Grits??

[Mark Kelly]

No, not the food you eat (and yes, YOU can have it, cause I don't like it)...

Is the grit size on oil or water stones the same as say sandpaper? I see where you can buy stones with 8000 grit while the highest grit on sandpaper I have ever seen is 2500. Are they the same thing?

[James Carmichael]

No, not the food you eat (and yes, YOU can have it, cause I don't like it)...

Is the grit size on oil or water stones the same as say sandpaper? I see where you can buy stones with 8000 grit while the highest grit on sandpaper I have ever seen is 2500. Are they the same thing?

No. You might try a forum search, there was a post on this subject a few months back which had links to a couple of web pages that showed the equivalent. I belive both 12000-grit waterstone and 2000-2500 grit SC sandpaper have a particle size of .5 microns, or there abouts.

Oh, try ToolsForWoodworking.com, it has a comparison of sharpening with oilstones, waterstones, and sandpaper.

[Pam Niedermayer]

When you get to natural waterstones, particularly polishing/finishing stones, all grit level designations fly out the window. You actually have to try them on each different tool (there are different effects depending on the metal involved) to determine how/whether a given stone/tool combination works.

Pam

[Tim Sproul]

link (http://www.ameritech.net/users/knives/grits.htm) to a chart comparing different ratings of grits...

I have no idea on accuracy of the chart but it has been useful for me. At least the comparisons are in the right ballpark, if not right-on accurate.