Knife Sharpening Stone Set

[Set name: A set]
This is a pretty basic sharpening stone with 400 grit on one side, 1000 on the other. It's a wet-stone style brick so you need to soak it with water until it stops absorbing then use the 400 side for really dull or nicked up knife edges and the 1000 side to finish the job.The stone comes with a sturdy rubber base that keeps it in place when using and prevents it from sliding and moving around on the counter.

[Set name: A set, Set name: A set]
I decided to connect with my caveman roots and try a knife sharpening stone. I have several cheap and now-dull knives that I wanted to try this on. I chose a short one with several little chips in the blade which I could see and feel.I checked out a training videos online ("how to use a sharpening stone") about how to use these. The ones in the video looked just like this one. I learned that you need to keep the angle around 20 degrees and be as steady as possible. You also need to soak the stone in water for a couple of minutes before starting. It turns out the stone is not very solid. As I put the stone down under the light to begin, I could see what was left of the water quickly seeping into the stone.The first thing that I appreciated was that the rubber base helps a lot by keeping the stone in place while I use it. I was able to use both hands to sharpen without having to worry about the stone slipping around. I used a technique of blackening the edge of the blade so that I could visibly see if the angle was right. For this knife, I had to go very low, maybe 15 degrees, before I could see the ink coming off of enough of the edge. This knife turned out to be a lousy candidate for stone sharpening because the edge stops and becomes square before the heel, and the blue handle also gets in the way. My Victorinox knife's heel has an edge to the end, and the handle is much further away from the blade.I spent less than 10 minutes sharpening this blade, about 50 strokes on the 400 side and 30 strokes on the 1000 side. The blade can cut through cardstock pretty well, so it must have been a success at the newbie level. The deeper chip in the edge is still there.I searched some more about sharpening stones. Some kits run into the hundreds of dollars, but they come with a lot of grit levels, up to 3000. This is a very basic stone with two grits, but likely will be more than good enough for 95% of people who want to use it on their kitchen knives.

[Set name: A set]
This dual-sided whetstone has exactly what you need to keep your everyday blades in top shape. The 400-grit coarse side is great for quickly working out minor nicks or restoring an edge to a completely dull knife, while the 1000-grit side is perfect for standard sharpening and regular maintenance. The corundum material feels dense, high-quality, and provides a very reliable, smooth grind. It's a great, simple tool that gets the job done without a bunch of unneeded extras.The included rubber base fits tightly around the block and does a wonderful job of keeping the stone from slipping or sliding on wet kitchen countertops. It makes maintaining a consistent angle much easier and safer. The stone is compact, easy to store, and works perfectly on kitchen knives, pocket knives, and scissors.This 400/1000 grit block is exactly what I was looking for. It is well-made, easy to soak, and sharpens my knives back to a razor edge with just a few minutes of work.

[Set name: A set]
This dual-sided 400/1000 grit whetstone is one of those simple tools that actually delivers more than the price suggests. The combination of a coarse 400 side and a 1000 finishing side on one compact stone is the real reason it works so well for a mixed knife drawer.The 400 grit side is what you reach for when a blade has gone past “a little dull.” It removes material quickly enough to restore a neglected chef’s knife, knock down small chips, or bring a hunting knife back from being used hard. Flip it over and the 1000 grit takes that newly formed edge and refines it into something that slices cleanly instead of tearing. That two-step process is why this isn’t just another single-grit block. Most pull-through gadgets only hone what’s already there; this one can actually rebuild an edge.The included stable base matters more than it sounds. It keeps the stone from sliding around on a wet counter, which makes it safer and easier to hold a consistent 15–20 degree angle. Soak the stone in water for 5–10 minutes until the bubbles stop, keep the surface wet while you work, and use smooth heel-to-tip strokes with even pressure. After a few minutes per side you can feel the difference. I’ve run kitchen knives, a couple of hunting blades, and even scissors across it with good results. Cleanup is just a rinse and air dry.It stores flat in a drawer without taking up much space and doesn’t need oil, so there’s no mess or extra supplies. For the money, the quality of the stone and the usefulness of having both grits in one piece is hard to beat. If you want a no-fuss way to keep everyday knives and tools actually sharp instead of just looking sharp, this is an easy recommend.

[Set name: A set]
Sort of cheap

[Set name: A set]
Happy with the knife sleeves.

[Set name: A set]
A dual-sided knife sharpening stone with 400 and 1000 grit surfaces, plus a flattening stone, leather strop, rubber base, and angle guide. Everything you need for basic kitchen knife maintenance in one package.The 400 grit is for edge restoration. If you have a knife that has a visible nick or has lost its edge entirely, you start here to rebuild the bevel. The 1000 grit then refines that edge to a usable sharpness for food prep.The rubber base keeps the stone from sliding on a counter during use. This is more important than it sounds because you are applying pressure to a knife edge and the last thing you want is the stone moving while you are controlling the blade angle.The angle guide is a plastic slot that sits on the stone and holds your knife at approximately the right angle as you draw it across. It takes the guesswork out of maintaining a consistent bevel angle, which is the hard part of hand sharpening.This kit does not make you a sharpening expert but it gives you the tools and some guidance for keeping your kitchen knives sharp without a powered sharpener. The leather strop at the end hones the edge to push it past just usable into genuinely sharp.

[Set name: A set]
This review is only for the 400/1000 whetstone as I did not receive the full six piece set so I can't comment on the other pieces of the set.I've been a woodcarver for a long time and have sharpened many chisels, gouges, knives, and scissors using whetstones. For years I used oil stones with light oil as a lubricant until man-made water stones became popular. There are major differences between the two type of stones. This particular whetstone is a water stone.This stone comes with two faces, a 400 grit side and a 1000 grit side. It comes with a rubber base which keeps it from sliding around as you work. That's pretty much the whole thing.How do you use it? Being a water stone it uses water as a lubricant so it needs to be soaked in water before use. You'll see the stone soak up water until it's full and then it's ready to use. I normally don't use the rubber base but just put the stone on a towel since I'll be flipping it over as I work to use both sides. The manufacturer considers the 400 grit side coarse but it's more of a medium grit. I found it works well if your tool is a little dull and needs some prep work before using the finer grit. The 1000 grit side does a good job of polishing the blade before using a strop for the final edge.I've used both sides of this stone with great effect for touching up kitchen knives and my carving gouges. If the tool is really dull I'll start with a coarser oil stone instead and work my way down to this stone.You'll find as you use this stone it will wear more quickly than an oil stone and tend to lose its flatness. Its just the nature of the beast. Water stones are softer than oil stones and will wear more quickly with use. The six piece set (which I didn't get) comes with a flattening stone to take care of this very problem.All in all I found this to be a good whetstone for touching up my tools. Keep it lubricated and it will serve you well. Price is about average for stones of this type.