GB stone

[jakunen]

Hi guys,
Where's the best (cheapest) place to get a Gransfors Bruks axe-sharpening stone?
Or is there something better?

[steve a]

Hi Jakunen, the cheapest I have seen them is £16.50 from stores.ebay.co.uk/rob-mels-shop, Rob is a BCUK member with an ebay shop, try him first. A quick search will show most places selling them from £20-£25. If you are interested in GB's axe files www.wealdown.co.uk has them for £20 for the standard and £25 for the diamond, cheapest I've seen them.
I just use a cut down Waterstone when in the field, it does alright for me anyhow.

[leon-1]

Hi Jakunen, I haven't voted on this because I have not used both, you will find that the GB stone is probably going to be the better of the two, for a start it has two different grits in one stone. This is going to be a bonus if you have to remove a "dink" in the blade as I did over the weekend.

I use a slipstone becuase it is what I have on me. Slipstones can also be quite fragile they don't take a massive amount of abuse, whereas the GB stone is encased in a rubber mould, this would also be a bonus.

When grinding the axe from what I have seen most people use a circular motion, this means that with the slipstone you have to constantly be changeing the grinding area otherwise you end up with an uneven stone from wear. This also runs in favour of the GB stone.

There are only a couple of things that run in favour of the slipstone, one is price they are reasonable in that quarter (you can buy 2 for £20) and the other is the amazing edge that you can get with a slipstone. :wow:

Nice one to start a discussion on though, but I think on practicallity the round one goes to the vikings.

[Martyn]

I think the diamond/ceramic combo's are looking good. i have a GB stone and it does what it says on the tin, but it's a heavy beast to lug around with you and the diamond/ceramic may be a better choice for the weight concious backpacker - good for knives too.

[jakunen]

I think the diamond/ceramic combo's are looking good. i have a GB stone and it does what it says on the tin, but it's a heavy beast to lug around with you and the diamond/ceramic may be a better choice for the weight concious backpacker - good for knives too.

Do you mean something like the DC4 that Stuart sells at Kelham knives? I've already got one that I use for my puuku (best knife I've ever owned), but didn't even think about using it for an axe. Out of interest, how much does the 'puck' weigh?
I'm not averse to carry something that weighs a bit, if it makes up for it in performance...

And Leon, yes it was 'interesting' watching you slaving away with your slipstone whilst the rest of us sat around chugging beer. :wink:

[stonehard]

Chances are that the GB stone is made by some one else and you can get it cheaper. very few companies would go to the trouble of getting a stone made especially for themselves so its probably a relabled product.
every one does it. fiskars make lots of things for WS.

[jakunen]

Yeah, it's just a case of tracking one down.
So far I've only found one place that sells the GB brabded one and they want 25 squids...

[narsil]

I'd agree that ceramic stones are probably a better bet for use in the field being lighter, stronger and less messing about, lets face it even half a waterstone is a fair weight to be carrying about.

[jakunen]

But would they cope with taking out a 'dink'?
Leon spent ages getting his edge back in conidtion after finding a very tough knot when we were cutting up larch trees for our fire over the weekend, so the puck sounds a better idea to me, even if it does weigh more...

[Martyn]

I would think it would cope. But if you want to have something that can quickly hog out lots of metal, get a coarse diamond hone as a backup for your DC4. It'll remove metal faster than any slipstone/waterstone and even carrying both DC4 and coarse diamond would be lighter than the GB stone.

[wayne]

i just weighed my GB axe stone on the kitchen scales, not the most accurate in the world. = 180 grams.

i find the axe stone easy to handle in use. it is heavy compared to other stones. I still would recommend one. If weight is that much of an issue would you need a GB SFA in your kit at all?

Get yourselves a GB mini.

[Rob]

But would they cope with taking out a 'dink'?
Leon spent ages getting his edge back in conidtion after finding a very tough knot when we were cutting up larch trees for our fire over the weekend, so the puck sounds a better idea to me, even if it does weigh more...

I got a slight dink in my SFA whilst putting on a recent Field Archery shoot (far too much chopping done for it to be like work)

The GB Stone did it a treat, and the coarse side works faster than I expected.

[jakunen]

i just weighed my GB axe stone on the kitchen scales, not the most accurate in the world. = 180 grams.

i find the axe stone easy to handle in use. it is heavy compared to other stones. I still would recommend one. If weight is that much of an issue would you need a GB SFA in your kit at all?

Get yourselves a GB mini.

Did it weigh more that your GB Mini?

Seriously though, that diminutive axe of yours was quite impressive!
And 180g (6oz?) for the GB 'puck' isn't what I would personally call heavy. And at the price Rob is doing them. I think I'm gonna buy one! (10 quid cheaper than the best price I'd found...)

[narsil]

Of course you should go with what you feel is the right tool for the job, if only because if you just 'like' a particular bit of kit it will give you the confidence to use it well and that is very important, after all psychology and confidence is a big part of being safe and efficient especially in outdoorsy activities.

BTW Martyn or anyone else, what coarse diamond hone would you reccomend? I could do with something which can remove a fair bit of metal for the first sharpening of the knives I make, you know when the edge is still not quite true from the initial grinding or there is a bit of scale pitting to cut away from the HT. Its just that awkward stageg when a mechanical grind is too much but you know that its gonna be a big job with normal sharpening kit.

[leon-1]

Narsil you have probably already looked at these, but the GB axe file or axe diamond may be of use, they are designed for graded use before the use of a stone,

Leon.