First of all, this is a big stone. It's 12 inches long and it weighs over 3 lbs. It is not a natural stone. I like to use oil on a stone, and this stone soaked up an enormous amount of oil. Don't use sharpening oil; use 2 cycle motor oil, the kind that is mixed with gasoline. I don't think water would work to keep this stone from clogging up. All that being said, it does what you would expect: it puts a pretty good edge on a large knife without too much work. It's a pretty soft stone so it's hard to say how long it will last before it losses its flat surface. Knives sharpened on this stone need a few strokes on a finer grit natural stone to finish the job. No instructions included.
***Knowing how to sharpen a knife is a skill that must be learned, I do not recommend purchasing this if you do not currently know how to use it OR do not intend to learn. You will only ruin your knives, or at best, require the assistance of a professional to repair them.***
This 12" non-natural stone is ideal for replacing an edge on your cutlery or sharpening tools such as axes or pruning sheers. It can be used with oil, if you use it, plan to use it, or even would ever consider using it on a piece of cutlery that MIGHT contact food, DO NOT USE INDUSTRIAL OILS! ONLY USE FOOD GRADE MINERAL OIL. It can also be used with water very well, adding a few drops of household dish detergent to the water will help it stay with the stone and reduce some friction as well as aid in keeping the stone clean/free of metal particles. Out of the box, the stone should be "dressed", this can be done with a dressing stone or with the blade of some old tool... ax, lawn mower blade, etc. before using it on an expensive knife.
This stone cuts quickly and is ideal for the ultra-wear-resistant German stainless steel used to produce some of the worlds most renowned cutlery, Wusthof, Henckel, etc and will allow you to repair and resharpen your knives quickly. I would avoid this stone for use with any knife of Japanese make, the steel such knives are made from is very susceptible to wear and should not be sharpened on *whet* stones any courser than 750 grit, the grit of this stone is improvidently 80/150grit.
Pros:
1) Large at 12" long
2) Hard, very slow to wear, with proper care, the average person will get a few lifetimes out of this stone.
3) Easy to clean and maintain.
4) Consistent, even texture through out the stone.
5) Heavy... it makes a great paperweight when dry and not in use...
Cons:
1) Does not fit in most stone holders.
Bottom line, I would recommend this stone to anyone who knows how to use a sharpening stone to sharpen knives/tools and the difference between sharpening German and Japanese knives, for your German knives and many of your tools, this will not disappoint you.
Buy Winco 12-Inch Fine/Grain Knife Sharpening Stone, Medium Now
I have several abused knives with terrible edges on them, and this stone is exactly what I needed. The stone I received is grey and black and marked Winco #83, not purple like the one pictured. The black side is very coarse for removing a lot of metal quickly. The grey side is medium, not what I would call fine.
After some practice with a couple junk knives, I was able to restore a proper bevel to the edge of my kitchen and pocket knives. Then all it took was a little finishing with my hard Arkansas stone to put a sharp edge on them.
I would not buy this as your only stone, as the "fine" side is not fine enough for finishing. However, the size made it easy for a novice sharpener like myself to get a good bevel. Buy this stone, and another fine one for finishing, and you will be set.
Final thought: This thing is a sponge, and will absorb a ton of water. I definitely would not use oil on it.
Read Best Reviews of Winco 12-Inch Fine/Grain Knife Sharpening Stone, Medium Here
This sharpening stone is 2 sided, coarse and medium. This stone is great for yard tools and very beat up blades, but I found even the finer side to be to coarse to put fine cutting edge for my kitchen knives. It will quickly fix a damaged edge but after using this you need to use a finer stone or a good stop to get a really sharp edge.
This stone arrived well packaged and on time.
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Overall this is an ok product. I received it with very great service (shipping and handling, speed of delivery). When I opened the package, the first thing that I noticed were bumps on each side of the stone. These can be shaven off. I suggest not to use the blade that you are trying to sharpen.
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This item was great for my Fall Wedding not the usual cake serving set and we will have no regrets using it after the wedding. They look very nice. I bought the Server and the Knife together neither were in perfect condition (a few dings glue that shouldn't be there...) but I'm not going to return it. I'd say if you are pickier, find a really good seller. The Items were great the condition not so great.
