Sharpening Set Opinions *LINK*

Re: Sharpening Set Opinions

Doug LIttlejohn

>I have all of that except the stones. The tray and guides work very well for me and make a nice contained system. I got a set of the Norton stones as I wanted the full range. 4000X is not fine enough for me as I want to get to a polished edge so the Norton Dual Stones in 220/1200 and 4000/8000 were my choice.

Re: Sharpening Set Opinions

Paul Kierstead

>I have it. IMO, the weakest part is the stone pond. Realistically, a bit of tupperware would work just as well I think, especially with something on the bottom to prevent the stones from resting on the bottom. The stone holders work, but really I never found it a good or comfortable way to work. I will say that if you want to do a quick touch-up, it is nice and less messy then doing a "serious" sharpening session.

The lapping compound works well enough and I flattened a couple of plane bottoms using it. But....most people seem to be using sandpaper now-a-days and I *think* that would be a lot more convenient. OTOH I haven't used sandpaper.

flawed approach

Bill Tindall, E. TN

>I don't know about the other parts but the silicon carbide on glass is not a combination that makes sense. The substrate needs to be soft enough to embed the grits so they stay put while that to be ground slides past. Cast iron is a preferred embedding substrate. So guess what, the grits will embed in the plane bottom (cast iron) and the glass will wear away.

Silicon carbide in the coarser grits is an especially poor grinding material for hard steels. It fractues too easily and it is promptly crushed to doodle dust.

Putting the silicon carbide on MDF would be a better choice.

Of course one can glue some sand paper to the glass and it makes an excellent sharpening system.

Re: flawed approach

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>Some folks, including me, contact cement laminate to the glass for use with silicon carbide, to take advantage of the flatness of glass. I think an Ernie Conover tape is where I first saw that technique.

But the laminate surface wears through quickly and does not remain flat for long.

Best, Ted

Re: Sharpening Set Opinions

Mick Foley

>I have the stone pond - I never use it. I keep my stones (Norton) in tupperware and flatten them againt each other and one of those pink flattening blocks. I found that the stone holders did not do a good enough job holding the stone steady. The flattening system never seemed to work for me.

I'm not saying it won't work for you, just that it did not work out for me.

Mick

Re: flawed approach

Todd from San Jose

>Hi Bill,

The glass has a thin plastic sheet that is stuck to it, giving the soft surface you mention for the particles to embed in.

I'm not sure how well I like my Veritas stone pond system quite yet, but it does pretty well for a waterstone sharpening method. I use the 800 and 4000 that it came with, along with a 220 grit stone for flattening plane irons and chisels, and an 8000 for final honing. I also have a 325/1200 Duosharp that I use for sharpening and occasionally flattening the 800 stone. I can sharpen, but still feel like enough of a rookie that I won't post any strong opinions yet.

Todd

Re: Sharpening Set Opinions

Tony - Memphis

>Hi Gus. Sharpening is a mysterious biz! There's as many techniques as there is folks, and "sharp" is a very subjective term.

Anyway, I had read a lot about the Norton stones and then took a class where they had the set on a bench for us to use. I was impressd enough with the simple setup and easy to achieve results. I bought a set when I got home. I bought some tupperware stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond and made a surface out of melamine and mahogany strips to work on. THe stones will adhere to the melamine pretty well. I use a diamond stone for flattening. Anyway, to qualify...I'm a rookie and I don't use hand tools all day every day! But I am happy with this setup. Quick and easy.

Tony

Re: Sharpening Set Opinions

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I have the Veritas Stone Pond and it has served me very well. I've probably used it for a half dozen years. For me, it serves as a way to hold my stones, and control the mess when I am working. It is the combination of these features that I like.

Now the stock holders work well for most stones, but I've found that instead of mounting the stones directly to the rails of the Stone Pond, if I add two of those inexpensive black hard rubber stone holders I have a system that makes removal of the stones even more convenient, and provide height clearance that works well with the Shapton stones. Thus I clamp the rubber holders as if they were stones, then mount the stones in the rubber holders.

No removal and exhange of stones is a snap, and all water and grunge flows of the stone into the "Pond."

As for the rest of the set up. The glass and abrasive powder will work OK if you use the plastic film, but frankly I find a dedicated cast iron lapping plate to be preferable. Still, the latter costs a lot while the glass system is an inexpensive way to get started with a method of flattening your stones.

The sharpening jig you show has many admirers and many detractors. I'd say that for starting out, its as good as any and the price is reasonable. As for the included stones, they too are quite adequate for starting out. You will likely over time want to add other grades to them, but if you are trying to keep initial costs reasonable, this is a well balanced system that will allow you to add to it in the future without needing to replace any of it. So for the price, and as a way to get started, I think it has a lot to offer. Perhaps best of all, if you should decide after a few months that it simple doesn't live up to your expectations, you can contact Lee Valley and they will allow you to return it at their expense. It doesn't get any better than that.