Beginning Sharpening Stone Question

[Eric Schatz]

I'm a scary sharp guy and I get to a razor sharp level with that and a strop. However, I'm thinking of taking the leap to stones. If I can get a product with low/no maintenance then I'm generally a happy guy. Would water stones or oil or diamond be what I need? I'm also one of those people who find that the cheap stuff works just about as well as anything.

Also, what grits do I need. I can always rough out blades, remove knicks, etc. on sand paper or a wheel. I just need a touch up stone and a polish one. (at least that's what I'm thinking)

What do you all use?

[william sympson]

For an inexpensive, good quality, long lasting all purpose stone, I use a Norton IB8 (coarse/fine India). It was good enough for a long time - only recently when I started using a straight razor did I add a translucent ark stone to my bench. If the India slows down, I use a cheap HF diamond block to abrade it and speed things up.
R/
William

[Eric Schatz]

Which one is that? Link (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51817&cat=1,43072,67175)

[Rick Whitehead]

I second the recommendation of an India stone.I've used a fine India stone as my main sharpening stone for many years. It's easy to use, simple, and produces a fine edge.
Rick

[Jim Koepke]

If I can get a product with low/no maintenance then I'm generally a happy guy.

Howdy Eric,

Your location isn't in your profile. If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, send me a PM if you would like to come by for a test drive of some different stones. I have oil, water and one or two diamond stones.

If you want low/no maintenance, then water stones may not be for you.

My oldest oil stones were bought in a hardware store over 40 years ago and still get used today.

Some of my stones came from flea markets and yard sales. A few have come from gem & mineral sources. My wife is into lapidary (just the other days she said she had rocks on her mind).

Oilstones do not typically cut as fast as water stones. Water stones tend to wear more than oilstones. There is almost always some kind of trade off. My water stones do not get flattened as often as some folks tend to theirs. When the stones get dished or it is difficult to get a good edge, they do get taken to an abrasive surface to be refreshed.

My situation is different than many others. My shop is not well heated. In the winter the water in the shop freezes making it difficult to use water stones. Also my needs for sharpening are not confined to woodworking tools.

As far as the edge is concerned, it may be easier to get to hair splitting sharpness with water stones. It is possible to achieve the same degree of sharpness on oil stones.

jtk

[william sympson]

Nope, those are waterstones. Try here: Norton IB8 oilstone (http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Norton-Combination-India-Stone-P69.aspx)


R/
William

[Patrick Chase]

For an inexpensive, good quality, long lasting all purpose stone, I use a Norton IB8 (coarse/fine India). It was good enough for a long time - only recently when I started using a straight razor did I add a translucent ark stone to my bench. If the India slows down, I use a cheap HF diamond block to abrade it and speed things up.
R/
William

I mostly use waterstones, but I also have the Norton Combo India Stone that everybody else has recommended as well as the Norton hard Arkansas stone that Joel sells at TFWW (warning: Not cheap. Not even close (https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/THO/item/NO-ARK-HB8). The usual "budget" alternative is the Dan's translucent Ark that lots (https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/THO/item/MS-TAST100) of (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,43072&p=72834) people stock). I'll third or fourth that recommendation, with the usual caveat:

You didn't say what steels you're using. I wouldn't even think of using the oilstones on HAP40 (PM HSS), and even something like A2 or PM-V11 will be slow[er] going, even if you frequently dress the stone as you suggest.

[Prashun Patel]

I cannot comment on oil stones. But I do like my Shapton waterstones for the following reasons:

1) They are pretty hard and wear slower than the previous King Stones I had (take that for what it's worth.)
2) They do not require soaking; they require only spritzing to be effective (at least the 1000 and 8000's).

I would imagine that water stones are easier to keep clean?

The downside I experience with waterstones is having to thoroughly dry the blades after sharpening. Else they rust pretty quick.

[william sympson]

I have the typical range of old steels, A2, and PMV11. A2 is the worst but even then not terrible time wise - freshen the hollow if needed to speed it up. Deals are out there - I bought the 5"x2"w translucent from Sierra trading post as a second for about $15 delivered. I hollow grind and freehand sharpen so the small stone size is great for me to work the whole surface of the stone and limit the amount of steel worked with the grind. To each his own - the OP asked for simple and cheap without other parameters - simple and good value is my approach as well and I've found the IB8 to fit well within those constraints.

R/
William

[Patrick Chase]

I have the typical range of old steels, A2, and PMV11. A2 is the worst but even then not terrible time wise - freshen the hollow if needed to speed it up. Deals are out there - I bought the 5"x2"w translucent from Sierra trading post as a second for about $15 delivered. I hollow grind and freehand sharpen so the small stone size is great for me to work the whole surface of the stone and limit the amount of steel worked with the grind. To each his own - the OP asked for simple and cheap without other parameters - simple and good value is my approach as well and I've found the IB8 to fit well within those constraints.

R/
William

"Cheap" is almost meaningless in these discussions. Is that cheap compared to, say, a Shapton 30K, Chosera 10K, or even a high-quality natural waterstone?

The Norton hard/translucent ark isn't cheap by most standards, but it will also last basically forever. Even if you have a "dressing fetish" you'd spend a lot more replacing worn-out diamond plates before you'd appreciably wear that stone.

[Jim Koepke]

"Cheap" is almost meaningless in these discussions. Is that cheap compared to, say, a Shapton 30K, Chosera 10K, or even a high-quality natural waterstone?

The Norton hard/translucent ark isn't cheap by most standards, but it will also last basically forever. Even if you have a "dressing fetish" you'd spend a lot more replacing worn-out diamond plates before you'd appreciably wear that stone.

Cheap? Expensive?

A different source should always be checked. .danswhetstone.com has what may be a better price:

327213

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

Cheap? Expensive?

A different source should always be checked. .danswhetstone.com has what may be a better price:

327213

jtk

Yeah, I pointed out the Dan's option above (though I pointed to the translucent stone which is different from the 2 you list. Mostly a matter of taste though IMO).

The thing with Ark stones is that because they're natural no two mines (and no two stones for that matter) are exactly the same. Some people claim to prefer the Nortons, others prefer the Dan's stones. I've used both and didn't find a huge difference. My particular Norton is a hair finer than my particular Dan's, though they cut at similar speeds. Dan's cost about 20% less per unit volume though.

[Graham Haydon]

What Rick said! David, former poster here put this video up a few days ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=3LSehglaQ4k

[Robert Engel]

I've been using diamond stones and water stones.
I have been using Arkansas stones for sharpening carving gouges.

Kinda been liking the oil stones lately.

But they're not cheap, either.