Norton oil Stones

[john brenton]

I have a guy with a new Norton three oil stone system that he wants $80 for. Anyone have this? Opinions? I kind of have to decide fairly soon.

[David Weaver]

What stones are you using now.

What do you want to sharpen on the norton stones

Do you use A2 or anything more alloyed a lot?

Which stones come with the set and what size is it.

If it's the one that amazon has (coarse crystolon, fine crystolon and fine india) I'd say forget it, it's a knife sharpener's package.

If I were going to use oilstones, I would rather have a medium india, a hard arkansas and a fine surgical black or transulcent to be followed with a strop.

If i could only have two stones, it would be a soft arky and then one of the last two above.

[Kevin Adams]

John, it all depends on what the three stones are...all Indias or are there some nice Arkansas stones in there? Is this the black plastic set-up with the 11" x 2-1/2" stones (1/2" thick) or something else?

Thanks.
Kevin

[David Weaver]

I'll go one further yet, if you want to use arkys on a budget, well, and you don't want to settle for whatever the best is that you can find at a flea market, you can get a 10x3x1 soft arkansas from a place called "naturalwhetstone" for about $25 in a wooden box, and knifemerchant.com has the 12x3x1 hard black halls brand stone for about $95 or something shipped.

That'd be $120, and it's a nice set to use. I'll bet you could get most of your money back if you didn't like them.

I've gotten two stones from "natural whetstone", the first one off of peebay ,and the second one i found the guy's site and talked to him. He just said "how big do you want me to cut it? I don't like to cut stones bigger than a flat rate box because they're too expensive to ship". Gives you an idea that he's not just reselling something. The two I got from him were cheap (price-wise), great quality, and they're flat, flatter than the expensive halls was new.

I don't use them much, but i like them. Sort of like natural waterstones. I have them, i don't use them much, but I like them. For practical purposes, it makes no sense to use oilstones instead of the shaptons. The result isn't as good and it takes longer. They are good for carving tools, but at the same time, I'd rather do the carving tools when possible on a powered leather wheel.

[Johnny Kleso]

Check the sizes and prices on Joel's website
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=toolshop&Category_Code=THO
Few years back only Joel and I had the large 10"long Medium India stones
I coarse Crystolon stone imho wear to fast but I have never used a coarse waterstone

I just checked and don't see the 10" long stones anymore..

[Jim Koepke]

Years ago I bought a set of three stones at Woodcraft for half the price above.

The set is now listed as the Arkansas 3 stone boxed set at $52.99.

My favorite hunk of oil stone cost me $1 at a rock show. I used to be a water stone advocate until that came along.

PM me if you are interested in a slightly used set. I should get them out and give them a try just to see how much they have improved since last time I tried them.

In reality it is my abilities that have improved, the stones haven't changed a bit.

jtk

[Bill Davis]

I have and use the/a Norton three oil stone system. I haven't had other sharpening systems so can't really share any comparative thoughts but the Norton set along with a Veritas jig is what I use for my chisels and plane irons. I like the large size of the stones.

Since sharpening methods are very much open to one's personal preferences (oil vs water vs diamond vs grinder etc etc etc) I think it is more important to pick one and develop your skill at using it as effectively as possible. I seriously doubt that there is 'one-size-fits-all' in the world of sharpening.

I would examine the flatness of the stones before purchasing however as that is key.

[Johnny Kleso]

https://www.sierratradingpost.com
Has some good deals on Dan's Whetstones but some are 2nds and havve minor flaws

Use this keycode HFC4920Z.

25% off $100
20% off $75
20% off $50

55%-62% off list prices, just secarch for Dan's Whetstone
They also have awesome deals on Carhartt clothes

[Jonathan McCullough]

I got one of the smaller Dan's translucent Arkansas oil stones from Sierra and was so impressed that I gave it to my brother and got one of the larger 8 x 2 stones. Seconds or no, the stones we got were flat and effective. Another one worth serious consideration would be the 8 x 3 Norton translucent from Tools for Working Wood.

[john brenton]

Thanks everyone for the input...but I decided not to go with the stone. I think it was a good deal as it was the 11" X 3", and the thought of having a stone always oiled and ready to go was tempting...but I already have the perfect setup with my DMT and water stones. I was just tempted by a deal. I don't have $80 to spend on more stones, especially when I'm saving to build my bench top, which is much more important. Just being greedy is all!

Thanks.

[David Weaver]

Yeah, no worries about the stone being "oiled and ready to go", there's some false economy there. You do have to wipe the oil and swarf off the stones from time to time if you don't want them to gum up and lose keenness (which is sometimes nice with the hard black, since it's a bit coarse when it's fresh, anyway, at least if you're used to fine stones that don't leave much of a wire edge).

You will see conversations from time to time about boiling stones to freshen them up when someone didn't take care of them.

With the DMT and waterstones, you already don't have to soak, and the stones that are "important flat" are the stones that set up the edge for the finish stone anyway.

Nothing wrong with being greedy, though!!

[David Weaver]

I always get a giggle when I see the claims made for the fine arkansas stones:

" Finest grade natural abrasive stone available today; considered surgical grade "

I don't know what "finest grade" means, but you'd assume they're talking about grit size and edge fineness.

I guess most folks don't know that they mine finer stones both in europe and in kyoto.

[john brenton]

Funny thing about that...I leave my high grits dry (I've pretty much abandoned the low grits) used to be able to only spritz my 4000/8000 stone, but now I'm noticing that a spritz isn't cutting it anymore. The particles won't float to the top anymore unless I soak.