Home Depot Norton stone

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max_b

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Jan 17, 2014
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Hi all, this is my first post and I just started getting interest in knives recently. Recently bought a used SAK That came dull. Thought it was a good opportunity for a sharpening project. Got the Home Depot basic Norton stone. After multiple attempts couldn't get the knife paper cutting sharp. Got an idea and put some duct tape on the back of the blade to give it a consistent angle on the stone. Results not too bad. It is not perfect but decent. I am a complete noob at this and don't have big budget to buy stuff like spyderco sharp maker yet. Any ideas how I can use this basic stone to get better results?
 
Practice makes perfect. Keep at it. You can get a shaving sharp edge off the economy stone if you properly shape and apex the edge.
 
While it can be done it would be very difficult without a strop and some compound.
 
The Home Depot stone fine side is only about 400 grit, I believe. To slice paper cleanly, you will need to go to 1000 grit and the strop with green compound. The Norton stone is good for a knife that is used on rope or camping uses. Fine edges need a bit more work.

Scarface48
 
Yeah, the HD 'Economy' stone is pretty aggressive; both sides are pretty coarse (one is coarser), and the silicon carbide abrasive will eat simpler steels up in that larger grit size. Combine that with the softish steel in the SAK, and it'll be hard to fine-tune the edge to a degree you'd likely want. Using a finer grit should make the difference. A 'medium' ceramic, such as Spyderco's brown/grey, would work as a follow-up step. A Fine/EF diamond hone also works very well in it's own right, beginning to end. I've found a DMT 'credit card' hone in Fine/EF to be a good match for my Victorinox SAK blades. Even at these very fine grits, the diamond can set a bevel very, very quickly on the SAK's thin blade. Some stropping with green compound on thin/firm substrate like thin leather, paper or wood will clean up the burrs very quickly. Don't over-strop these blades, as it's very easy to take the 'bite' out of the edge by doing so. All of this boils down to the fact that it's very easy to abrade the softish and low-wear steel in these knives, so a finer grit will go about it more gently. That'll give you some leeway to fine-tune the finished edge, and you still won't be penalized too much in the time spent doing it.


David
 
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I use the 4in duosharp DMT stones (I have C/F/EF), I find the Fine/Extra Fine stones are what I use to sharpen the steel Victorinox steel. Course will just chew up the steel like it's nothing. Fine still goes through it relatively quickly and care needs to be taken when using it but it's bearable. I actually use a Victorinox paring knife to practice free hand on these stones the biggest thing I learned from this steel is use very light pressure and check frequently as you remove a lot of steel very quickly in comparison to other steels. And use a sharpie to make sure your sharpening where you want.

If you don't have a strop you can use something like a piece of cardboard as one, it's not perfect but it get the job done for a cheap basic setup. And at the end of the day if it works, it works that's all that really matters.
 
max_b said:
Hi all, this is my first post and I just started getting interest in knives recently. Recently bought a used SAK That came dull. Thought it was a good opportunity for a sharpening project. Got the Home Depot basic Norton stone. After multiple attempts couldn't get the knife paper cutting sharp. Got an idea and put some duct tape on the back of the blade to give it a consistent angle on the stone. Results not too bad. It is not perfect but decent. I am a complete noob at this and don't have big budget to buy stuff like spyderco sharp maker yet. Any ideas how I can use this basic stone to get better results?
Click to expand...

I made a few videos reviewing this stone a while back that might be helpful. In the last one I use some black compound from Sears, you could just as easily use the black Ryobi compound sold at HD. I should make a new video, as I use this stone a lot at work and can get even better results these days in a lot less time. Still a good tutorial if I don't say so myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s8334LgzDU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03VXUEC5j-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apLoiggAlA8
 
If you are still new at this and trying to save money, I found a diamond hone at Harbor Freight for $10. It has 200, 300, 400 and 600 grit. It's not perfect but I've been using mine for several weeks and it definitely gets the job done. From there, my old buck hard Arkansas stone puts a nice little finish on it. But me being me, I'll move on to the king 6000 and then my Chinese 12k BOOM!! Stupid sharp
 
The Harbor Freight diamond stone is a very good deal.
You can also use wet/dry automotive sandpaper on a hard surface, and you can use a paint stick with polishing compound rubbed on it, or use cardboard or a leather belt.
Sharpening knives does not require the most expensive Japanese Itchicrotch waterstone that will wear out in a year and requires constant flattening.
Actually 600-800 grit wet/dry paper wrapped tightly around a paint stick may very well be the best thing for sharpening your SAK. No stropping or stones needed.
 
max_b said:
Hi all, this is my first post and I just started getting interest in knives recently. Recently bought a used SAK That came dull. Thought it was a good opportunity for a sharpening project. Got the Home Depot basic Norton stone. After multiple attempts couldn't get the knife paper cutting sharp. Got an idea and put some duct tape on the back of the blade to give it a consistent angle on the stone. Results not too bad. It is not perfect but decent. I am a complete noob at this and don't have big budget to buy stuff like spyderco sharp maker yet. Any ideas how I can use this basic stone to get better results?
Click to expand...

max, your on the right track and it's not that difficult. That stone can give you a arm shaving sharp edge. The fine side should be around 240 grit. Use a black marker to draw a line along the edge so you know if your hitting the edge bevel. If your blade is about 1" wide, use 5-6 layers of duct tape at the spine. Less if it's more narrow. Trimmed to lap over onto the side a 1/4". Then use a decent amount of mineral oil on your stone. It should pool on the stone. Then continue with your sharpening using a lighter and lighter touch. Just enough to hold the knife to the stone. Once you've worked the blade on this for 20mins. alternating sides. Remove the swarf from the stone with a piece of leather or cardboard. Then began stropping on this (edge trailing strokes). Strop for another 20mins. using the same light strokes. After this put some water on your arm and see if it will shave your hair. If not strop more. Good sharpening. DM
 
knifenut1013 said:
While it can be done it would be very difficult without a strop and some compound.
Click to expand...
If it is the same stone I bought a year or so ago you sure can get a paper cutting edge with it.
On another note, besides the funky harbor freight diamond 4sider whitch as bill says truly is a good deal, I would reccomend their variety pak of SiC paper.
These are two great inexpensive ways to add to your sharpening arsenal. Not everyone wants to dump hundreds of dollars into sharpening right away. Russ
 
mycough said:
If it is the same stone I bought a year or so ago you sure can get a paper cutting edge with it.
On another note, besides the funky harbor freight diamond 4sider whitch as bill says truly is a good deal, I would reccomend their variety pak of SiC paper.
These are two great inexpensive ways to add to your sharpening arsenal. Not everyone wants to dump hundreds of dollars into sharpening right away. Russ
Click to expand...

Paper cutting no problem. Clean shaving a a bit harder.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Paper cutting no problem. Clean shaving a a bit harder.
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He never asked about "clean shaving", I bet he has a razor...
No need to over complicate things for a newbie. I daresay a sizeable percentage of strop owners would be better off without them. Russ
 
It does not cost much to get a good edge on most knives. Get a sheet of 600 grit and a sheet of 1000 grit wet/dry silicon carbide sand paper. Do a search of the forum or google Oldjimbo . Kudos for learning to freehand sharpen.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Sharpening knives does not require the most expensive Japanese Itchicrotch waterstone that will wear out in a year and requires constant flattening.
Actually 600-800 grit wet/dry paper wrapped tightly around a paint stick may very well be the best thing for sharpening your SAK. No stropping or stones needed.
Click to expand...
This is very true and made me laugh out loud. About the only use my waterstones have is for my straight razors... There are many options that are equally good and much less expensive...
 
Thanks guys. I was able to get my SAK VERY sharp after the procedure that I originally followed (first post) followed by further sharpening on the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug - a technical that I saw posted in another thread with a video. Also tried the same method on my Opinel no. 6 with very good results. I am trying hard with my Opinel no. 8 but can't get it as sharp as no. 6. This obviously shows my 'newbiness' and lack of consistency in what I might be doing.

btw, how do I upload pics? I tried from Tapatalk but it wouldn't allow.
 
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