Hey Reader,

Last time I shared my typical 2-step sharpening method, as well as a video from LC Double Reeds on how to establish a really nice edge on your reed knife. Today I’ll be covering tools one can use when sharpening: stones, sticks, and rods.

Ceramic Stones

I love my ceramic sharpening stones. Ceramic stones are widely available, inexpensive, and come in a variety of grits and sizes. The best part about ceramic stones is that they’re easy to clean. Many of the single-stones can be washed in the dishwasher or hand washed with scouring powder like barkeeper’s friend to remove metal particulates. My first ceramic stones (which I still have) are the SpyderCo Medium and Fine bench stones, and I’ve run them through the dishwasher many times to keep them clean.

The drawback to the SpyderCo stones is that they’re not consistently flat on the top. I could absolutely get a lapping plate to flatten them, but that sounds like a lot of work. They’re also quite thin, and the case they come in has grippy feet, but doesn’t allow the reed knife to sit flush on the stone, so I have to take the stones out of the case and put them on a piece of shelf-liner to hold them still as I sharpen. They function, but it’s a bit of a hassle.

My current favorite sharpening tool is a combination grit ceramic stone from LC Double Reeds. It’s a nice height off the table and comes with a custom-fit grippy foot to keep it in place. The drawback to this stone is that it’s not designed to go through the dishwasher, and I hesitate to use scouring powder to clean it. LC Double Reeds recommends a specific Japanese sharpening-stone-cleaner thing to remove the metal dust, which is annoying but effective.

I suppose that ceramic stones are technically water stones because one could sharpen using water as a lubricant on the surface of the stone. I hate the mess, and I just won’t get my reed desk covered in gritty water on a regular basis, so I prefer to use them dry.

Ceramic Sticks (AKA croc sticks)

I go through periods of reedmaking where I use my ceramic stones and then I go through periods where I use my sticks. My favorite sticks are the Lansky brand ones that come with a storage box and medium and fine sticks. These also can go through the dishwasher or be cleaned with scouring powder, or the sharpening-stone-cleaner thing. Another thing I love about the sticks is that they’re small and lightweight, so when I travel, I usually only bring one of each grit with me to quickly touch-up the edge on my knives.

The drawback to using ceramic sticks is that it’s difficult to get a consistently straight edge on the knife blade. They do a great job at bending the edge, but since the blade only makes contact with a small part of the stick at a time, if your wrist wiggles, the angle of the burr will wiggle also.

Honing rods

We don’t necessarily need to remove metal each time we sharpen our knife. In fact, an easy no-metal-lost method of refining the angle of the burr is to use a honing rod. Honing rods are typically made of steel and they help realign the metal on the edge of your blade. You’ll often see metal honing rods come with kitchen knife sets.

If you have a large honing rod, like one would get with kitchen knives, it adds weight to your reed kit, and I don’t love that. On the other hand, you can easily get travel honing rods like the one pictured which isn’t very heavy at all. You don’t even really need to set the angle of the rods. If you hold the rod flat on a surface, you can use your normal angles to sharpen your knife.

Oil Stones (India stones)

The first sharpening stone I got was an India stone, designed to use with an oil for lubrication and cleaning metal shavings off the stone. I didn’t use the oil when sharpening very often, and the process for cleaning the stone was disgusting, so as soon as I learned about SpyderCo ceramic stones I got one for myself and never looked back.

India stones will do just as good a job at sharpening your knives as a ceramic stone, but I don’t like that they require oil.

Water Stones

Another commonly used type of stone is a water stone. Water stones are designed to be soaked in water prior to sharpening. The water permeates the stone to lubricate the sharpening motion as well as help keep the stone cleaner - it somehow prevents the metal bits from sticking to the stone. I personally have used both Norton and Shapton brand waterstones to regrind my knives and reset their edges. Over time water stones will wear down and lose their flatness, so one must either grind the stone flat on a lapping plate or replace the stone.

I typically use my water stones when my knives won’t keep their edge, about once a year. For my process, the water stone comes after the diamond stone to refine the edge on the blade.

Diamond Stones

Diamond stones are typically used to regrind knives because they can take a lot of metal off a blade with efficiency. They need to be lubricated with water before use to prevent either the stone or the blade from heating up during the process of grinding.

I only use my Diamond stone about once a year when I can’t seem to keep my knives sharp enough for my liking. After using the diamond stone, I refine the blade twice on the two sides of my Norton water stone, then finish the edge on my ceramic or steel honing rods.

What I recommend

For most reedmakers, the most important thing is to sharpen your knife when it doesn’t scrape nicely and to use the same angle each time you sharpen. One can get really into the weeds about the type of stone or what precise angle to use, but

What kind of sharpening stone (or rod or stick) do you use? What do you like about it?

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Until next time,

Alli

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