Natural Polishing Stones

[ken hatch]

Oh no, not another sharpening thread, but as this seems to be the week for sharpening threads I'll add another.

I use natural stones for polishing as do a couple of other Creekers but from reading some of the sharpening posts I suspect most use synthetic water stones for polishing their chisels and cutters. My question is several fold: First is the simple one, do you use synthetic water stones or natural stones like Arkansas oil stones or JNATs for polishing your cutters?

The second question is why do you use the one you use?

I'll start:

I use either a Hard Surgical Black Arkansas oil stone or a medium hard JNAT to polish. The reason is from experience and having examined a range of polished chisels and plane cutters the surface left by a natural stone is smoother than that left by the synthetic stones I've used.

Again there is no correct answer, I'm just curious what folks use and why.

As always YMMV.

ken

[Tony Wilkins]

I use Suehiro dual stones. I started out with two very traditional Japanese water stones — a Hida 1000 grit and a King 6000. When Stu was running his Japanese tool store I saw and became fascinated with the Dual Stones; they are ceramic stones advertised as being able to be used with either oil or water. They work great but not sure any different than any other ceramic stone (other than I’m using oil).

I must admit that the aspect of natural stones you mention also has had me curious. However, since I have a lot of A2 steel, natural oil stones would seem be to out. I’m not sure about the large investment that a jnat would involve for that curiosity; though the TAD is strong in this one.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I usually use my Shapton Glass 16K stone because it is what I have been using so I am accustomed to it.

I now have some Arkansas stones from Dan's and sometimes I use that, but I am more likely to use that outside my normal routine since I am not as used to using them.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Ken, I have far too many stones. But the polishing stones I use for O1 & Japanese steel are the Sigma Power Ceramic (not the Select II) 13K and a JNAT Tomoe that's medium hard. For HSS and A2 I'll use Dan's Black Arkansas or the Spyderco (for now) Ultra Fine. I may get a Sigma Select II 10K for HSS/A2 steel down the road if I sell the Spyderco.

[Robert Hazelwood]

India and Arkansas stones. I used to use waterstones but moved to a shop with no sink, and even no-soak waterstones still need quite a bit of water for flattening and rinsing off swarf. I could have managed with a stone pond or something but didn't feel like doing all of that.

Specifically, I use a coarse/fine India stones (really only use the fine side, it's the first stone used in the progression). Cuts pretty well, stays flat, nuff said. I do scuff it with a diamond plate occasionally to keep it from getting too fine/slow.

Then a Natural Whetstone Soft Arkansas - these were recommended as being cheap and fast cutting, whereas Dan's soft arks could be a bit too fine/slow cutting for what you want a medium stone to do, plus more expensive.

I finish with a Dan's Translucent ark. These are pricey but it was flat and fine cutting from the get-go. Feels like sharpening directly on glass.


I use these on all carbon steels, including Japanese white steel. I have a couple of A2 and V11 blades, for those I substitute the trans ark with a Syperdco UF ceramic. I'd give that stone an honorable mention as a synthetic stone that feels like a hard natural stone, but capable of cutting more alloyed steels.

I'm not sure if you get a better edge from natural stones, but in any case it's a very good edge. I think mainly I've come to like hard stones and whenever I use synthetic waterstones now they feel gummy and strange.

[Mike Allen1010]

Ken, please don't apologize for another sharpening thread:). I admire pragmatic woodworkers who adhere to the "sharpen quickly and get back to work school – that superfine edge is going to be gone anyway after a couple passes anyway". However I'm perfectly willing to invest a completely unreasonably impractical, disproportionate amount of time/effort in sharpening. I confess to being hopelessly obsessed with achieving the "perfect edge". if someone said stropping with butterfly wings was the secret, I be out in the backyard right with a butterfly net right now:D.

I acquired most of my plane blades some years ago and at that time my preference was for A2 in hopes of the longer-lasting edge. Since then I've also bought some PMV blades. I've been mostly satisfied sharpening these with synthetic water stones (Sigma, Shapton, etc.) and occasionally stropping with hard Maple/green rouge. In recent years I shifted more tool wooden planes with 01 blades and my completely subjective impression is I can get the 01 sharper. The O1 edge doesn't last as long as the A2/PMV, but to me definitely seems sharper fresh off the stone. Just my impression YMMV.

I don't have any experience with oil stones or Japanese natural polishing stones, although I'm guessing after this thread I'm definitely headed in that direction. My question is how do you these stones work on A2 and PMV steels? All advice and suggestions are appreciated. I'm getting my popcorn started now.

Best, Mike

[Bob Jones 5443]

As readers of recent sharpening thread know, I use Norton (artificial) waterstones. The reasons are threefold:
(1) I did not want to own "too many" stones, like Orlando (sorry, Orlando).
(2) I wanted something I could master fully and use easily.
(3) David Charlesworth took the time to patiently explain their use in his simple, repeatable system, giving me confidence I could achieve goal (2) and avoid the downside of reason (1).

I am happy to say my goals have been met.

[ken hatch]

Ken, please don't apologize for another sharpening thread:). I admire pragmatic woodworkers who adhere to the "sharpen quickly and get back to work school – that superfine edge is going to be gone anyway after a couple passes anyway". However I'm perfectly willing to invest a completely unreasonably impractical, disproportionate amount of time/effort in sharpening. I confess to being hopelessly obsessed with achieving the "perfect edge". if someone said stropping with butterfly wings was the secret, I be out in the backyard right with a butterfly net right now:D.

I acquired most of my plane blades some years ago and at that time my preference was for A2 in hopes of the longer-lasting edge. Since then I've also bought some PMV blades. I've been mostly satisfied sharpening these with synthetic water stones (Sigma, Shapton, etc.) and occasionally stropping with hard Maple/green rouge. In recent years I shifted more tool wooden planes with 01 blades and my completely subjective impression is I can get the 01 sharper. The O1 edge doesn't last as long as the A2/PMV, but to me definitely seems sharper fresh off the stone. Just my impression YMMV.

I don't have any experience with oil stones or Japanese natural polishing stones, although I'm guessing after this thread I'm definitely headed in that direction. My question is how do you these stones work on A2 and PMV steels? All advice and suggestions are appreciated. I'm getting my popcorn started now.

Best, Mike


Mike,

I understand, I'm in the sharpen quickly and get back to work school but, and it is a big but, when not on a project I sure spend a lot of time both thinking about and sharpening my irons.

I only have a couple of PM cutters, they sharpen easily on either Ark or JNAT. That said I do not use PM often. Unless you keep very narrow micro bevels A2 doesn't work easily on natural stones. If you would like I will ship you a JNAT stone to play with or even better show up at my door with some iron in hand and I'll buy the tacos and beer. Sweet Maggie Dog will share her bedroom :).

ken

P.S. PM me your address if you would like to try a stone.

[ken hatch]

Thanks guys for taking the time. As has been pointed out many times there is no correct way other than just do it but I find it interesting to see the different ways to reach the goal.

BTW, I think my way is the best but I expect everyone else feels the same about their process:D,

ken

[Jim Koepke]

First is the simple one, do you use synthetic water stones or natural stones like Arkansas oil stones or JNATs for polishing your cutters?

The second question is why do you use the one you use?

My water stone for polishing is a Norton 8000. Before this it was a King 4000.

My oilstone for polishing is now a Dan's Whetestones Black Arkansas. For gouges and molding plane blades a Dan's translucent Arkansas is used for final polishing. There is an Arkansas stone purchased at a Gem & Mineral gathering that is an amazing polishing stone. There is also a small piece of jasper used for polishing at times.

As to why, the Norton stone was purchased at a Lie-Nielsen Tool Event in Oakland, CA many years ago. It was more convenient than purchasing online. At the time my finest stone was a King 4000 which is a fine stone able to produce a keen edge.

Oilstones didn't work well for me until after learning to sharpen with water stones. It is amazing how knowing what your doing can help to get it done.

It is usually easier to get a full day in the shop during the winter months. The water in my stone pond would often be frozen. My solution was to use oilstones.

jtk

[mike stenson]

My current polishing stone is a 12000 shapton pro, although I don't always even go there stopping at 8k happens. I like water stones, they cut faster and in general I find sharpening to be a necessary evil that I find little to no enjoyment from. I also do not strop.

I know, I'm evil and do it all wrong.

[Daniel Culotta]

Hello all, really enjoying this and the other sharpening threads. I'm relatively new to sharpening and have a cheap double-sided water stone and strop that (surprisingly?) get all my steel sharpened up just fine - shaves hair and slices paper and all that. I'll also note that I sharpen often but I'm not particularly "into" it, just get it done and get back to work. At least at this point I don't intend to spend many hundreds of dollars on sharpening equipment.

I too work in a space without plumbing, so while my current setup works okay I'd like to move to something that doesn't require water. The world of natural and oil stones is totally new to me though (and seemingly complicated), and I really don't know where to start on sussing out a system that would work for me. My questions are 1) is there an authoritative source or thread(s) that I could read through that explains the world of natural and oilstones? And 2) do you have suggestions for a reasonably-priced system/set of stones that doesn't use water?

Thanks in advance, I'm hope I'm not coming off as wanting you to reproduce a bunch of info that already exists - I'm just a bit lost and looking for a nudge in the right direction. Much appreciated!

[ken hatch]

Daniel,

Go to Dan's site https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dan%27s+arkansas+sharpening+stones (https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dan%27s+arkansas+sharpening+stones) for stones. A good start would be a soft Ark 8"X2"X1/2" for $29.51 USD and a Black Ark the same size for $102.23 USD. then go to some place like Amazon for a Med India for $26.58 USD and you will be set for life. The only stone you might wear out would be the med India. Some times it is good to strop, there are too many options to go through but almost any piece of leather on a board will work.

For any sharpening you need to be able to grind (the med India), hone (the soft Ark), and polish the Black Ark). Learn on a 2" wide stone it will teach you to use the whole stone.

If money is a problem you could go with the Hard Ark for $36.97 instead of the Black Ark. While I have never used that stone I have the Norton Hard White Ark stone and if I were to use it as a final stone I would also use a strop with green stuff.

ken

[Phil Mueller]

Oh, no no no am I going to let this innocent little question take me down that JNAT rat hole :eek:. Oh sure, would love to have a bunch gifted to me to go into some zen sharpening session with the wife yelling downstairs “it’s 2a.m., stop that danged stritching sound!!!!”. Please post a long video of using these stones, so I can, at the very least, live through you.

In all seriousness, they would be fun to try, but the diamond stones and ceramic finishing stone is getting me to curling end grain. Although, I must admit, the diamond stones are about to hit the can, because I find them terribly unflat.

So, if you find yourself at DTW training some rookie right seater to land in a midwest snow storm, bring a few stones. I’ll get you a beer and a Mexican dinner downtown. Then we can sharpen, my friend.

[ken hatch]

Oh, no no no am I going to let this innocent little question take me down that JNAT rat hole :eek:. Oh sure, would love to have a bunch gifted to me to go into some zen sharpening session with the wife yelling downstairs “it’s 2a.m., stop that danged stritching sound!!!!”. Please post a long video of using these stones, so I can, at the very least, live through you.

In all seriousness, they would be fun to try, but the diamond stones and ceramic finishing stone is getting me to curling end grain. Although, I must admit, the diamond stones are about to hit the can, because I find them terribly unflat.

So, if you find yourself at DTW training some rookie right seater to land in a midwest snow storm, bring a few stones. I’ll get you a beer and a Mexican dinner downtown. Then we can sharpen, my friend.


Phil,

Would love to but as life would have it I'm retiring in 6 months:). As the saying goes, don't fix it if it ain't broken. I'm not a fan of diamond stones other than for grinding and for that the only ones I've found that work are the Atoma plates.

ken

[Michael J Evans]

Phil,

Would love to but as life would have it I'm retiring in 6 months:). As the saying goes, don't fix it if it ain't broken. I'm not a fan of diamond stones other than for grinding and for that the only ones I've found that work are the Atoma plates.

ken

Hi Ken
Not to pull this thread OT but why not diamond? All I've ever used were diamond and my whetstone's, but after years of reading through these threads, I just don't see the appeal of water stones.negatives as I've read them below
1)have to have a sink pond, soak,etc
2) may need another stone to create a slurry
3) goes out of flat alot / consistently (or maybe it's made a big deal more than in reality)

In my simple mind, why not use diamonds for all the course, medium, fine? (As far as I'm aware they don't really go out of flat?) and then finish with a natural or whatever superfine finish / polishing stone. That way for the course tasks your not always flattening stones.

I typically only use 300,600,1200 diamond and then sometimes hard black Ark or diamonds and then strop. Seems to pop the hairs right off my arm.
Thanks
Michael

[ken hatch]

Hi Ken
Not to pull this thread OT but why not diamond? All I've ever used were diamond and my whetstone's, but after years of reading through these threads, I just don't see the appeal of water stones.negatives as I've read them below
1)have to have a sink pond, soak,etc
2) may need another stone to create a slurry
3) goes out of flat alot / consistently (or maybe it's made a big deal more than in reality)

In my simple mind, why not use diamonds for all the course, medium, fine? (As far as I'm aware they don't really go out of flat?) and then finish with a natural or whatever superfine finish / polishing stone. That way for the course tasks your not always flattening stones.

I typically only use 300,600,1200 diamond and then sometimes hard black Ark or diamonds and then strop. Seems to pop the hairs right off my arm.
Thanks
Michael


Michael,

I'll start by saying diamond plates can produce very sharp cutters as can almost all sharpening systems. Back in the day a workman would pull out his dished carborundum stone spit on it and in a minute or so be back at work. So bottom line I'm getting into the sharpening weeds.

In today's sharpening world we have so many options, each has strong points and weak ones. Notice I'm stuttering around trying to not be dogmatic but what the heck, cut to the chase.

Diamond plates, diamonds in general can make good course abrasives but because of the shape of the diamonds they leave scratch patterns that are hard to remove. In addition several makers plates may have rogue diamonds that leave very deep scratches that may be impossible to remove with your honing stone. Where this becomes important is at the cutting edge. The goal of the polishing stage is to smooth the scratches left by the honing stone and smooth and decrees the size of the saw teeth on the cutting edge as much as possible. The smoother and smaller those saw teeth are the cleaner you iron will cut and the longer it will last as a cutting edge before needing to be re-sharpened. BTW, some of the most popular water stones, while the bevels and backs will shine so brightly as to be almost blinding, have the same scratch problem with ordered and relatively deep straight sided scratches from even their 16K stone.

If what you are doing works I'd stick with it, only sharpening nerds like myself worry about scratch patterns and the like.

ken

[Anuj Prateek]

My final stone is 12k shapton. That was the one available at decent price ($50 or so) on Amazon.

It worked so never switched. It works fine paired with strop for my skill level.

[Daniel Culotta]

Daniel,

Go to Dan's site https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dan%27s+arkansas+sharpening+stones (https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dan%27s+arkansas+sharpening+stones) for stones. A good start would be a soft Ark 8"X2"X1/2" for $29.51 USD and a Black Ark the same size for $102.23 USD. then go to some place like Amazon for a Med India for $26.58 USD and you will be set for life. The only stone you might wear out would be the med India. Some times it is good to strop, there are too many options to go through but almost any piece of leather on a board will work.

For any sharpening you need to be able to grind (the med India), hone (the soft Ark), and polish the Black Ark). Learn on a 2" wide stone it will teach you to use the whole stone.

If money is a problem you could go with the Hard Ark for $36.97 instead of the Black Ark. While I have never used that stone I have the Norton Hard White Ark stone and if I were to use it as a final stone I would also use a strop with green stuff.

ken

Exactly what I needed, thank you!

[Erich Weidner]

if someone said stropping with butterfly wings was the secret, I be out in the backyard right with a butterfly net right now:D.

(Psst) Mike... stropping with butterfly wings actually is the secret.

[David Bassett]

(Psst) Mike... stropping with butterfly wings actually is the secret.

That's mean! :)

PS- Maybe he meant buffalo wings and that's how he got the Cholula on his shirt. He's really way ahead of us.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I finish with a Dan's Translucent ark. These are pricey but it was flat and fine cutting from the get-go. Feels like sharpening directly on glass.


And Dan claims that their Black is finer than the Translucent, and it costs less as well. :D

[Jim Koepke]

A good start would be a soft Ark 8"X2"X1/2" for $29.51 USD and a Black Ark the same size for $102.23 USD. then go to some place like Amazon for a Med India for $26.58 USD and you will be set for life.

My only comment on this is if you can afford it, get 3" wide stones. If you have a jointer plane you will appreciate the wider stone.


And Dan claims that their Black is finer than the Translucent, and it costs less as well. :D

Of my Dan's stones, the black is finer than the translucent.

My 'rogue' translucent stone is every bit as fine as Dan's black Arkansas stone.

A smooth piece of jasper is also a close match.

jtk

[ken hatch]

My only comment on this is if you can afford it, get 3" wide stones. If you have a jointer plane you will appreciate the wider stone.

jtk

Jim,

I suggested 2" stones because the narrow stone will help train to use the whole stone, to "hang ten" when sharpening. When I work on wider stones I find I have to force myself to use the edges, which BTW, was one of the Cosman finger nails where he said to stay away from the edge of the stone.

BTW, my experience is the same as yours, my "Black" from Dan's is finer than my "Translucent". The Translucent feels almost like a honing stone where the Black is incredibly smooth.

ken

[Robert Hazelwood]

And Dan claims that their Black is finer than the Translucent, and it costs less as well. :D

I've heard conflicting reports on which is finer, probably because the surface finish (how worn in) of any individual stone is a bigger factor than whatever small differences in density there are.

I think translucents are cooler-looking, and I like that you can see the swarf.

[Tom M King]

My first sharpening stones, not including the ones I used in Cub Scouts, and Boy Scouts, came from Smith's. I called them on the phone, and they sent the stones C.O.D. That was probably in 1974, or 5, but I don't remember exactly. These were a set of four. One of each grade they sold-Washita, Soft, Hard, and Black Arkansas.

The Washita is a purple, merled color. I've never seen another one like it, and wish I could find one now. It cuts Really fast. It's almost worn all the way through around the center.

I still have these stones, and use them occasionally. They were thrown out of a shop of mine that was hit by a tornado in 1988. Two were broken, and one piece of one of the broken ones was never seen again.

I used those until about 1992, and past then occasionally, when I bought my first water stones-Nortons-since moved on to faster, finer water stones.

The Black stone had never been cleaned, and sometime about ten years ago, I got the idea to clean it. It had always been black until that cleaning. I don't remember what I cleaned it with, but may have been carb cleaner. At that cleaning, all the black color left, and it's now translucent. I expect they put black dye in it for marketing reasons, but don't know. Smith's stopped selling full sized stones decades ago.

That finishing stone changed my life in learning what Really sharp is, and how such a sharp edge can effect work done with a cutting edge.

Back then, when I was a young man, I carried a Soligen steel pocket knife. After taking two people to the hospital, who asked to borrow my knife, and in spite of being warned how sharp the edge was, I quit carrying it.

Sometime I decided to buy another set of Arkansas stones. I had always wanted larger stones, so got a set. This set has a real black, which was the finest they sold. It does not put as sharp of an edge on as the old Smith.

[Rafael Herrera]

The black Arkansas stones sold by Dan are finer than his translucents. There's no confusion about it, that's how they are described by them. Whatever other vendors do and label is a different story.

[Michael J Evans]

Thanks Ken. Appreciate the response

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I've heard conflicting reports on which is finer, probably because the surface finish (how worn in) of any individual stone is a bigger factor than whatever small differences in density there are.

I think translucents are cooler-looking, and I like that you can see the swarf.

I have both from Dan's. The translucent cut faster than I expected for whatever I last used it (don't remember if it was a knife, chisel, or plane blade). I have more of his Black stones since I have them in different sizes.

If you buy the "best" brand, they claim that their translucent is the finest. Their claim is based on looking at the resulting edge. I am not sure how Dan graded them, but I will blindly assume it was density; so just a guess.

I have not had complaints about the translucent or the black and for sure, it is really cool when you can shine a light through your stone!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Hello all, really enjoying this and the other sharpening threads. I'm relatively new to sharpening and have a cheap double-sided water stone and strop that (surprisingly?) get all my steel sharpened up just fine - shaves hair and slices paper and all that. I'll also note that I sharpen often but I'm not particularly "into" it, just get it done and get back to work. At least at this point I don't intend to spend many hundreds of dollars on sharpening equipment.

I too work in a space without plumbing, so while my current setup works okay I'd like to move to something that doesn't require water. The world of natural and oil stones is totally new to me though (and seemingly complicated), and I really don't know where to start on sussing out a system that would work for me. My questions are 1) is there an authoritative source or thread(s) that I could read through that explains the world of natural and oilstones? And 2) do you have suggestions for a reasonably-priced system/set of stones that doesn't use water?

Thanks in advance, I'm hope I'm not coming off as wanting you to reproduce a bunch of info that already exists - I'm just a bit lost and looking for a nudge in the right direction. Much appreciated!

Shapton Pro and Shapton Glass stones are spray and go, no soaking. These are probably closest to what you currently use. If you have a spray bottle with water, you can wipe up the mess with a towel or paper towel. The Glass stones should cut faster than the Pro stones by design and be more able to handle the fancy steel blades these days.

Diamond will cut anything. You can use a diamond dry or with water. I use Smith's honing solution, which then leaves you with something to wipe up, but, you do not get over-spray from the water bottle. Some people don't like diamond because of the strong scratch pattern it leaves. I have also used Gatco honing oil for Diamond stones, but Smith's is my go to here.

Spyderco bench stones can be used dry, but most people I know prefer to use them with water. They can be tough to flatten but after you flatten them (if it is needed) they stay flat for a very long time.

Arkansas stones. I use honing oil, many people prefer to use other things (such as kerosene, simple green I think, water....). These are probably one of the slowest cutting stones, especially on fancy steel. I don't think that I would use these to sharpen a damaged blade, but they work fine for anything I have. Note I have not attempted to sharpen my knife made of CPM S110V steel. My expectation is that it can be used to maintain that edge but if it is really dull, I doubt an Arkansas would be up to that task.

Norton Crystolon. These are fast cutting (silicon carbide) but leave a rather rough edge. They also dish easily and can use a lot of oil and be messy. Inexpensive. Messy.

Norton India. These work well, and many people love them. They cut most things and leave a finer edge than the Crystolon stones. They use aluminum oxide. You need oil and it will be messier than the Arkansas stones. These are very inexpensive. Some people keep a Crystolon for the rough stuff and then refine the edge with the India stone. Messy.

If I am using a Crystolon or India stone, I use a 14" rubber coated bar tray to contain the mess. I use the same try to clean my saw blades. $12. I use Norton honing oil with these. I do have mineral oil that I have used, but some people indicated that it can be hit or miss because the Norton honing oil, although mineral oil, is specifically refined to have smaller particles so that it is less likely certain things will evaporate out leaving a sticky mess in your stone. I have not had this problem with the standard mineral oil that I have, but when I use my standard mineral oil (kitchen grade, I purchased a gallon of it, of course I also have a bunch of Norton honing oil) I can't say I would lose much sleep if it gummed up my cheap Norton stone.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032AM0S0


I do have other stones as well, but I have not used them; for example, a Norton Clear Creek bench stone (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DSW6TMA). it used to be called a Queer Creek stone but since the word Queer is almost never used based on the original definition of "odd" or "unusual", they expired the name in 2006 and changed it to "clear". Think of these as slightly lower than the No. 1 Washita and you can use it with Water or Oil. These are also called "Ohio Blue Stone" since they are mined in Ohio then shipped to Mexico for processing / cutting. I would have to check, but, if you use it with oil, you cannot go back to water. 600 to 1K grit I believe.

I purchased a few American Mutt stones, but it is so out of flat that I would never use it on a blade I cared about. More useful for a lawnmower blade or similar. But it should cut fast. Might use it on an Axe head.

If you just want a random collection of facts that I assembled for my own use, I can shoot you a document that is focused on the stones that I have, but contains a lot of info.

[Jim Koepke]

I use a 14" rubber coated bar tray to contain the mess.

An automotive utility mat is also a help at keeping a mess contained:

437857

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=automotive+utility+mat&ref=nb_sb_noss

Mine was purchased at Target over a decade ago.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I did buy three large silicon mats to see if they would work. They are small, smooth, "grippy" and easy to clean. I have not yet tried them with the Crystolon or India stones. I have used them for some other stones, however.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZK6GH86 ($9 total).

[Jim Koepke]

I did buy three large silicon mats to see if they would work. They are small, smooth, "grippy" and easy to clean. I have not yet tried them with the Crystolon or India stones. I have used them for some other stones, however.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZK6GH86 ($9 total).

The great thing about the utility mats is if you find them at an auto supply or other large store you can often find them with a ridge around the sides to help control where the water or oil goes.

jtk

[Daniel Culotta]

This is excellent as well, thank you! I'll PM you for those additional details. Reading this, I'm realizing that one of the things I've been struggling with is evaluating the tradeoffs between stones to make the best decision for my shop. It seems to be a some combination of cutting speed, cutting quality, material quality, maintenance, durability, lubrication medium, cost (I probably missed others). This post is helping me evaluate some of those variables between stones/brands.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I emailed the document to you....

I started with sandpaper. It has a low entry cost but long term it is not effective.

In my mind, the starting point would be "my stuff is mostly sharp and I want to keep it that way". With that in mind, you could start with a single stone and some stropping compound that you apply to a piece of wood

[Mel Fulks]

I've gotten a couple of fine razor hones from yard sales. In one case ,I hate to admit this...I bought a fine razor hone
for 2 $ , I told the two widowed sisters " the real fine stones aren't much good for woodworking". One of them replied
that it had belonged to their father and he often commented on its quality. You never forget such kindness and such a
gentle and informing rebuke.