Does anyone still use oil stones?

[Graham Haydon]

Hello,

First post for me so go steady! Just wondering if any of you use oil stones? Water stones seem to dominate here.

[Adam Maxwell]

Yes, I use oilstones. Gave my waterstones to a friend.

[Alan Wright]

I have a work sharp, but want to take the plunge. I read the thoughts on stones all the time, but I must confess it confuses me. No offence to Stu in Japan, but I scratch my head why we need to order stuff from Japan (shipping). Must be a reason, since so many guys seem to do it. I would like to go with oilstones for a variet of reasons, but keep procrastinating becue I just don't seem to be able to figure out what to get.... Guess I'll keep reading!!!

[Tony Wilkins]

I'm interested too. Since I'm replacing one stone for convenience I've thought about this option a little as well.

[Jim Koepke]

For me, it has been water stones in warm weather and oil stones in the colder months. Water occasionally freezes in my shop during the winter.

It seems water stones by working faster are a bit easier to get used to at the start.

I like my oil stones for my tools that are not straight flat chisels.

Water stones are more prone to have a nasty scar when a tool digs in. Haven't put a mark on an oil stone yet.

Many of my oil stones have been found used at yard sales and such.

Mineral oil is my lubricant of choice for oil stones.

jtk

[Graham Haydon]

I have tried a few mediums and I personally like oil stones (that's not me claiming they are the best, I just happen to get on well with them). I found this kit online http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Ultimate-Oil-Stone-Kit-P320C100.aspx (I'm sure there are many other suppliers offerning the same stuff) and tried to find a UK supplier and drew a blank. I tracked down some of it on e-bay as I already have an india but wish I had just paid the $30 or so they wanted to post it.
I have just given baby oil a go as a honing oil and it works great. The awful boxes the stones came in gave me a chance to make some more inspiring versions. It seems this kit is not too expensive? And for those wanting to give oil stones a try perhaps not a bad place to start.

[David Weaver]

I've been using them almost exclusively lately, but at the same time, I've set anything that's new steel aside, because it's really not pleasant with natural oilstones.

I haven't got any great suggestions about where to buy them or what to buy, the fine natural stones are pretty expensive and I think oilstones in general favor a freehand sharpener who can and will use the whole stone.

The desirable medium grit stones (the pike mine washita) are very expensive right now, too.

[Tom McMahon]

I started out in the 60's with oil stones, in the 70's switched to water stones, in the 80's or 90's got a diamond plate and around 2000 went back to oil stones and some where in there tried sand paper on glass. They all work and you can get sharp with any of them, but the diamond plates wear out to fast, the water stones are too delicate and are a pain to keep flat, sand paper in the long run is expensive. In my opinion all you really need is a combination india stone and a piece of leather and like I said I have arkansas, water, and diamond but the leather gets the most use.

[Bill Houghton]

I do. I like them.

Later edit: I should elaborate a bit. Waterstones sound attractive on one level, but they seem to be fairly high maintenance. I don't have a lot of time to spend on sharpening - it's got to get out of my way so I can plow forward. Oilstones may sharpen more slowly, but the good ones stay flat a long time.

[Graham Haydon]

Pleasing to hear others enjoying this medium.

[Stew Hagerty]

Hi Graham, this is a great place to ask questions like this.

I recently went through the whole water -vs- oil dilemma. I studied, researched, asked, and asked again. I heard all of the "you can't sharpen A2 on oilstones" comments; and yet, I was still conflicted because of all the upkeep involved with waterstones.

Then I heard about the "Handworks" event out in Iowa. I figured this would not only be a great place to go to be able to talk directly with several of the really great makers and try out their wares, but also to ask some of most knowledgeable people in the business about my oil/water problem.

Shortly before I went to Iowa, I happened to see an episode of The Woodwright's Shop on which Chris Schwarz was a guest. In the show he mentioned that he had recently switched back from water to oil. Well, I couldn't hardly wait to get to Iowa and ask him why.

Well I got there and suffered the unseasonable cold and the rain with everyone else while I perused all of the wonderful tools and took in the presentation on the H. O. Studley Tool Cabinet. Then, later in the afternoon, I got my change to pull Chris aside for a few minutes. What he said was that he switched because of his travels. It was far less messy for him to carry around his oilstones than it would be with waterstones. He also laid to rest the "you can't sharpen A2 on oilstones" myth. Yes you can sharpen A2 on oilstones, it just takes a bit longer. Because of that, he suggested that I also get an India Stone or two (they're man made oil stones) for the rough shaping.

So I got home and placed an order at Dan's Whetstones: http://www.danswhetstone.com/

I ordered 1/2" X 3" X 8" stones in Soft Arkansas, Hard Arkansas, and Black.

I also order the same size India Stones from: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/NO-WIDEOIL.XX

I initially got just a Medium, but after using them for a bit I wanted to get the Fine to bridge the gap between the Medium and the Soft Arkansas. I also added a Course for those more major edge repairs.

I tell you what, I am extremely satisfied!! I can shave the hairs on my arm with any kind of steel coming straight off of my Black stone. Yes A2 takes a bit longer for a final honing on the Hard & the Black, but not much. I have everything organized and made myself a sharpening station. Now I find myself just popping over and doing a quick touch-up hone far, far more frequently that I ever did before. I can't imagine that I would be doing so had I chosen water. They are just not as convenient.

I highly recommend a sharpening set-up like mine, and I would be more than happy to discuss anything about it.

Oh... I do also have a bench grinder with a Norton 3X wheel. I am usually not a "Hollow Grind" proponent, as I prefer the "Secondary Bevel" method. But sometimes you just gotta grind.

[David Weaver]

The issue with A2 is that it both:
* takes longer
* the edge is lacking compared to plainer steels because there are particles in A2 that oilstones just don't cut (they're in O1, too, but in much lower quantity)

India stones will cut anything that most waterstones will cut when they're fresh, but they do break in and A2 is a bit slow with them unless refreshed. If they are thoroughly refreshed, even a fine india is very coarse and it's a significant jump to the black.

In the balance of workflow, it's just nicer to use slightly softer blades of plainer alloys with oilstones, because they cut them fine, even when they're broken in. You get a sense very quickly why stanley's older irons were the hardness they were, and why a lot of vintage irons are on the slightly soft side (especially compared to the new whiz bang).

What would be a more interesting follow up to this is what people do to keep their oilstones in shape, how often they abrade them. That's not a tangent needed on this thread, though.

[Stew Hagerty]

India stones will cut anything that most waterstones will cut when they're fresh, but they do break in and A2 is a bit slow with them unless refreshed. If they are thoroughly refreshed, even a fine india is very coarse and it's a significant jump to the black.

I completely agree that jumping from Fine India to Black Arkansas would be a huge step. That's why I go from Fine India to Soft Arkansas, then Hard Arkansas, and only then to my Black Arkansas. This method works very well.

Also, I plan on getting a Diamond Plate whenever I fell I need to "refresh" my India Stones.

[Zach Dillinger]

Yup. Among literally dozens of others,I have a vintage Norton india combination for rough and medium work, with a vintage trans ark as a finish stone. I should probably sell off some of my others because I only really use these two stones now. I use a dry strop to finish and never need a sharper edge than that gives me.

[Chris Griggs]

While, I mostly use and generally prefer my waterstones, I do have and use a medium india, a Pike #1 Washita, and a surgical black (and have but don't really use a soft ark and a couple other indias). They are very nice when used with the steels they work best with.

[Stuart Tierney]

I have a work sharp, but want to take the plunge. I read the thoughts on stones all the time, but I must confess it confuses me. No offence to Stu in Japan, but I scratch my head why we need to order stuff from Japan (shipping). Must be a reason, since so many guys seem to do it. I would like to go with oilstones for a variet of reasons, but keep procrastinating becue I just don't seem to be able to figure out what to get.... Guess I'll keep reading!!!

None taken. :)

I've got a set of oilstones in a drawer right next to me, and I actually do use them occasionally. I grabbed a cheap-o set from somewhere a while back and there is a soft, hard, black and translucent there.

From what I read and hear, my soft is not bad, the hard is 'meh' the black is great and the translucent is 'normal'. I can use them to put a very nice edge on most anything I have here, including the really stupid hard/tough HSS stuff I've got.

I think oilstones are ok, but as is the 'problem' (used loosely) with a natural product, there are variances in stones and most folks don't have the 'guts' to risk their hard earned money on something that might be wonderful, but might not be too. It's a risk, and some folks dislike taking risks. I think that as with all natural products, if the person who's first putting eye on them knows their stuff, they'll be able to pick and choose with relative accuracy the good from bad.

But still, it's a little hit and miss and folks don't want to play that game. No matter the reassurances, it's still too much of a leap of faith. Happens with all manner of things, not just stones. Ever buy apples by mail order? A steak?

As far as me shipping stuff out? There are lots of good, reliable and dependable manufactured products and they are thick on the ground here. Also the cost of shipping overseas is reasonable and not difficult to do. Takes time, something I had a lot of when I started, something I have virtually none of now.

(Writing this with a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I might be in Japan, but oatmeal is what seems to work best for me breakfast wise. Only took 10 years to work that out...)


As for your unwillingness to just 'jump in' on oilstones, it's the mail order steak thing. Plenty of folks have mail ordered steak and been happy, but there are quite a few who have not been impressed too, and the folks who were not pleased were not going in with extravagant expectations, it's just that they got a dud steak. Even if you can't put your finger on the exact reason, subconsciously the 'bad steaks' are probably causing you to not go for it.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to do a LOT of that 'shipping thing'. ;)

Stu.

[Matt ONeill]

I started off with the shapton's, but switched to oil stones about a year ago. I have a black 10x3" arkansas stone that I leave out on my bench along with a strop. I've got A2 steel in almost all my tools, I don't think it takes very long to sharpen at all (< 1 min to touch up an edge). Now, that's most likely because of the fact that my stones are sitting right there, and they aren't messy, so I sharpen far more often. This means I'm doing almost all edge maintenance, and not re-profiling.

I would whole-heartedly recommend oilstones over waterstones.. It's made sharpening a much more enjoyable experience for me. I've also started using the "convex bevel" technique in the past few months, but that's a whole 'nother argument.

Here's that Schwarz post on oilstones: http://blog.lostartpress.com/2011/07/27/oilstones-waterstones-whatever/

- Matt

[bridger berdel]

I use them all, diamond (plates and loose grit), arkansas stones, waterstones, india, razor hones, a belgian blue, mystery naturals, some very coarse corundum stones, jasper, compounds on various materials.... whatever seems like it might work. I use them in odd sequences, too.

for the last year or so I have been using most of them (waterstones excepted) with isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. no rust issues and it cleans up easily. it's wetter than either water or oil so it gives a very direct tactile feedback from the stone.

[Winton Applegate]

Does anyone still use oil stones ?

Oh of course !
Keeps the papers from blowing off my desk.
I would be lost without one.

Just kidding. They are GREAT for 01 steel. Just right !
Though . . . almost every single blade I have is A2 or blue steel in the Japanese tools and they pretty much require the modern water stones to geeeter done.

Here is a good source that I like for oil stones.
http://www.danswhetstone.com/whychooseus.htm