Help me sharpen my GSO 4.1


DMT Fine/Extra-Fine (600/1200) is good for restoring/refining a shaving edge on a knife that has dulled just a bit, e.g. will still slice cardboard and printer-paper but doesn't shave hair or slice phone-book paper well. It is perfect for establishing a microbevel with decent 'bite', my "go-to" grit level for all but face-razors (and 1200 will actually work for that but it just isn't as smooth of a shave).

DMT Fine/Coarse (600/325) will allow you to restore a duller edge more quickly, or allow you to take the shoulders off of the bevel more easily, i.e. you can change edge-geometry as desired. If you like your edge to have a lot of bite (600 grit) for cutting abrasive or fibrous materials, etc., then 600 is a good choice to finish with. It won't give the same push-cutting performance on thin material like phone-book paper and hairs that 1200+ would give, but it should still take hair off your arms ;)

In my use, I reserve hones of that size for MAJOR work, i.e. re-bevelling/changing geometry or fixing major damage - the wide honing surface helps maintain a consistent bevel along the entire edge. For finer edge-work (micro-bevel and polishing at higher grit), I'm happy with a smaller, more portable hone.

My current set-up is a DMT Aligner Deluxe kit because it inexpensively provided Coarse, Fine, & Extra-Fine all in one set, the hones are easily portable and come with a handle and I later added X-Coarse, however the double-sided DiaFolds are much more convenient to carry around as needed - I've often thought about selling my Aligner Kit to get the Magna-guide set-up with double-sided hones instead. Eitherway, these are very easy to use free-hand or with the angle guide, but they are not as wide or as long as the "benchstone" plates so may require more passes to get the job done completely and need to be cleaned more often (I keep a toothbrush with the hones and use my saliva as both lubricant and cleaner when they bog-down). If I have a LOT of grinding to do, I switch to benchstones (which sit in my home-workshop). Benchstones are more expensive and less portable but get more work done in the same time-period, require less cleaning, and help keep a more consistent bevel.

To summarize, I really think you should have all 3 of those grits but in whatever format you think would work best for your use. For a benchstone, I would not be so concerned about the Extra-Fine (1200 grit, 9 micron) unless you demand a very uniform and polished bevel on your knives. You could get the Extra-Fine DMT 4" diafold or aligner hone for <$20. Or you could drop me a line and I might be willing to sell you my whole DMT set-up for less that one of those benchstones, but again the caveats about their utility apply. That's my $0.02.
 
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