New 8000 Norton stone on classified

Question on Waterstones for WC

Don Goodwin

I have been using Wet/Dry sandpaper on a piece of granite for several years. Which one of the 2 stones in the classifieds would you recommend for me to start with? I realize that I'll need to acquire a couple more stones down the road.

Re: Question on Waterstones for WC

Jack Guzman from Maine

neither. Both stones offered are finishing stones for final polish after sharpening on coarser stones.

clarification.....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

"Start with"

start with to begin obtaining a set of water stones for sharpening....or....

start with in a sharpening sequence?

Re: clarification.....

Don Goodwin

Start with acquiring stones. I realize that I will need additional stones. My thought was to continue using wet/dry sandpaper up to final honing and then use a stone. Stones seem expensive compared to what I'm currently using and I would need to obtain them over time as I am able to justify/find. So next step would be to find an intermediate stone and then finally a coarse stone. But first, I need to get used to a stone and see if it works for me.

Re: clarification.....

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

One item that I consider indispensable for Waterstones is a "Flattening stone". Waterstones wear quite quickly exposing fresh abrasive, this is an attribute that allows them to cut quickly.

Because of this it is also easy to create hollows in the stone. When I use my waterstones, I always flatten them after use before cleanup. It doesn't take long doesn't remove much material and insures that items sharpened on them are not rounded.

Over the years I have acquired several sharpening stones both oil and water as well as used the glass / emery cloth method. I also have a very fine ceramic stone which puts a mirror finish on blades. I have a few leather razor straps and one leather mounted on wood block that I also have used to finish blades.

Although the waterstones do an excellent fast job, I don't use them as often due to the mess and time required to clean up.

By the way the common "oil-stones" will also work with water as a "lubricant", in my opinion the only issue is that the sharpened item will quickly rust (as with waterstones) if they are not quickly lubricated with a protective oil film! The main reason for the "lubricant" is to float the metal particles removed and prevent the stone clogging.