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Our Sharpening Stone Grit Chart

After discussing the topic of grit coarseness and fineness we decided to come up with
our own chart. Since one person's "fine" and one manufacturers "fine" may mean
something completely different we established a 1 to 10 grit chart with 1 being the
most coarse and 10 being the most fine. This allows you to better understand what
each grit is used for and make a more educated buying decision.

Particle
Level Description Size Available Stones

1 Extremely Coarse (/Level-1---Extremely- 100+ Extra Extra

Coarse-C71.aspx) - Fastest metal removal, Micron Coarse Diamond,
leaves very visible scratches in cutting edge. Coarse Crystolon
(/Level-1---
Extremely-
Coarse-C71.aspx)

2 Coarse (/Level-2---Coarse-C72.aspx) - Very 60-100 Extra Coarse

fast metal removal, leaves visible scratches Micron Diamond, Coarse
in cutting edge. Most coarse stones India, 220 Grit
commonly available. Waterstone
(/Level-2---
Coarse-C72.aspx)

3 Medium Coarse (/Level-3---Medium- 45-60 Medium

Coarse-C74.aspx) - Fast metal removal rate, Micron Crystolon,
scratches not as visible. Finest Coarse Diamond
recommended grit for dull tools and knives. (/Level-3---
Medium-Coarse-
C74.aspx)

4 Medium (/Level-4---Medium-C76.aspx) - 35-45 Medium India,

Good metal removal rate, light sctaches Micron Fine Crystolon
edge. Intermediate stage before finer grits. (/Level-4---
Medium-
C76.aspx)
5 Medium Fine (/Level-5---Medium-Fine- 25-35 Fine India
C77.aspx) - Minimum recommended grit for Micron (/Level-5---
final stage of most knives. Edge does not Medium-Fine-
appear sctached but frosted. Finer than C77.aspx)
medium but sharpening rate slower.

6 Fine (/Level-6---Fine-C80.aspx) - Modest 15-25 Fine Diamond,

sharpening rate, leaves metal edge with Soft Arkansas,
frosted appearance. Edge sharpness 1000 Grit
equivalent to majority of factory edges on Waterstone
knives, tools. (/Level-6---Fine-
C80.aspx)

7 Extra Fine (/Level-7---Extra-Fine-C78.aspx) 8-15 Extra Fine

- Slow sharpening rate. Edge is showing a Micron Diamond, Hard
polished looking edge. Very sharp edge Arkansas (/Level-
better than most factory edges on good 7---Extra-Fine-
knives. C78.aspx)

8 Extremely Fine (/Level-8---Extremely-Fine- 4-8 Norton 4000

C81.aspx) - Edge is extremely sharp. Very Micron Waterstone,
slow sharpening speed. Edge reflects light Hard Black
very well. Arkansas, Hard
Translucent
Arkansas (/Level-
8---Extremely-
Fine-C81.aspx)

9 Near Mirror Polish (/Level-9---Near- 2-4 Norton 8000

Mirror-Polish-C82.aspx) - Edge is very near Micron Waterstone,
perfect. Grits past this stage provides only DMT Extra Extra
modest benefit. Leave edge polished to Fine Diamond
naked eye. Stone (/Level-9---
Near-Mirror-
Polish-C82.aspx)

10 Mirror Polish (/Level-10---Mirror-Polish- 0-2 Diamond Paste,

C83.aspx) - Sharpest edge possible, Micron Green Honing
extremely slowing sharpening. Leaves Compound,
mirror edge without visible flaws. Abrasive Powder
(/Level-10---
Mirror-Polish-
C83.aspx)
Related Information
Difference in Sharpening Stone Materials (Difference-in-Sharpening-Stone-
Materials-W51.aspx)
Understanding Grit Size Video (Understanding-Grit-Size-Video-W36.aspx)
Common Mistake: Not Having a Coarse Enough Stone Video (Common-
Mistake-Not-Having-a-Coarse-Enough-Stone-Video-W88.aspx)
The Anatomy of an Edge Video (The-Anatomy-of-an-Edge-Video-W35.aspx)

View All Sharpening How-To Articles (/Sharpening-Articles-C60.aspx)

View All Sharpening How-To Videos (/Sharpening-Videos-C109.aspx)

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Questions about sharpening stone grits?

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