I was thinking about adding the 5000 and 10000 chosera stones to my line up. Currently I have the diamond plates up to 1000 and then the two sets of ceramic (the ultra and micro fine ceramics that is) plus strops down to 0.125. I just wanted to bounce it off of the forum to see if it was worth it and if it would be a good fit into my current line up. Just a thought, and I was hoping to hear some second opinions before I burn the 215$

Thanks!

Hey RLB...

The answer in part, depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Introducing waterstones into your lineup, can result in a more refined edge, in part because waterstones break down, so they'll sharpen/polish at a higher level then what they're rating is. The tradeoff is you have to account for stone wear (which is where the new arms really come in handy). You can also get a "crisper" edge off of waterstones, (easier anyway) since they don't tend to round the edge like a strop might.

The other part depends on the knife you're sharpening and what you're cutting.

Of course, if you enjoy sharpening, it's fun to get a variety of stones to play around with and see the different results you can get!

Based on my experience I would purchase then800/1000 ceramic stones first followed by the 2000/3000 ceramic stones. The 800/1000 will do a lot of clean up and refine the edge. The 2000/3000 will produce a really sharp edge. Get used to those first. Anything above that is just polishing the bevel.

Hi RLB,

As a new WE user myself, last night i push the edge on my EDC a Small CR Sebenza 21 using the ceramics and Cherosa in this order. The goal was to re-profile it from 22 to 18 degrees. Started with the 400 diamonds up to 1000 diamonds, then the ceramics 1200 and 1600, then the Chorosa 5000 and 10000. I checked to make sure it was 18 degrees with each progression and adjusted as needed.
I stayed at 18 degrees for a few strokes with leather strop w/1 mu and .5 mu, then I set the profile to 17.5 and finished with the balsa w/.5mu and the roo w/.125. The band-aid on my thumb tell me it got sharp- not recommenced to check that way. This give a idea of the progression I used from diamond to ceramic to chorosa. I have never seen this knife this sharp before, it will whittle hair.

James,

I am curious why you did Balsa in the middle your stop progression? I was thinking about getting some balsa stops and using them first, the going to leather/roo.

Hi Geocyclist,

This is all new to me, so any advise is appreciated. The balsa are new so would have to say I was just trying them to see the effect. In one of the post. "Progression 100# to Micro Fine" Clay was showing photos and his last step was balsa, so that accounts for so of my thinking.. I think the leather with the diamond paste will effect the edge faster since the leather is firm, even though I am using light strokes. The balsa is not as firm so I am thinking it will progress the edge to that next step. The roo is supper smooth, with the fine spray so it was my choice last. Thanks for asking, As I am just getting started