Top > Sharpening FAQs > Can I just use a fine stone to sharpen my knife?
Question: Can I just use a very fine stone to sharpen my knife?
Answer: Just using a stone that is too fine is one of the most common sharpening mistakes we encounter. When asked, most people would like a fine edge not a coarse edge so sometimes skip the coarse stone. The theory goes like this, "I can just spend more time on my fine stone and save the time of switching stones". Well, that theory just does not work because we have all tried that and have been frustrated.
The finer the stone the more polished the edge it will create. However, the finest stones remove metal at such a slow pace that you will never actually accomplish anything if you have a truly dull knife. A fine stone does not just sharpen 1 or 2 times slower, we have not published figures on this yet, but a very fine stone would probably take 50 to 100 times more strokes to accomplish the same task as a coarse stone. On a very dull knife, the number of strokes you would take across the stone could quickly get into the thousands. Clearly this is not a good use of time and would wear your stone unnecessarily. We suggest a minimum of two grits (coarse and fine).
