Sharpening stones

Sharpening stones and their uses :

Would you like to look after your Laguiole knife yourself ? Then you need to know everything about sharpening tools in order to make the right choice ad take care of your favourite knife.

In order to be perfectly aware of all the subtle differences between each of the sharpening rods available on the market, we have gathered all the tips and pieces of advice of our experts. Read in our sharpening rods section the description of the many uses and characteristics of these tools designed to maintain your Laguiole knife.

To make the right choice concerning materials, to find pro tips which are easy to apply, join the Laguiole Club and its group of passionate knife lovers and master craftsmen.

Discover in this article what are the best stones to sharpen your favourite knife. Appropriately sharpening your knife will maintain a perfect edge for many weeks, and this should make sharp blades lovers happy !

Use a rough grain sharpening stone for a rough out or for a significantly damaged edge, then a fine stone for the finishing touch or a precious knife (less risk if something does go wrong).

Important :Always use water, even on an oil stone. An Arkansas stone, sold with it's oil bottle, will do beautifully well with water, much  better than with oil...unless... if your stone has been used with oil in the past, then you'll have to keep using oil because the stone's pores will be saturated with oil and it will be unusable with water

-  Arkansas stone, very tough stone which exists in "hard" (grey) and "soft" (white, slightly softer) versions. Ideal for an all-round use,if your the edge isn't too damaged (otherwise it's going to be a time-consuming process). Remember: use water rather than oil.

- Vielsalm stone:  Vielsame is a small town in Belgium  where  this unique stone can be found:  very fine and composed of minute garnets grains embedded in shale. µµIt is used with water and does not last very long (it crumbles away), but the tiny garnet grains can sharpen even the toughest stainless steel. It also allows to obtain a razor-sharp edge, without leather, but it is rather expensive. You can smooth it down again by rubbing it against another piece of Vielslam stone, of course using water.

-  Diamond stone or DMT stone: very convenient since it is unbreakable, it can be used without water (for emergencies) and almost anywhere (usually fits in your pocket) . Its biggest drawback is it price, but it can be used on the toughest steel.

- Scythe stone, aka synthetic stone or 1,5 € stone. Pratical for the roughs, it gives a streaked an rough edge which does not really cut through anything and does not last long.

Good to know: A large stone will be easier to use, but also more expensive to purchase (which can quickly turn into unaffordable in the case of a Vielsalm stone).

In a nutshell, if you can only buy one whetstone, buy ....two !

- One Arkansas stone, rather easy to find, and which will give you impeccable or even razor edges, if that is what your're after.

-A 1,50 EUR stone from your local supermarket,  for the roughs or the big jobs. If you damage or break it, you'll get over it easily enought.