So I have a sharpening stone in my house. It's one of those cheap ones you can get at a dollar store, you know the kind. The grey and dark grey stone whose grit may as well be sandpaper? Well, they never did sharpen knives so well. Just to get a half decent edge on a knife and make it usable or half way so, you'd have to spend a couple hours grinding away. And then I watched a video on youtube, some Japanese guy who makes knives out of whatever the hell he wants, from candy to chicken bones, to underwear. Frigging underwear, people. That made my youtube recommended feed fill with things on knives and knife sharpening, and this amicable guy, also asian, talks about cheap stones vs expensive stones, and what's the best value per dollar, and pointed at THIS stone. So I gave it a try, yeah? Well, it arrived today, and I've spent five minutes per extremely dull knife. To be clear, I have several pocket knives that I use for utility at work, and for self defense purposes if I have to walk home. Thankfully, I've never had to use one for the latter, but it's there, right? Better safe than sorry. But anyway, this knife couldn't cut butter if it were hot, so I decided to use the stone on this particular knife first. A simple 440 steel blade, nothing amazing. Five minutes on this stone and it's able to cut again. If I put another five minutes into it, I could get it to razor sharpness. That means something to me. So if you look at the price of this thing and think to yourself "Can I justify this?" The answer is yes, my friend. It even comes with a non-slip rubber base. Stick it in a small plastic container with some water and you have a sharpening station with access to water that won't make a huge mess. Totally worth it. Your kitchen and utility knives will thank you.
Alright, this is gonna be my first review with photos, gotta give it to the kings. :) I rencetly got really into knives, so I purchased a used carbon knife to practice my sharpening skills. To match up with the knife, I first purchased a cheap a$$ stone with 400/1000 grits, and it was alright, I was generally ok with it TILL I PURCHASED THE KINGS. The same 1000 grit side made a HUGE difference. It took me about 30second to get my knife rasorsharp on the Kings. The outcome was incomparable. Other than the stone itself, I would also like to make a common on the base as well. At first it seems very light, I had no hope that it would do anything. But the truth was once you get some water on there, it really grabs to the surface. So in conclusion for all you folks that are looking for a beginner budget stone, look no farther, this is it.
I've never used a wet stone before to sharpen knives. I've always used the devices you can buy in grocery stores, or on line. I decided to get this wet stone for my kitchen knives. The device I had been using was getting old and worn. This stone was fantastic. Using the 1000 grit side is great for knives that are normal kitchen dull and need a resharpen, but that 6000 grit...oh it polishes the edge magnificently. The first knife I used after sharpening was one that I last used to try to cut a lime, and noticed it was doing more tearing and smashing on the peel than cutting. Anyway, I used it, and it sliced right through with no issues. The other ones I sharpened done a great job cutting thin slices of tomatoes and cucumbers. I was pretty happy. One thing though. If you have a knife that has an exceptionally blunted edge. I would suggest sharpening it with a cheaper sharpener first that will get it up to an ok sharpness, or get 600 and 800 grit stones as well and work your way up to the 1000 grit. Or else you'll be there forever with the 1000 grit wearing down the life of your stone in the process. The 1000 grit and 6000 grits are for regular maintenance, not trying to fix a terribly blunted blade.
New to sharpening. One thing I can tell you that no one would argue is to be aware of your purchase. What I mean is, look at the coarseness of the stone to determine if this is the right stone for your needs. In my case, I bought this stone thinking it was what I needed and I was a little off. When I say off, I'm not saying that this stone is the wrong purchase, but if you get into serious sharpening, you will start to see that this is a polisher stone. You would need a more coarse grit stone to bring down full edges to a fine point and then this stone to polish the edge and give it that super fine edge that will cut through just about anything. I use them for woodworking tools and the edge it gave was nice but I realized that I was polishing the factory edge. I immediately purchased a 220/800 stone and I think this will seal up the gap I need for transforming my factory edge, into a super sharp edge
If you only own one stone, this is the one. Comes with a holder for the stone that works quite well. 1000 side grit will get the edge back on most knives. The 6000 grit side is the side I like for honing. I have sharpened 1095, Aus-8, VG1 with San Mai, VG-10, 154 CM and CPM 3V. All have come out razor sharp. A nice almost mirror edge on all my knives. Get the nagura stone as well to help make the slurry to make the process much faster. I plan on getting a 3000 and 8000 grit, but this one works just fine for a workable edge and honing. Highly recommend this if you only want 1 stone that works.
I am a former Arkansas oil stone user (for years and years). They have come and gone. Motivated by a new set of high end German kitchen knives, I went sharpening stone shopping. After a lot of deliberation and review reading, I chose this set of King 1000/6000 whetstones. My choice was made based on a combination of the good reviews left by other Amazon reviewers as well as the price point. A value choice. My whetstones arrived intact; no chips, no cracks. However, that was in spite of the poor packaging. They were just tossed into a large envelope with no bubble wrap or other cushioning materials. Only by the grace of the logistics delivery gods did my stones arrive in perfect condition. I had just purchased an inexpensive EDC folding tactical knife. It arrived dull. Since it was low cost and therefore expendable, it was to be my initial sharpening victim. I soaked the stones in water for 15 minutes. Note: there were no English instructions included. Lots of Japanese instructions but that is a language which I have not learned! i used the 1000 grit stone for about 10 minutes. I do not count strokes or time myself as the best sharpening practioners do (according to YouTube). I alternate sides on every draw across the stone as I was taught to do years and years ago. Which is why I don't need to count strokes. I like to maintain a shallow angle of 15 degrees or less for a sharper, longer lasting knife edge. I did not use an angle guide and have never found that necessary (old school). Since the knife was dull, it was a pleasant surprise that this dull blade was able to sharpen it; articles I read during my research suggested that I might need a 400 grit stone (or something similar) for a dull blade. I tested the knife edge after the 1000 grit sharpening. Would barely cut paper. Then turned to the 6000 grit stone. I sharpened the knife blade on the brown 6000 grit side for about 5 minutes again using alternating side strokes across the stone. Brown side makes a satisfying puddle of brown grit from the sharpening process; this didn't happen with the white/tan 1000 grit side (there was no visible grit puddle). I again tested the blade on paper. This time, the blade cleanly sliced the paper. The knife edge improvement was clearly visible to the naked eye. Usage note: I added additional water drops to the stones as I used them. In my experience with oil whetstones, additional oil drops are always applied throughout the sharpening process. I think adding water drops helped the sharpening process and will extend the life of the whetstones (although that is an opinion and not the results of actual tests). Additional observations: - it was very nice not to have to deal with oil and to be able to just use plain water for these whetstones. I always had to use my oil whetstones outside or in a workshop. I used this whetstone in the kitchen on my granite countertops without fear - the included molded plastic base for the whetstones doesn't look like much but it was very effective securely holding the whetstones while I used them - I expect that sharpening a "sharp knife" (one that hasn't been allowed to get truly dull) may take much less than then the 10 minutes required on this intially dull knife edge
This was my first wet stone. I chose the king stone because I wanted a good product but didn't feel like spending a small fortune to learn a new skill. I spent some time watching YouTube videos which helped me pick up the process quickly. The 1000 grit soaking side is easy to use. Just soak the dark half for 3 mins or so. This side gives feedback and seems pretty resilant to novice hands. The 6000 grit is side splash and go. Just add water every few passes. It gives a nice polished edge for sure but this side takes a bit more skill to master. Holding the angle is a bit more important or else you get some gouges in the stone so go slow and try to get the feel and dont go for speed. After using both sides for about 20-30 mins total, my vg high carbon steel knife was pretty sharp. After doing 2 knives, I found using the 1000 grit side takes too long to get my harder steel knives to develop a decent burr. While this is a good stone and I recommend it, depending on your knives' hardness level you may need a coarse stone. Mine are 59 Rockwell hardness rating. To fix this, I have ordered the whetstone cutlery 400/1000 stone to get a dull knife in shape quickly. I just finished using the other stones 400 side then this king stone's 1000, then 6000 on the same two knives and now both have a very sharp edge and the knives slice paper (horizontally, not vertically but that's good enough for me.) So after using this stone 4 times now over the last 2 days, I'm happy with the purchase and do not notice any bad wearing or bowing on the stones but I made sure to use the full stone. An added bonus of buying a 2 sided coarse stone is I am able to use it to keep this king stone in level. I use the 400 side to level the 1000 king stone and the 1000 side to level the king's 6000 side.
Like you, after using various knife sharpeners for years and getting suboptimal results, I've decided to forgo the usual sharpening sticks/devices for my kitchen and pocket knives and try actually sharpening them with a stone. After reading countless instructional websites, stone reviews and watching various videos, and contemplating the cost of these stones versus the others available, i bit the bullet and ordered these stones (along with some angle guides since I'm a noob). First, my stones arrived in great shape, surrounded by ridiculous layers of bubble wrap. No problems there. As others have written in their reviews, there are no instructions (or any written in english) shipped with this product. Nothing a quick internet search can't fix. A little annoying, yes, but not enough to be a big issue. As far as sharpening the knives itself, using this stone was easy and immediately gratifying. Due to my floundering first-time knife sharpening skills combined with pretty dull knives, it took a good 40+ minutes for me to get my first kitchen knife to a respectably sharp edge that could slice paper with ease. However, it was insanely rewarding to achieve that edge. It was also very zen just listening to that soothing scraping noise and moving my knife back and forth over and over. As instructed by others, soak the dark brown portion in a little plate of water for a few minutes while you get prepared. The plastic stand holds the stone well, but the whole contraption does slide around the kitchen counter, so I just put the whole thing on a damp towel and it doesn't move. The towel also helps pick up the additional water that I splash on the stone while sharpening. After sharpening, I just rinse the stone under running water and scrub with my fingers to get the metal powder bits off. Don't forget to let it dry out before putting it away. I'm sure there are much more expense and better professional stones out there, but for a beginner looking to get my knives back to a respectable edge for cooking and food preparation purposes, these stones were great. When these stones do get worn, I'll definitely buy a replacement. No regrets here.
I have another water stone of the same size but 1000/400 grit. I don't know where this other stone was made. I assume it is China. The King stone is made in Japan. I can only compare the 1000 grit. The King stone is vastly superior. I think it has not to do with the cutting material itself but with the binder that holds the grit together. The other stone is too soft and wears away quickly. But more importantly the soft binder allows the particle of grit that actually do the cutting to move or be displaced. This greatly decreases the efficiency of the softer stone. I strongly recommend this King stone. It cuts faster, wears less, and is capable of a producing a very sharp edge. The 6000 grit side is perfect for polishing the edge and taking off any burr. The 6000 grit side, for most purposes, does away with the need for a strop to finish the edge. This King stone is very high quality.
This is a really good stone for the price. You dont need to spend $100 plus dollars on a high end stone to get a sharp knife. This kw65 in thinner than the kds model but will still last you a very long time. The 6000 side does collect some build up, so I would recommend a nagura stone for cleaning. So if you are trying to decide between the endless options out there & dont want to make the wrong choice, I would personally recommend this stone. Happy Sharpening!!!
Gana Miftari
A dull knife no more.
So I have a sharpening stone in my house. It's one of those cheap ones you can get at a dollar store, you know the kind. The grey and dark grey stone whose grit may as well be sandpaper? Well, they never did sharpen knives so well. Just to get a half decent edge on a knife and make it usable or half way so, you'd have to spend a couple hours grinding away. And then I watched a video on youtube, some Japanese guy who makes knives out of whatever the hell he wants, from candy to chicken bones, to underwear. Frigging underwear, people. That made my youtube recommended feed fill with things on knives and knife sharpening, and this amicable guy, also asian, talks about cheap stones vs expensive stones, and what's the best value per dollar, and pointed at THIS stone. So I gave it a try, yeah? Well, it arrived today, and I've spent five minutes per extremely dull knife. To be clear, I have several pocket knives that I use for utility at work, and for self defense purposes if I have to walk home. Thankfully, I've never had to use one for the latter, but it's there, right? Better safe than sorry. But anyway, this knife couldn't cut butter if it were hot, so I decided to use the stone on this particular knife first. A simple 440 steel blade, nothing amazing. Five minutes on this stone and it's able to cut again. If I put another five minutes into it, I could get it to razor sharpness. That means something to me. So if you look at the price of this thing and think to yourself "Can I justify this?" The answer is yes, my friend. It even comes with a non-slip rubber base. Stick it in a small plastic container with some water and you have a sharpening station with access to water that won't make a huge mess. Totally worth it. Your kitchen and utility knives will thank you.
Pinky Quiban
GOAT budget stone
Alright, this is gonna be my first review with photos, gotta give it to the kings. :) I rencetly got really into knives, so I purchased a used carbon knife to practice my sharpening skills. To match up with the knife, I first purchased a cheap a$$ stone with 400/1000 grits, and it was alright, I was generally ok with it TILL I PURCHASED THE KINGS. The same 1000 grit side made a HUGE difference. It took me about 30second to get my knife rasorsharp on the Kings. The outcome was incomparable. Other than the stone itself, I would also like to make a common on the base as well. At first it seems very light, I had no hope that it would do anything. But the truth was once you get some water on there, it really grabs to the surface. So in conclusion for all you folks that are looking for a beginner budget stone, look no farther, this is it.
Verso Gina
This will be a must have in my kitchen until I die.
I've never used a wet stone before to sharpen knives. I've always used the devices you can buy in grocery stores, or on line. I decided to get this wet stone for my kitchen knives. The device I had been using was getting old and worn. This stone was fantastic. Using the 1000 grit side is great for knives that are normal kitchen dull and need a resharpen, but that 6000 grit...oh it polishes the edge magnificently. The first knife I used after sharpening was one that I last used to try to cut a lime, and noticed it was doing more tearing and smashing on the peel than cutting. Anyway, I used it, and it sliced right through with no issues. The other ones I sharpened done a great job cutting thin slices of tomatoes and cucumbers. I was pretty happy. One thing though. If you have a knife that has an exceptionally blunted edge. I would suggest sharpening it with a cheaper sharpener first that will get it up to an ok sharpness, or get 600 and 800 grit stones as well and work your way up to the 1000 grit. Or else you'll be there forever with the 1000 grit wearing down the life of your stone in the process. The 1000 grit and 6000 grits are for regular maintenance, not trying to fix a terribly blunted blade.
Jessica Bell-McLean
Sharpening stones
New to sharpening. One thing I can tell you that no one would argue is to be aware of your purchase. What I mean is, look at the coarseness of the stone to determine if this is the right stone for your needs. In my case, I bought this stone thinking it was what I needed and I was a little off. When I say off, I'm not saying that this stone is the wrong purchase, but if you get into serious sharpening, you will start to see that this is a polisher stone. You would need a more coarse grit stone to bring down full edges to a fine point and then this stone to polish the edge and give it that super fine edge that will cut through just about anything. I use them for woodworking tools and the edge it gave was nice but I realized that I was polishing the factory edge. I immediately purchased a 220/800 stone and I think this will seal up the gap I need for transforming my factory edge, into a super sharp edge
Jessie Rankin
If you only own 1 Whetstone this is it.
If you only own one stone, this is the one. Comes with a holder for the stone that works quite well. 1000 side grit will get the edge back on most knives. The 6000 grit side is the side I like for honing. I have sharpened 1095, Aus-8, VG1 with San Mai, VG-10, 154 CM and CPM 3V. All have come out razor sharp. A nice almost mirror edge on all my knives. Get the nagura stone as well to help make the slurry to make the process much faster. I plan on getting a 3000 and 8000 grit, but this one works just fine for a workable edge and honing. Highly recommend this if you only want 1 stone that works.
Teri Fanguy
Good Value Choice for Sharpening in the Kitchen and for Hunting Knives
I am a former Arkansas oil stone user (for years and years). They have come and gone. Motivated by a new set of high end German kitchen knives, I went sharpening stone shopping. After a lot of deliberation and review reading, I chose this set of King 1000/6000 whetstones. My choice was made based on a combination of the good reviews left by other Amazon reviewers as well as the price point. A value choice. My whetstones arrived intact; no chips, no cracks. However, that was in spite of the poor packaging. They were just tossed into a large envelope with no bubble wrap or other cushioning materials. Only by the grace of the logistics delivery gods did my stones arrive in perfect condition. I had just purchased an inexpensive EDC folding tactical knife. It arrived dull. Since it was low cost and therefore expendable, it was to be my initial sharpening victim. I soaked the stones in water for 15 minutes. Note: there were no English instructions included. Lots of Japanese instructions but that is a language which I have not learned! i used the 1000 grit stone for about 10 minutes. I do not count strokes or time myself as the best sharpening practioners do (according to YouTube). I alternate sides on every draw across the stone as I was taught to do years and years ago. Which is why I don't need to count strokes. I like to maintain a shallow angle of 15 degrees or less for a sharper, longer lasting knife edge. I did not use an angle guide and have never found that necessary (old school). Since the knife was dull, it was a pleasant surprise that this dull blade was able to sharpen it; articles I read during my research suggested that I might need a 400 grit stone (or something similar) for a dull blade. I tested the knife edge after the 1000 grit sharpening. Would barely cut paper. Then turned to the 6000 grit stone. I sharpened the knife blade on the brown 6000 grit side for about 5 minutes again using alternating side strokes across the stone. Brown side makes a satisfying puddle of brown grit from the sharpening process; this didn't happen with the white/tan 1000 grit side (there was no visible grit puddle). I again tested the blade on paper. This time, the blade cleanly sliced the paper. The knife edge improvement was clearly visible to the naked eye. Usage note: I added additional water drops to the stones as I used them. In my experience with oil whetstones, additional oil drops are always applied throughout the sharpening process. I think adding water drops helped the sharpening process and will extend the life of the whetstones (although that is an opinion and not the results of actual tests). Additional observations: - it was very nice not to have to deal with oil and to be able to just use plain water for these whetstones. I always had to use my oil whetstones outside or in a workshop. I used this whetstone in the kitchen on my granite countertops without fear - the included molded plastic base for the whetstones doesn't look like much but it was very effective securely holding the whetstones while I used them - I expect that sharpening a "sharp knife" (one that hasn't been allowed to get truly dull) may take much less than then the 10 minutes required on this intially dull knife edge
Sharon Perkins
Good stones, great price.
This was my first wet stone. I chose the king stone because I wanted a good product but didn't feel like spending a small fortune to learn a new skill. I spent some time watching YouTube videos which helped me pick up the process quickly. The 1000 grit soaking side is easy to use. Just soak the dark half for 3 mins or so. This side gives feedback and seems pretty resilant to novice hands. The 6000 grit is side splash and go. Just add water every few passes. It gives a nice polished edge for sure but this side takes a bit more skill to master. Holding the angle is a bit more important or else you get some gouges in the stone so go slow and try to get the feel and dont go for speed. After using both sides for about 20-30 mins total, my vg high carbon steel knife was pretty sharp. After doing 2 knives, I found using the 1000 grit side takes too long to get my harder steel knives to develop a decent burr. While this is a good stone and I recommend it, depending on your knives' hardness level you may need a coarse stone. Mine are 59 Rockwell hardness rating. To fix this, I have ordered the whetstone cutlery 400/1000 stone to get a dull knife in shape quickly. I just finished using the other stones 400 side then this king stone's 1000, then 6000 on the same two knives and now both have a very sharp edge and the knives slice paper (horizontally, not vertically but that's good enough for me.) So after using this stone 4 times now over the last 2 days, I'm happy with the purchase and do not notice any bad wearing or bowing on the stones but I made sure to use the full stone. An added bonus of buying a 2 sided coarse stone is I am able to use it to keep this king stone in level. I use the 400 side to level the 1000 king stone and the 1000 side to level the king's 6000 side.
Felipe Aya Sanchez
My first sharpening stone, and excellent results!
Like you, after using various knife sharpeners for years and getting suboptimal results, I've decided to forgo the usual sharpening sticks/devices for my kitchen and pocket knives and try actually sharpening them with a stone. After reading countless instructional websites, stone reviews and watching various videos, and contemplating the cost of these stones versus the others available, i bit the bullet and ordered these stones (along with some angle guides since I'm a noob). First, my stones arrived in great shape, surrounded by ridiculous layers of bubble wrap. No problems there. As others have written in their reviews, there are no instructions (or any written in english) shipped with this product. Nothing a quick internet search can't fix. A little annoying, yes, but not enough to be a big issue. As far as sharpening the knives itself, using this stone was easy and immediately gratifying. Due to my floundering first-time knife sharpening skills combined with pretty dull knives, it took a good 40+ minutes for me to get my first kitchen knife to a respectably sharp edge that could slice paper with ease. However, it was insanely rewarding to achieve that edge. It was also very zen just listening to that soothing scraping noise and moving my knife back and forth over and over. As instructed by others, soak the dark brown portion in a little plate of water for a few minutes while you get prepared. The plastic stand holds the stone well, but the whole contraption does slide around the kitchen counter, so I just put the whole thing on a damp towel and it doesn't move. The towel also helps pick up the additional water that I splash on the stone while sharpening. After sharpening, I just rinse the stone under running water and scrub with my fingers to get the metal powder bits off. Don't forget to let it dry out before putting it away. I'm sure there are much more expense and better professional stones out there, but for a beginner looking to get my knives back to a respectable edge for cooking and food preparation purposes, these stones were great. When these stones do get worn, I'll definitely buy a replacement. No regrets here.
Booter Collins
No comparison between this and others of similar grit.
I have another water stone of the same size but 1000/400 grit. I don't know where this other stone was made. I assume it is China. The King stone is made in Japan. I can only compare the 1000 grit. The King stone is vastly superior. I think it has not to do with the cutting material itself but with the binder that holds the grit together. The other stone is too soft and wears away quickly. But more importantly the soft binder allows the particle of grit that actually do the cutting to move or be displaced. This greatly decreases the efficiency of the softer stone. I strongly recommend this King stone. It cuts faster, wears less, and is capable of a producing a very sharp edge. The 6000 grit side is perfect for polishing the edge and taking off any burr. The 6000 grit side, for most purposes, does away with the need for a strop to finish the edge. This King stone is very high quality.
Jo Jenssen
I really like this king stone
This is a really good stone for the price. You dont need to spend $100 plus dollars on a high end stone to get a sharp knife. This kw65 in thinner than the kds model but will still last you a very long time. The 6000 side does collect some build up, so I would recommend a nagura stone for cleaning. So if you are trying to decide between the endless options out there & dont want to make the wrong choice, I would personally recommend this stone. Happy Sharpening!!!