Shapton Sharpening stones

[gallr8]

As ant one got any idea where I can get Shapton Sharpening stones in the UK?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Classic Hand Tools sell them http://www.classichandtools.com/acatalo ... tones.html

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[shannyla]

Pay the same price in Euros at Dick Fine Tools Gmbh, which is where I got mine from. They are extraordinarily good stones by the way.

 

[Drroov]

They are extraordinarily good stones by the way.

Same experience here, extremely pleasant to use and efficient, but recently I had a nasty surprise - after two weeks without sharpening (christmas break) I found mine (2000 and 5000) with a couple of hairline cracks, radiating from edges. Nobody touched them, so I assumed the drying stress cracked them - the inside of the stone was still wet, while the surface dried out and contracted. As they are not supposed to rest in water continuously, I pay attenttion to wet them a bit from time to time when not using on a normal basis.

Regards,

Tomasz

 

[yetloh]

Same experience here, extremely pleasant to use and efficient, but recently I had a nasty surprise - after two weeks without sharpening (christmas break) I found mine (2000 and 5000) with a couple of hairline cracks, radiating from edges. Nobody touched them, so I assumed the drying stress cracked them - the inside of the stone was still wet, while the surface dried out and contracted. As they are not supposed to rest in water continuously, I pay attenttion to wet them a bit from time to time when not using on a normal basis.

Regards,

I agree that they are great stones. I haven't had any cracking but I have seen it on a friend's Shapton after being left in a car overnight when we think it must have frozen. I have the 12,000, 16,000 and 30,000. The 16 and 30 are glass backed so the stone itself is only about 5mm thick, but you only need about 10 - 15 seconds on each so they don't need flattening very often and should last a long time. Both are both are very expensive; I bought the 16 from Classic Hand Tools and it does add a detectable bit extra to the quality of the edge. I had the opportunity to buy the 30 slightly used for £20 and couldn't resist. I'm not convinced that it makes any detectable difference except to the polish on the surfaces which looks nice!

Jim

 

[bugbear]

As ant one got any idea where I can get Shapton Sharpening stones in the UK?

There are some here:

http://www.nipponkitchen.com/acatalog/K ... eners.html

I used them to buy a knife, and they were quick and efficient.

BugBear