Whetstone Grit Guide

We all are familiar with the whetstone. As a matter of fact, we humans have been using whetstones for centuries.

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When we go to the hardware store and buy a whetstone for us, we often reach a stage when we have to choose between different grit grades. Though you have some idea about it that it refers to the abrasiveness of the stones.

Most people don’t go in its detailed information. In this article, I’m gonna give you a detailed guide on a whetstone grit grade.

What is Meant by the Grit grade of Whetstone?

Grits are the small particles that make a whetstone. The grit grade or grit size is the measurement of the abrasiveness of whetstones. It refers to the coarseness and fineness of a whetstone.

Whetstones of different grit grades sharpen a particular type of knife. The lower the grit grade is, the coarser the stone will be.

Categories of Grit Grade

On the basis of the difference in their abrasiveness, the grit grades are dividing into four different categories which are discussed below:

Low Grit grade Whetstone or Coarse Stone

The grit grade of these whetstones is less than 1000. The most used low grit whetstone generally ranges from 100 to 500.

These whetstones are basically used for the damages and too much-overused knives. The whetstones of lower grit grades help a lot in getting rid of chips and nicks on the knives.

These whetstones should not be used to sharpen the knives who have lost their sharpness to a little extent as it can take a lot of material off of knives.

So, it’s better to use them only for the dull knives. Also, these whetstones can potentially damage the knives if too much pressure is applied while using them.

Medium Grit grade Whetstone

The whetstones of this grade have grits ranging from 1000 to 3000. These whetstones are used for sharpening the majority of knives, razors and scissors.

Medium grade grit stones give you a razor-sharp knife, enough to cut the hair on your arms. It should be kept in mind that the whetstone less that 1000 grits should not be us for regular sharpening.

High Grit Grade Whetstone

The high grit grade whetstones have 3000 to 5000 grits.

They are not much abrasive but abrasive enough to bring an already sharpened knives to the next level of perfect sharpness. Apart from sharpening the knives, they also give a little bit of finishing touch to their edges.

Extremely High Grit Grade or Finishing Whetstone

Finishing whetstones are the highest grit grade whetstone. The grits of these whetstones start form 5000 and can reach 30,000.

These whetstones are not primarily meant for sharpening but to give a super fine mirror finishing to the knives.

Though finishing stones can go as much higher as 30,000, but it is not recommended to buy the whetstones with that much higher grit grade. You can use the whetstones of grit grades between 5000 and 8000. They are enough to bring perfection in your knife blades that you use to cut meat and vegetables.

Best Grid Grade for Kitchen Knives

As there are different types and condition of kitchen knives in your kitchen, you may be needing whetstones of different grits.

First of all, if your knives are dull and overused, you must have whetstones of less than 1000 grits to reshape and repair them.

As for the paring knives, they are not used for heavy-duty works so they don’t get that much damages a dull, so you can use a whetstone of 2000 grits for them.
When it comes to the chef’s knives and boning knives, they perform difficult tasks like separating the muscles. So, they must need two types of whetstones. One to sharpen them and the other to give them a mirror-like finishing touch. You can use whetstones of 3000 and 8000 grits respectively.
Apart from kitchen knives if you want to sharpen your pocket knives and the pocket knives for kids you can go with a whetstone of medium grit grade like 2000.

Conclusion

In this article, I have provided you with a complete whetstone grit guide. I hope that this information would prove to be helpful for you, and you will be able to choose the best grit grade whetstones for your knives and other utensils.