Dan's Whetstone Company, Inc. Genuine Arkansas Combination Soft (Medium) and Hard (Fine) Knife Sharpening Bench Stone 8" x 2" x 1" in Wood Box MFC-8-C

I am always a huge fan of the stones for sharpening I have been doing it for close to 15 years now and this is one of the best stones I’ve used by far. The quality of the edge you get after using this thing is better then a razors edge if you do it right. On top of this being an excellent product, you get a bonus because the people that ship it out are amazing they left their number in case of the stone breaking in shipment and they are just amazing I can’t say enough great things about this stone I can’t say enough great things about the excellent people who make it. Excellent product and I highly recommend if you are an advanced sharpener.

I really like the way this stone sharpens. I have a plethora of arkansas stones (mostly Dan's). This is the only one i haven't lapped. The soft side leaves a nice toothy edge. The hard side is still toothy but a bit more polished and refined. When used together these two grits will give you an excellent working edge.You can never go wrong getting a stone from Dan. Dan's cuts the best Arks being sold today. You can get arks cheaper from other vendors but the stones they are selling, Dan would pitch in the scrap heap because they do not meet his standards. You get what you pay for.Hell, I may vote for Dan for President in 2020.

Dan's Whetstone sharpening tool product are what they say they are. The stone is natural with no irregularities or surface galls or voids. It is a quality product that competes well with other products, maybe even surpassing them due to the natural stone used. It is Novaculite, a concentrated form of quartz crystal. It does not have a numbered grit range; rather, it uses a medium and soft grit condition because the stone is natural. The 8" length and 2" width are perfect for most edge sharpening, and the wooden box goes a long way in easing the maintenance of the sharpening angle for long sharpening jobs. This combination stone of Medium & Soft is perfect for your home & bench use. Really Good product.

This is not my first Dan's sharpening stone. It replaces a medium stone that I dropped on a concrete floor while reorganizing my shop. The combination medium and fine work well together. After using the fine stone, I finish the sharpening with a 3" X 12" piece of leather glued to a board and treated with polishing compound. This gives me a razor edge on all my carving, hunting, and pocket knives. Woodworking chisels are finished on a Dan's black extra fine 2 x 8" stone. If you take care of these stones and keep them oiled when sharpening your knives, these stones will still be flat and work just fine for your grandson (or granddaughter for that matter).

these are good stones, that worked well on high quality old style carbon steel blades, but they would not do anything for a dull stainless steel steak knife. For that I got a cheap diamond sharpener made in china that honed them in a few minutes. So considering the limitations of this combo it seems rather pricey. To be honest though the cheap chinese diamond stone may only last a few weeks and this should last a lifetime. So I may be investing in an even more expensive quality usa made DMT diamond sharpener for those stainless steel knives soon.edit: I finally got what I needed: a (much cheaper) aluminum oxide norton coarse/fine grit stone, that sharpens all my average kitchen knives quickly. This Arkansas stone is essentially useless for my purpose, keeping average kitchen knives sharp; it seems meant or making already sharp knives even keener. If you are an expert you know whether you want this arkansas stone, but if you are a novice like me, and have a bunch of dull stainless steel kitchen knives, you probably do no want this, rather you want the norton. But I also failed to oil this arkansas stone correctly throughout its use and no doubt worsened its performance thereby. Here is the cheaper more aggressive stone I use now: (in connection with their sharpening oil)https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XK5ZDY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_detailshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I1AVDW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details