Bora 501057 Fine/Coarse Combination Sharpening Stone, Aluminum Oxide Gray, 6"

Works very well. Sharpens blades nicely.

I recently got a job at a State Park. One of the first things they asked me to do was to cut down some vines. I was appalled when I went to the tool shed and saw how dull all of the tools were. A workman is only as good as his, (or her) tools. I asked how I could sharpen them and was directed to a bench grinder. For garden snips? Since I dont want to GIVE the state my money but wanted sharp tools I was looking for some inexpensive sharpener. This stone is GREAT. Whenever I find I have some free time with nothing to do I grab half a dozen tools from the shed, sit on a bench under a tree and get busy. My boss thinks I am a hard worker who takes pride in her job, I think I am sitting on my fanny under a tree in a park enjoying the weather, and I know the next time I have some bushwhacking to do this stone has made all these tools, from the hand axe to the loppers to the hedge clippers to the garden shears, razor sharp.

Like a number of other people have stated, the quality control on this stone is not always the greatest. Mine arrived intact without any serious flaws. It has pretty smooth corners, but it did have a few small elevations/lips along the edges. I used some 280 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and knocked them down, only took a minute or two. I soaked it in water for a few minutes and used a little mineral oil every now and again. I was taught that a water soaked stone will suspend the oil on top, some people say using oil with a natural or aluminum oxide stone like this should be considered a permanent decision to always use oil. Since I didn't soak it in honing oil, I think it'll be fine to just use water from now on. At these grits I didn't think oil was particularly useful, water was just fine. I learned how to sharpen edges from a Norwegian woodcarver on fine blades and chisels, using a method I have never seen in any YouTube video on sharpening using a stone (I push the blade spine side first, and use a wavy motion). After rotating through both sides of the stone, I stropped my knife on a leather belt. It is now much sharper. My point is there are many ways to sharpen your tools and if you're new, just work on becoming proficient with your method and keeping a consistent angle when you grind. Plenty of resources to help you learn if you're new to using a sharpening stone. The coarser dark side is 150 grit, and the finer light side is 240 grit. I wouldn't use this stone on my nicer kitchen knives, but it's serviceable for my beater pocket knives and would work well on other tools that are harder use like axes or pruning shears and such. The only time I would use this on a fine kitchen knife is if I somehow allowed it to get really dull. I'm going to invest in another stone with finer grits, but I imagine this one will last as long as I don't lose it. Even though it needed a little work on my end to make it ready to go, for the price I'm not bothered. It's a cheap stone which would work well for your heavy duty tools and be serviceable for other finer applications, but I'd really consider looking into finer grits if you want to really put a keen edge on your kitchen knives. This will work for more people, if you're really into putting a razor edge on your blades you're already looking at other products.

This was exactly what I was needing! I use box cutters a lot on EVA foam for making costumes and I need one to keep them sharp at all times or else the cuts will not be clean. This is extremely sturdy and amazing quality for the price. It is heavier so any time I need to sharpen my box cutter I just run it over the top a few times and BAM, it is sharp again. It is also so big and amazing I do not think I will ever need to buy another one unless I accidentally lose it.

Bought for home kitchen knives.... Love it! Just like the sharpening stone I used to employ in my restaurant job...

Will not remove anything heavy

This stone is the only stone other than diamond that can sharpen my benchmade. I’ve literally chewed through several cheaper diamond plates and Arkansas stones won’t even touch the blade. I use my knife everyday to do things like open paint cans and cut wires. It stays sharp fir a long time considering what I put it through. I usually send it to the factory to have them resharpen because it has a lifetime warranty. I just don’t like to wait two weeks for the return. This rock solved my problem. Don’t waist your money on those 1000 or 3000 grit stones if you have a benchmade like mine. ( believe me, I’ve tried them all)…This silicon stone is all you need.

works well price is right.