The Ultimate Oil Stone Kit has 4 stone grits and a Strop. This matched set of 8" x 2" stones provides all the grits you need whether your knife is very dull or just needs a fine polish. We have priced this kit to offer you a tremendous value.
Step 1 - Combination Coarse/Fine Oil Stone
The first step in sharpening is to create the proper bevel angle on your edge. This is best done with a coarse stone. A coarse stone sharpens more quickly than a finer stone. Using a proper coarse stone means that you will not have to spend extra time on your finer stones. Our Combination Oil Stone is made in the USA using Aluminum Oxide abrasives. After you've completed sharpening on the coarse side, you can progress to the fine side. The fine side of this stone will greatly enhance the edge created by the coarse side. If your knife already has a well shaped bevel, you can skip the coarse stone and start with the fine. The fine will prepare your knife for the next step in sharpening.
Step 2 - Combination Soft/Hard Arkansas Stone
The next step in the sharpening process is to further refine the edge that you've created with your Oil Stone. Arkansas Stones are finer than Oil Stones and will produce a sharper edge.
The Soft Arkansas side is the coarser Arkansas Stone and is used after the Fine Aluminum Oxide Oil Stone. This side provides an excellent grit progression between your Fine Oil Stone and the next step, the Hard Arkansas.
The Hard Arkansas is the final sharpening stone grit in this kit. This is a very fine grit and will really make your knife extremely sharp. Once you've used this stone, your knife will likely be sharper than when it left the factory.
Step 3 Final Step - Smooth Leather Strop
The strop is the last stage in creating a truly superior edge. Our strop is a firm smooth piece of leather that is bonded to a solid red oak base. This bonding creates a flat stable surface for the leather and allows you to use your strop as you would a sharpening stone.
Before using your strop, you need to first apply the Green Honing Compound. You apply the compound like a crayon to the surface of the leather. This is a super fine sub micron chromium oxide abrasive. This abrasive material is finer than just about any stone made at any price and will put a true polish on the edge of your knife.
This strop is designed to be used like a sharpening stone. It is sized and designed to be placed in the provided wood stone holders. To strop your knife you simply use it like you would any other sharpening stone except you need to move the knife away from its edge across the leather. Leading with the edge of the knife will cut the leather of the strop.
Many customers want to make sure they are getting all the possible grits they'll need to sharpen their knives. With so many products in our inventory, selecting the right stones can be difficult. We wanted to make it easy to get everything you need and do it for a price that you can afford. I had a discussion with our sharpening specialists and said, "We need an oil stone kit that gives the customer a truly complete kit that will take ANY knife and put an honest razor-sharp edge on it." After trying many different configurations, I feel very confident that we have succeeded. I really enjoy using this kit and I feel you will enjoy it as much as I do.
~John
NEW!
Not being able to leave well enough alone, we have now created the Ultimate PLUS Kits that improve on the Ultimate by upgrading to a choice between an 8" x 2" or a 12" x 3" Double Sided Paddle Strop!
Q. Is there another stone that I will need after purchasing this kit?
A. No, we've designed this kit to be very complete. With the 4 stone grits and the leather strop this kit contains everything from a coarse to the finest grit.