Thread: Natural Bevel

We all hear so much about natural stone polishing hones....from 6,000 grit on up to 30,000.

Does anyone use a natural waterstone to set a bevel before going to these polishing stones? Say something in the 2,000 to 4,000 range?

What natural waterstones would fit into this category?

I would say the Belgian Blue out of any naturals I have would be the most likely candidate, but I have not personally tried setting bevels on the blue. I'll be interested to hear if others have.

Chris L

I would guess that the Arkansas fits into this category, but I
could be wrong as I have no experience with them.

- Scott

No, the blue is way too slow of a cutter to do any serious bevel work even though it leaves a smooth scratch pattern in the 4-6K range. I have not found a good natural stone for this purpose. In his honing video, Dave Martel, Master Japanese Knife sharpener, said that in general natural stones below 1K are junk, and synthetic stones above 1K are junk. I am not so sure about the second part of the statement, but I agree with the first part. The best stones that I have found for this purpose have been the DMT-E and Norton 4K. You can use all the natural stones that you want after that.

David

I agree with David's post. The Belgian blue would take the patience of Job to cut a bevel with. Regarding the Arkansas stones, maybe the washita. As for the hard white, forget it. Even Job would give up and grow a beard.

Interestingly, from what I've read and my own experience, if you're dead set on setting a bevel with a natural the coticule with tons of slurry might be your best bet. LX Emergency used to do all his ebay finds this way; it was his only stone. It's counterintuitive because the coticule is high grit, but many have noticed that with a lot of slurry the coticule becomes a pretty decent cutter. I've never actually tried to cut a bevel with the yellow; my guess is that it would be fine if you're just moving past oxidation and removing tiny microchips and so on. If you're dealing with a frown or otherwise majorly reshaping the geometry of the bevel, I just can't imagine doing it with the coticule.

A DMT is a beautiful thing.

I am not really fixated on using natural stones. I just realized that I posses a nice stable of natural stones that are great for polishing and wondered if I might be able to also extend it down the grit line.

I guess for now I will stay with the Norton 4000/8000.

Thanks everyone.

I've also wondered about low grit Natural Stones. Nothing wrong with that. I bet the knife forums might shed light on this.

Something must work as the Old meaty wedges are out there. They were beveled with something.

Howard of the "Perfect Edge" made minor mention of a "Salmon Rouge" hone which is only quarried part of the year due to weather. It is apparently much coarser.

He has been quite silent on the stone so I wonder of it's quality or availability.

Those old round grind stones ...not sure what they are made of.

MikeB

I know the japanese have a whole slew of natural stones used in sword making and some are pretty low on the spectrum of grits.

If I have had to regrind a blade I start a bevel on my grinder. I will then use a 220 grit to set it and then finish preparing it with a 1K Norton. I found this to be a time saver for me. If it's just a regular honing job. I'll first grab the microscope and look at the bevel and edge. If it is iffy, I cut to the chase and grab the 1K. I used to talk to myself if I started on a 4K only to have to go down to the 1K.

Thanks Ken....helpful information.

Also Mike...thanks for the tip.

- Jerry