Shapton500 grit (29.4 Micron) (HR) GlassStone Waterstone

I have a variety of kitchen knives, of fairly good quality, which I like to keep sharp. My knives vary in hardness from 56-58 (Victorinox, Messermeister, entry level KAI) to 60-61 (Japanese VG10 or carbon steel). I don't have any exotic, high HRC knives so I cannot comment on them. The knives are used, and sometimes abused, by all the members of the household, and since we almost exclusively eat home cooked food, they are used and abused A LOT.I like splash and go stones and have a small collection of Shaptons. Most of my sharpening is done on a Shapton 1500 stone, but oftentimes I'm faced with a very dull or even chipped blade. The Shapton 500 can quickly and easily sharpen a very dull blade or used as a step between the coarse diamond plate and the finer 1500. I have also successfully used it as part of the grain progression in restoring a few vintage (carbon steel) strait razors.This stone is lightweight, splash and go, quick cutting and very pretty. It's usually competitively priced, so what's not to like about it?

The Shapton Glass series of stones has been phenomenal to use. I use a 500, 2000, and 8000.I’ve reprofiled my Mora Companion HD and Tops BOB (starting with a 220 DMT Plate) to put them to a convex. 8000 puts a great mirror polish on.I just beat up my Tops BOB and new Cruwear Aurora to compare the steel. The BOB had some good nicks in the edge. 15 minutes wearing it down with 500, then 5 on the 2000, and another 5 on the 8000, it’s beyond shave sharp.These wear down much more slowly than other stones (don’t soak, just splash them). So, the price to life is probably about equal, but yields faster and better results.I don’t recommend buying the accessories (sink bridge/holder, etc). They are crazy over priced. These stones though, exceptional, and well worth the price.

I have the 500, 1000, and 2000 grits in these stones and some diamond stones including sharpal 325/1200 and atoma 140 and 400. The shapton glass/rockstar 500 is easily my favorite, the amount of material it can remove plus the nice and very usable finish it leaves is just incredible. It has excellent feedback for beginners and it’s extremely slow wearing so it will last the average user a very long time.

I like that the stone is easy to use. No need to soak, just splash some water on and you're ready. It also works fast and well. Just a couple of strokes (less that twenty) will get you there.This is a rough starting stone, so you will need to move on to a finer stone (like a 2000 grit) after this to finish it further.

I've been using my King whetstone for many years. I learned about this product from a Youtuber. I wanted to give my sharpening stones an upgrade. It is absolutely amazing. The quality is top-notch. Definitely worth the money for me. The grain is very uniform. Since it is 500 grit, it eats metal pretty quick. 1000 grit Shpton stone after this and strop, all my knives get hair popping sharp. The best thing I like about it is that I don't have to put my whetstone in water for five to ten minutes to soak it up. Spray and go. By the time my whetstone's ready, I can already finish sharpening two knives with these ceramic stones.

This stone is awesome, BUT, it pretty much requires a diamond plate to level the surface between every four or five sharpenings. I did not realize this before purchase, and Shapton's diamond plate is $400. $55 for this stone is not a bad deal at all - it cuts super crazy fast, and for most of my projects I don't need sharpen past 500 grit anyway. I'm just bummed about how much more I have to spend to maintain this tool.

I've been using Shapton Glass Stones since about 2009, I think. They are excellent. They make sharpening very enjoyable. I do it as one of my favorite hobbies and I'm good enough at it now that other people can't even understand the heights of expertise I've reached. But people do often notice the unique appearance of my edges and when I can accomplish tasks that they can't, like cutting through thick zip-ties. I have 10 Shapton Glass Stones, the lapping plate and stone holder. I intend to complete the set, sooner or later. I do use all of the stones I have. For touch-ups I just use the higher grits, but I often find use for the coarse stones too. Being able to progress through all of the grits makes getting a fantastic edge faster and preserves all of the stones, because you aren't stuck making a big jump in coarseness and overworking a stone that is more fine than is ideal. The Shapton diamond lapping plate is necessary to get the full advantage of using these stones. You might get by with a cheaper diamond lapping plate though. If you want to master sharpening, Shapton Glass Stones are a great choice to get you there.

I’m sold on these. Works fantastic. Lasts a long time.