What are the bars for sharpening knives

Now there is an increased interest in knives, and industry and commerce are experiencing a real "knife boom". As a consequence, the bars for knife sharpening are of no less interest . Moreover, they have several types: they are differently manufactured and applied. This article is designed to answer the most frequent questions about what are and how different the bars for sharpening.

Types of bars

Along with time-honored stones, all sorts of artificial bars are now common. In general, they can be divided into four types: natural, diamond, ceramic and artificial. Let's consider each of them separately.

Natural knives for sharpening knives

The most famous of the natural stones are the "Arkansas stone" (novakulit) and the Japanese water stone. Both of these modern industries have learned to do artificially, so they can be called natural only with a certain stretch. However, even manufactured in an industrial way, these bars are very expensive, and working with them requires special patience and skills. So, for example, a water stone should be soaked for a long time before work, and during the grinding process it should be constantly lubricated and washed off with metal dust from the surface. In addition, these bars are quickly and unevenly worn out, and it is difficult to restore them. Meanwhile, they give the highest quality sharpening and therefore are popular among professionals. A beginner is unlikely to buy or use such stones.

Diamond stones for sharpening knives

This is a very popular type of bars. They have a lot of advantages and practically do not have shortcomings. They come in a variety of sizes and grit, they are easy to find on sale. Diamond bars for sharpening knives are inexpensive, wear-resistant, highly effective. However, it should be taken into account that the high efficiency of metal processing requires a certain caution, since it is easy to damage the edge of the blade with a diamond bar. Such a stone is probably the best choice for a beginner master. Particularly good results can be achieved by using a diamond bar together with a ceramic bar (for finishing work).

Ceramic bars for sharpening knives

Ceramic stones are the most modern type of grinding bars currently used. They are made of a special ceramic powder and combine the virtues of natural and diamond stones. Their use makes it possible to achieve the same high quality of sharpening, as in natural stones, but at the same time, "ceramics" practically does not wear off and does not change the shape. However, there is a serious drawback for ceramic bars. Sharpening with their help is extremely slow and takes a lot of time, and therefore they are used, mainly for finishing after sharpening with other stones, for example, diamond.

Abrasive artificial stones

This is usually electrocorundum or different carbides in soft binders. These bars for sharpening knives have been known to everyone since Soviet times and do not need to be presented. They choose metal well, but wear out quickly and are not suitable for filigree sharpening, but they are extremely cheap and available.