This Whetstone is: Non Soaking - Splash and Go Medium Cutting - Great for most steels, slows down with high alloy steels Hard Wearing - This stone dishes very slowly Low priced - Great for starting out! A 400 grit stone will be able to remove any micro-chips or dents in your edge to ensure you have a smooth and even cutting edge. If you feel your knife is not sharp in some areas even after a polishing stone it is likely due to microchips! They must be removed otherwise the chips will grow bigger and bigger as the chipped area is more prone to further chipping. We recommend you prioritize getting a low grit stone before getting a polishing stone since a polished edge with chips is completely unproductive! How to use: Wet the surface of the sharpening stone. Allow water to saturate surface of the stone (1 min approx.). Splash stone with water whenever it feels dry. Begin sharpening your knife in sections, do not stay in 1 section for too long. Check each section and ensure a consistent burr has developed before switching sides. Repeat the same process on the other side. Deburr your knife by using an edge trailing stoke on the whetstone (stropping). Check for any burr remaining and deburr section by section until you have a sharp edge. Done! Results to Expect: The edge will cut paper using a "slicing" motion, but will not "push-cut" paper. Most people will prefer to follow up a 400 grit stone with a higher grit stone to achieve a more refined edge. You may proceed to a leather strop after immediately sharpening to achieve a razorsharp edge as well. This edge is usable for rough work. Troubleshooting: If your edge is sharp in some areas but not in others, check that you have deburred consistently throughout the edge. Also, make sure you have a consistent sharpening angle throughout the length of the blade. Dimensions: 210 x 75 x 27mm Weight: 955g approx.
