Hones - comparison table
The table below offers a quick overview of different hones, their specific features, typical uses, and comparable hones.
Hones - a comparison table
| Name | Grit (approx.) | Typical use | Comments | Similar hone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton | up to 8k | repair / bevel setting/finishing | Cheap, fast cutting man-made hone. Useful as a 220/1k combo for eBay trash. Watch for wire edges | 4k similar to Belgian blue whetstone |
| Belgian yellow (Coticule) | 10k | Finishing/Polishing | Slow cutting natural hone. Grit rating and cutting speed varies between individual hones | Escher |
| Belgian blue (with slurry) | 4k | |||
| Belgian blue (without slurry | 8k | |||
| Escher | 12k | Finishing | Belgian yellow | |
| Spyderco | ||||
| DMT | Can be coarse and cause microchips until bedded in using light strokes on a metal object. Only coarser grit DMTs should be used for lapping other hones. Finer grit DMTs can have their cutting surface stripped off by wetstones, especially if a slurry is allowed to build up. All DMT "stones" are very fast cutters to aggressive for fine blades but good for knives. On there own web page they suggest that 5-10min on a whetstone take only 20sec on the DMT's. | |||
| Barber hone | 12k | Finishing | Friggin hard and slow as all get out. Good for touching up shave ready razors that are just starting to dull | |
| Chinese 12k | 12k | Finishing | Hard, slow cutter | |
| Sun Tiger | up to 8k | repairing/bevel setting/finishing | cheap man made stone of decent quality. soft, fast cutter needs regular flattening. | |
| King (Ice Bear) | up to 8k | repairing/bevel setting/finishing | man made stoe. soft, needs regular flattening.The Japanese sharpening stone manufacturer Matsunaga, in Osaka, makes the brands King und Sun Tiger is the oldest- and best-known maker of Japanese waterstones in the West. | Naniwa |
| Global | up to 8k | repair/bevel setting/finishing | good stones but overpriced | |
| Shapton M5 | general sharpening | The M5 series is Shaptons cheap household series for occasional home use. | Global M5 | |
| Shapton M24 | up to 5k | repair/bevel setting/finishing | The M24 series is for chefs and carpenter(not for the ones with fine tools as for cabinet making for example) | |
| Shapton M15 | up to 12k | repair/bevel setting/finishing | For finer tools. hard stones, short soaking, fast cutting and hard wearing. | |
| Shapton Lr250 | up to 5k | repair/bevel setting/finishing | huge ceramic fired stones 10-7/8" x 4" x 1". for anyone who need general sharpening power | |
| Shapton Hippo | up to 12k | repair/bevel setting/finishing | huge ceramic fired stones 10-7/8" x 4" x 1". on a interchangeable plastic base which makes the system look like the animal | lr205 |
| Shapton Pro | up to 30k | repair/bevel setting/finishing/polishing | ceramic abrasives in a resin binder.quite hard need less flattening. cuts fast. no soak needed just a bit water on the surface.work without slurry.known for their finer edge. however the pro series has a reputation for too fast wearing for their stones 1k and under. also the 15k pro compared to the 16k glass is more expensive and gives less feedback. also the finish achieved is somewhat mat compared to the more traditional waterstones | |
| Shapton Glass | up to 30k | repair/bevel setting/finishing/polishing | cheaper then the pro series but very similar performance.ceramic bond on a tempered glass plate. abrasive layer is slimmer but harder wearing. it needs to be established how the price difference is justified | |
| Naniwa Super Stone | ||||
| Naniwa Chosera | ||||
| Naniwa Diamond | ||||
| Suehiro und Cerax | ||||
| Arkansas | ||||
| Thüringer | ||||
| Jinzo | ||||
| Akatzuki | ||||
| Awaseto | ||||
| Binsu |
