I am thinking about investing in japenese water stones. I was wondering what kind you have. I was also wondering if anyone knows what kind Ray Mears uses in this video. Thanks.

-Jace

I have three "King" stones. They're about 25 years old and the markings are long gone, but I believe they're 2000, 8000, and 12000. They're dished, chipped, and in some places cracked, but they've seen their share of woodworking chisels. I don;t use them anymore, in favor of plate glass and wet/dry paper of various grits.

These days, I think diamonds are the way to go. DMT 8" series will be my choice if I ever decide to buy benchstones again. Probably XX Coarse, Coarse, and fine.

If you get waterstones, you should also buy a small Igloo (that's what I've been using all these years) or other "Tupperware-type" container to keep them in. They should remain immersed in water so they're completely saturated and ready to use.

ON EDIT: I saw Izzy's post and they are (or were) very expensive. Japanese stones are very soft and easy to dish, but they're also easy to flatten with another stone or some plate glass and compound or wet/dry. Their cost is another reason I like diamonds. Despite the hype and lauding they'll often receive in write-ups, don;t be fooled. In the end, they're just stones. If you think about it, we often elevate foreign products - food recipes, clothing, cars, and other things - to a mystical level, simply because they're exotic and different from what we're used to. Japanese waterstones are good, they sharpen metal objects, but don;t expect them to be anything more than what they are. Consider that when weighing their value against price.

Fallkniven DC3 is the stone in the video. It is diamond on one side and ceramic on the other.
Japanese water stones are priced very well at http://www.japanwoodworker.com

no, if you go further in, to when he is at basecamp, the bench stones he uses to sharpen his knife, but thank you anyways.

Huh???

He's talking about a stone that Mears uses, different than the one Widget was describing, that you can maybe only see if you watch more of the movie.

"...the bench stones he uses to sharpen his knife..."

confused me (doesn't take much). WHAT benchstone? I am on a slower than dialup aircard, I don't want to try to watch any movie...

I didn;t watch the movie either.....28.8 is all I get. I won;t even open a posted link unless it really piques my interest.

ok, sorry if i confused people, but if you go 3 minutes and 50 seconds in he will be at a camp, those stones.

First, a little background. I have been making knives off and on since the mid '80s. I don't know the exact number I've made, but it's more than 200. I use mostly ATS-34 and 154-CM steel and have it heat treated by Paul Bos. I've tried just about everything to put a good edge on the blades.

I have to agree with Stretch. I have 4 or 5 old Japanese water stones. They are just stones, albeit you can get a very fine grit.

Honestly, for the majority of sharpening they aren't worth the hassle. They are really meant to put a polished edge on fine woodworking tools. On a woodworking chisel, or plane, you want as fine and toothless an edge as possible. It needs to clean cut hardwood even on the crossgrain. For a working knife a little bit of tooth to the edge is really a good thing. For example, a razor blade really doesn't cut rope very well, but a blade with a little tooth (though not quite as "sharp" as the razor) will cut rope much faster. Another thing to consider is that the steel in most knife blades won't really get the benefit of a highly polished edge that Japanese water stones will give. A knife blade is a compromise of a steel and temper for holding a good edge and not breaking during most use. When you try to take it to a very fine, polished edge you'll get a burr that can be very difficult to take off.

I use diamond stones for most sharpening. A DMT fine (sometimes I'll go to the very fine and a light strop, it just depends on the blade) will give you an edge that will easily shave arm hair, last reasonably long, and be easy to maintain.

There is a difference in diamond stones. DMT actually seems to cut the steel and last the longest without breaking down. I recently got a 10" combination DMT stone off an Ebay store for $79 plus shipping. The most basic skill, and also the hardest, for putting a good edge to your blade is holding the right angle when sharpening. Once you get that down, the rest is easy. I've used water stones, diamond, sandpaper, and abrasive cardboard wheel and buff to sharpen, but the key to it all is holding the right angle. The diamond stone just makes it go faster.