KingKW65 1000/6000 Grit Combination Whetstone with Plastic Base

This is a great whetstone for the value. Coupled with a honing steel and a strop you can get most steel very sharp with these. It doesn’t do great with some of the modern steels like D2 or S30V.

Fit the bill. I have inexpensive knives but I still keep them in great condition by regularly sharpening them and this double sided stone makes it a breeze to maintain its edges. Great value for the money. Highly recommended.

Great beginner stone for maintaining your knives. After this, all you really need is a solid course, a cleaning, and a truing stone to have a complete setup to sharpen your blades for years! Both sides of this stone are widely considered to be fantasic medium and find finishing stones on thier own. The 1000 grit gets nice and muddy and feels excellent while you touch up your knife and the 6k side is so smoothe and quiet that I'd swear it's closer to a 8k stone.

For sharpening knives, there is no better method of sharpening that I am aware of when done properly. The knife's edge remains sharp a long time when it is done properly. I have got it done correctly and one knife that I use almost daily lasts for six months. One caveat is that I use a proper cutting board, and I don't abuse the knife. I do not cut bones and I do not do that rapid chopping motion with the knife blade slamming into the cutting board. If you think about a knife's edge that has a very thin edge (about 20 microns depending on the source of the information) that is delicate and I cringe when the celebrity chef's do that. It is accepted, and they can afford to sharpen and replace their knives. My knife will serve me the rest of my life.As for sharpening and my skill level the 1000/6000 is where I like to be. Although I can get sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm, I have found that I can just use the stone for a few minutes to polish the edge with the 6000, after some time on the 1000 side and it is sharp enough to take care of what I need it for, mainly fruits, vegetable and meat. This level of time spent gives me the edge I need. By the way, I do not use a proper cutting board I use a paper towel over my laminated, simulated cutting board looking counter top. I do try to go slowly and deliberately so as not to contact the paper towel other wise it turns into confetti.I love these stones although the package it comes in is stupid. My stone had moved out of the plastic support, so all of the pressure was on a corner of the stone when it was dropped. If they would secure the stone to the base then it would have moved out of position and it would have been protected. As pictured, the stone is shipped with the 1000 grit side next to the base. I am going to round of the edge to remove any flaws that may develop into a crack. I am thinking about rounding off all four corners which would make it less susceptible to damage. A square edge will chip easier than a round edge. One star removed for the inadequate shipping. It package looks worn as if it has made a dozen trips to Japan and back. The plastic on the outside was split on one corner. It had one tiny rubber band around the outside like it had been damaged and the rubber band was there to help it. Surprisingly, there was just that damage on one corner.I love the stone, but I would have loved it more if it had been completely intact. These stones are fragile and always seem to arrive damaged. I would guess that the manufacturer never intended the stone to be shipped in this package. Even though the corner missing is unsightly, it does not affect the way I sharpen. It may affect a master sharpener that uses all of the surface area, but it doesn't affect me. I feel like I have been a little bit cheated. I would send it back, but I know that the replacement stone might be in worse shape than the one I have. It does make me feel cheated just a little bit.

Saw this recommended as decent entry level stone. With this product, one YouTube video, and about 10 minutes, my long-neglected kitchen knife was doing the paper and tomato tests with ease.

Knife sharpening on any whetstone requires more skills than basic marketing will lead you to believe. It requires patience and diligence. If you give it time and effort, it will bear fruit. In this case, a nicely sharpened blade. Whetstones have a very high skill ceiling and will not be rewarding to those who are unwilling to put in the time. It works well if you know how to use whetstones, however, it will not be the easiest to use. I am a beginner and after a couple hours of practice, I was able to place a nice edge on some kitchen knives.It is quite messy when it comes to the red, 1000 grit, side(don't wipe off the stone). It leaves a watery clay like substance that can get everywhere. I would not recommend working on a surface you don't want stains on because the 6000 grit side will shave tiny particles of the metal off and possibly stain your working station and hands(also don't wipe the metal particles off the stone. It's a beginner's mistake).Clean up is pretty easy. All I do is use enough water to rub off the particles off the stone. I just use my fingers to slightly brush off the particles off the stones. I don't want to break up the stones by using coarse sponges or paper towels (do not use paper towels to clean the stones at all. It will leave tiny pieces of paper towel that will hinder your ability to make smooth strokes across the stones. It makes the stone bumpy). Then I just leave em out to air dry. Pretty simple.Using whetstones are an artform and not just something you can dive into with ease. There are a lot of things to understand and implement into sharpening knives using whetstones. The angle of the blade as you sharpen, the path of the blade as it rides the surface of the stone, the pressure you apply to the blade, and the amount of strokes back and forth to get the edge that you want. Also, it's a whetstone, so it's important that the stones are kept wet. Soaking the stone in water is an essential part of the process as well as keeping the surface constantly watered and not doing so will result in suboptimal edges.I would not recommend this for someone who wants an general sharpener for daily kitchen use. This will take too much of your time. However, I think it's a great product for people who are getting into whetstones and what it has to offer. The price is great and the stones are nice.