Boride T2 stones

[crn3371]

In my KME thread I mentioned the possibility of going with Hapstone. If I went that route my stone budget would be reduced and I was looking at their Boride T2 stone set. Can anyone shed some light on these stones? Ok? Avoid? Meh? Thanks from a floundering newbie.
Edit: I’ve found a comparably priced Boride CS-HD set. Would the silicon oxide be better for harder steels, or just stick with diamond and know I’m covered for everything from kitchen knives to my s110v PM2

 

[777 Edge]

I've replied to you on the other thread about the Hapstone system.

As far as stones are concerned, have a look at the dual sided Venev diamond resin stones from Gritomatic. They are excellent stones, and will give you value for money unlike any other stone set for the price range or well beyond. They are rated in FEPA-F grit, so don't make the mistake to think that their 1200 grit stone is coarse, it's actually equal to about 5000-6000 grit in the JIS grit rating that most people tend to quote.

The Boride T2 stones are going to be limiting with some modern steels you may want to sharpen, especially high Vanadium carbide steels like your S110V PM2. With the Venev stones, you will be able to sharpen any steel.

They have a very affordable 0.6 inch set, just recently added:

Venev Ursa Series Dual Side Diamond (3)Stone Set [6" x 0.6"]

Venev Ursa Series Dual Side Diamonds are used for sharpening knives on Hapstone and TSProf guided knife sharpeners, as well as freehand sharpening. Diamond sharpening stones offer excellent performance in sharpening knives of any steel.Ursa Series is 16 mm wide dual side diamond with two 1...

www.gritomatic.com

They also have a 1 inch set:

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamond (3)Stone Set [6" x 1"]

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamonds are used for sharpening knives on Hapstone and TSProf guided knife sharpeners, as well as freehand sharpening. Diamond sharpening stones offer excellent performance in sharpening knives of any steel.Centaur Series is dual side diamond with two 1 mm-thick...

www.gritomatic.com

And lastly, you were asking about stops in the other thread. Gritomatic also have a very well priced set of diamond pastes for any stropping you may want to do :

Venev Diamond Stropping Compound Sampler (8 grits)

Diamond Compound is a very effective method of honing and polishing the cutting edge of the knife. Diamond is the hardest commercially available substance on Earth. Diamond Compound consists of synthetic diamond powder. In case you are not sure what grit you need for your work, you can use the...

www.gritomatic.com

If you get yourself the Venev diamond stropping paste, it works very well on leather - but it needs to be warmed up with a hairdryer to let it penetrate nicely and melt evenly after you apply it to your strop for the first time. (it's wax based).

 

[crn3371]

Thanks for your response(s). The Venev Centaur dual sided stones were originally my first choice, but I was a bit concerned about how well they’d grip in the stone holder since they didn’t have the lip like the single sided stones. In one of the videos I watched this was brought up as an issue, as well as the stone labeling printed on side of stones wearing off. Much ado about nothing?

 

[777 Edge]

Thanks for your response(s). The Venev Centaur dual sided stones were originally my first choice, but I was a bit concerned about how well they’d grip in the stone holder since they didn’t have the lip like the single sided stones. In one of the videos I watched this was brought up as an issue, as well as the stone labeling printed on side of stones wearing off. Much ado about nothing?

I have been using my Venev Centaur stones for quite a while, and now also my set of Venev Ursa stones on my R2 and don't have any real issues with using them. I have started to prefer the Ursa stones as they are slightly narrower, which means they also work well on slight recurved blades.

Yes, the Venev Centaur stones need to be positioned accurately in the clamps to make sure they are not off-centre, or slightly angled but they work perfectly fine. If you're really concerned, you could always stick some strips of gorilla crystal clear tape on the edges of the Venev stones where the clamps hold them, and they will be even more secure.(It's a widely available clear rubberised tape you'll find at most hardware stores)

The Venev Orion set (the single sided ones) of course would grip even better and never come out of the clamps, but they are much more expensive (their layer of diamond abrasive is much thicker - that's why they are more expensive). The dual sided ones are far better value for money.

As for the labeling, it seems like it is laser etched into the metal with the new ones. The old ones were not as nice, but the new ones have better labeling.

I'd recommend a set of Venev Ursa 0.6 inch stones for the Hapstone R2. Unbeatable value for money and very versatile stones.

Basically, a Hapstone R2 Lite and a set of Venev Ursa stones would set you back only $280, and you'll have an amazing system.

Every once in a while, if the Venev stones need cleaning, just use some Barkeeper's friend, an old toothbrush and water and they clean off well.

 

[crn3371]

777, you’ve been very helpful. Do you have any feedback regarding the basic 3 stone Gritomatic diamond set? At $28 they seem like a steal, would they suffice as a starter set with perhaps a strop to finish up? Regarding clamps, a lot of my knifes (especially kitchen) are ffg, would the lite clamps handle those? Would the larger angle clamps be better, perhaps being paid for by going with the cheaper Ursa stones or the basic 3 stone set? Finally, as far as accessories are concerned, I’m thinking that stop collars for the guide rod are a necessity, how about the fine tuning collar? Any other must have items?

 

[777 Edge]

My pleasure, glad to help.

If you can afford it, I would recommend the angled clamps as a step up in versatility and clamping options to the Lite clamps. Even though the Lite clamps will likely be just fine for what you need, it would be nice to have the bigger angled clamps for more versatility. The bigger clamps are also slightly adjustable to align with full flat grinds a little better. You use a combination of the rear and front screw to position the clamps to align better with your grind.

If you use clamps on (for example) your PM2 S110V, then clamp one clamp on the flat ricasso section (to stop rotation and secure clamping), and the other clamp closer to the tip (to stop flex).

The basic 3 stone set from Gritomatic is very good. Not bonded in resin like the Venevs, but diamond plated on metal strips, then mounted onto aluminium backing. They work very well (especially for the price), and will be good to start with. You won't get as refined of an edge as the Venevs will give you, but it will be screaming sharp. Stropping with diamond pasted strops after the basic diamond set, would refine the edge for sure. Just make sure to use them with soapy water (even though they say they can be used dry). I would not use them dry, they wear out faster if not lubricated. If you use soapy water on them, they'll last twice or three times as long as using them dry.

For extras, definitely get a digital angle cube, and a fine tuning adapter. You can get by without the stop collars, but they are nice to have if you're new at it. Just stops you from running off the edge while sharpening when you're not used to it yet. You could always use rubber O-rings instead of the stop collars if you didn't want to buy those, but the spring stop collars are not too expensive.

 

[crn3371]

I do have a hawkbill blade where the Ursa’s might be useful. You don’t find the narrower stone to be limiting compared to 1” stones? Budget wise it’s either the basic 3 stone set or the Ursa. I’ll be going with the V8 Black edition with the added vertical support ($11).

 

[scottc3]

Wait a minute crn3371, what's the steel on your hawkbill blade? Maybe quality skinny silicon carbide stones would work fine. Match the tool to the stones.

 

[crn3371]

The Hawkbill is only AUS8, nothing fancy. I could do a passable job with the little Lansky stones. I’m just looking for a budget set of stones to get me started with the Hapstone.

 

[777 Edge]

The Hawkbill is only AUS8, nothing fancy. I could do a passable job with the little Lansky stones. I’m just looking for a budget set of stones to get me started with the Hapstone.

If you only want 1 stone set to start with, the Ursa set would be the way to go. Especially as you have higher end steels like your S110V too.

The 0.6 inch width of the Ursa works well, and has somehow become my more preferred set among my Venev's.

 

[crn3371]

Could you elaborate as to why you prefer the narrower Ursa’s over the standard 1” stones?

 

[scottc3]

Skinny stones make more direct contact along curvy blades that wide stones would otherwise bridge. The bridging contacts the knife at two locations if curves are too much. Jacks up both bevels heel to tip. The KME skinny stones (KME by Hewlett) are plated diamonds with an integrated curve manufactured into face.
Freehand sharpeners just use corners, cut or buy skinny stones.
Never sharpened or owned a Karambit or Hawkbill, but I don't have problems with D2 or m390 Benchmade 710s using the KME diamonds. I did not like my bevels on a ZT0200, so I got an inexpensive 3D printed stone career that allowed me to use Sharpmaker form-factor rods, and I used the corners. Much better.

 

[Bob9466]

I've replied to you on the other thread about the Hapstone system.

As far as stones are concerned, have a look at the dual sided Venev diamond resin stones from Gritomatic. They are excellent stones, and will give you value for money unlike any other stone set for the price range or well beyond. They are rated in FEPA-F grit, so don't make the mistake to think that their 1200 grit stone is coarse, it's actually equal to about 5000-6000 grit in the JIS grit rating that most people tend to quote.

The Boride T2 stones are going to be limiting with some modern steels you may want to sharpen, especially high Vanadium carbide steels like your S110V PM2. With the Venev stones, you will be able to sharpen any steel.

They have a very affordable 0.6 inch set, just recently added:

Venev Ursa Series Dual Side Diamond (3)Stone Set [6" x 0.6"]

Venev Ursa Series Dual Side Diamonds are used for sharpening knives on Hapstone and TSProf guided knife sharpeners, as well as freehand sharpening. Diamond sharpening stones offer excellent performance in sharpening knives of any steel.Ursa Series is 16 mm wide dual side diamond with two 1...

www.gritomatic.com

They also have a 1 inch set:

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamond (3)Stone Set [6" x 1"]

Venev Centaur Series Dual Side Diamonds are used for sharpening knives on Hapstone and TSProf guided knife sharpeners, as well as freehand sharpening. Diamond sharpening stones offer excellent performance in sharpening knives of any steel.Centaur Series is dual side diamond with two 1 mm-thick...

www.gritomatic.com

And lastly, you were asking about stops in the other thread. Gritomatic also have a very well priced set of diamond pastes for any stropping you may want to do :

Venev Diamond Stropping Compound Sampler (8 grits)

Diamond Compound is a very effective method of honing and polishing the cutting edge of the knife. Diamond is the hardest commercially available substance on Earth. Diamond Compound consists of synthetic diamond powder. In case you are not sure what grit you need for your work, you can use the...

www.gritomatic.com

If you get yourself the Venev diamond stropping paste, it works very well on leather - but it needs to be warmed up with a hairdryer to let it penetrate nicely and melt evenly after you apply it to your strop for the first time. (it's wax based).

I second this. I have the venev centaur stones and they work extremely well on anything I own, which tops out @ 20cv or m4

 

[777 Edge]

Could you elaborate as to why you prefer the narrower Ursa’s over the standard 1” stones?

What scottc3 said above.

You mentioned only getting one set of stones, and having a hawkbill blade, so the slightly narrower ones will be your best bet if you only wanted 1 stone set.

The other reason I like the 0.6 inch Ursa stones more than my 1 inch Centaur stones, it how they seem to feel over the curves of a blade. I like their feedback (being slightly narrower), and I like how they move over the belly of a blade. I also like the fact that with the weight of your hand and the slightly narrower width of them at 0.6 inch compared to the common 1 inch standard, they seem to just give the perfect amount of sharpening force needed.