharpening his knives and that he would work on the knife until it was "very, very sharp".

I use a fine India stone followed by a couple of licks on a fine ceramic. Not "razor" sharp but skin popping sharp.

A question for you stropper guys; does the stropping play badly with your damascus finish?

Mike

Depends on how hard the edge is damaged, but if it's realy dull, I start with a synthetic carburundum stone (grit 300-400) untill the burr shows up along the cutting edge. After that, I use a natural stone from the French Pyrenees and then finish with Belgian Blue Whetstone(4000 grit) and the Coticule(8000 grit). All these are waterstones and the BBW and Coticule are honing stones, also known as the "razor stone". Start pushing harder on the knive in the beginning and use little water, use less power and more water at the end of each stone. Then leather strop or pull the knive on soft wood to knock off the last piece of burr.

Greetings from Belgium, Chris

I probably depart from the rest of you in that I use diamond impregnated 'stones'. I start off with a 600 grit (approximate) 2 x 8 inch diamond plate. I then move to a 2400 grit 4 inch x 10 inch plate. I use these with a technique that places my thumb slightly under the spine of the blade and I go from right hand to left hand with a stroke that looks like I am trying to shave a layer off the plate. My thumb placement gives me a guide to keep the angle the same on both sides of the blade and from one stroke to the next. As I move the edge across the stone/plate my thumb is in light contact with the stone. The 2400 gives me a hair shaving edge. I then finish off with a couple of back strokes on a black very smooth stone ( I could probably do this on the 2400 grit plate but even before I used diamond hones I just finished off on that black stone. It is just an old friend). I personally do not want a burr so thin that the blade loses its sharpness after a few cuts in a rope or 2 x 4. People underestimate the importance of geometry (angles) of the edge. I cannot tell you what the degree of angle is on this. It can tell you that it varies from the type of knife (hunter versus camp cutter).

I would also point out that one of the reasons I do not buff the edge but rely on hand sharpening is that I know a customer will likely try to sharpen the blade on a stone. I want to personally experience the effect of sharpening a blade by hand. After a few strokes I examine the edge to see the marks left by the stone. If the stone is taking off more metal on one part of the blade's edge than another, then I know my grind was not even across the length of the edge. Any feedback I get at any time in the knife building process is a good thing.

Dan