There are a surprising variety of sharpening stones on the market and therefore one would expect a wide variety of prices. The truth is that the vast bulk of sharpening stones are relatively inexpensive, costing between $7 and $23 at the time of this writing. That is not to suggest that there are no sharpening stones that one might classify as expensive on the market, that would be inaccurate. There are a handful of expensive sharpening stones on the market, but they represent a very small portion of the market and tend to target prosumers and professionals.
Arkansas sharpening stones are made from original or reconstituted stones and are fairly common. Arkansas sharpening stones can come in a handful of sizes ranging from pocket portal to larger variants suitable for bench work. Most Arkansas sharpening stones are considered to be soft and are rated between fine and medium fine for the most part. Arkansas sharpening stones are usually under $10 for soft variants, though there are some hard variants that will last longer and generally cost more money. The most expensive Arkansas sharpening stones tend to be two sided stones with a soft and a hard side. On the Mohs scale, Arkansas sharpening stones tend to score around a 6.5.
While a bit of a misnomer in the sense that these are not comprised of jewelry grade gems, diamond sharpening plates are synthetic sharpening stones that are typically longer lasting and more durable than Arkansas sharpening stones. the downside to diamond sharpening stones is that they tend to be a few dollars more expensive than most other styles of sharpening stones. Diamond sharpening stones tend to start at around $13 to $25, but that might be a fair price considering that they generally rate at or near 10.0 on the Mohs scale.
Aluminum oxide is often used to make ceramic sharpening stones, sometimes referred to as alumina. Employing a silicon carbine or ceramic bond, these sharpening stones are nearly as hard as diamond and can sharpen almost any kind of tool known to man. Surprisingly inexpensive despite their efficacy and longevity, aluminum oxide based ceramic stones tend to offer excellent comparative value. Starting at approximately $7 and all but the most expensive models of ceramic sharpening stones costing less than $20, these tend to make a comparatively good deal for sharpening stones that rate around the 9.4 mark on the Mohs scale.
Larger tools such as axes require special sharpening stones which are usually slightly more expensive. These larger sharpening stones are only marginally more expensive, but tend to be far more coarse than their counterparts designed to be used with cutlery and tools. The primary reason for this distinction is that axes are rarely, if ever, involved in food preparation but cutlery and occasionally tools are. Coarser edges leads to more microscopic metal shavings on the edge of the blade, which can then transfer to the food.
Other factors can increase the cost of sharpening stones, such as included carrying case and/or cleaning system or featuring two sharpening surfaces with different grades of coarseness. |
