Show us your sharpening stations

[Mike Manning]

How do you sharpen your hand tools - plane cutters, chisels, etc? I've watched Paul Sellers in the past and I seem to recall he has a board with 3 different grades of sharpening stones. IIRC, those were water stones that he squirted with a spray bottle before using. I've also see Paul use sandpaper with a flat granite surface. I'm curious what other folks use and would love to see some pics of what I'll call your sharpening stations. Anyone care to share theirs?

Thanks!

[Nathan Johnson]

Sellers uses diamond stones with auto glass cleaner.

I've got diamonds and Shaptons....water with a bit of soap.

[Mike Manning]

Looks good Nathan. I notice you don't have the stones (or their bases) embedded to keep them from moving. I take it you don't have that problem?

[Nathan Johnson]

Looks good Nathan. I notice you don't have the stones (or their bases) embedded to keep them from moving. I take it you don't have that problem?

No issue. 1/2 inch plywood covered with shelf liner. The diamond stones without holders, or shaptons in holders, don't slide at all on that stuff.
I screwed the poplar on the outside to the plywood and ran the shelf liner underneath it. Cheap, quick, easy.

[Mike Burke]

I need to get more organized with my sharpening station.
Need to find a place to leave them out, so I don't have to unpack them every time I need to sharpen.

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[Oskar Sedell]

A simple shelf, at good standing height for me. Small wooden tray with a bridge collects sharpening smudge and flattening slurry which dries in the tray and can be disposed of later. Stones, water and rags always ready. I´ve been very pleased with this setup. Sorry for bad pic quality
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[William Fretwell]

I wanted some weight at the top of the sharpening station so it would not move around. A black granite off cut from a kitchen counter place works well. It’s held underneath at three places so no wobble. The table is the right height with some storage in the drawer and shelf. The non slip mat works but I need a thinner one. The drawer has a Band Aid dispenser.

The water stones work well on granite, after soaking I just spray them as I use them.

I used an oil finish on the drawer but the water and mess stain it, varnish would have been better.
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[Rob Luter]

Here's the latest iteration. A Trend 300/1000 diamond plate and a couple of Shapton Glasstones in 6000 and 16000. I use Picocool cutting fluid from the tool room at work for lube and corrosion deterrence. A horsebutt leather strop for finish. The granite plate is handy for lapping and flattening using abrasive film. I use a LN honing guide for everything except touchups.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50988878701_f02602a1bb_b.jpg

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

Good thread. Here's mine with shapton pros and an atoma diamond plate. (and mess!)

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I patterned it from the plan by LN that was in FWW about a decade ago, which has hardwood stops for the stones and angle blocks for setting a side-clamp gage that I use for plane blades (eclipse style in my case). I freehand chisels. I've recent gotten the LV gage and built some angle gage blocks, one of which is in the photo. I went with the shaptons because my shop used to freeze and they could stay outside without ill effect.

I've since gone back using the plastic boxes for two stones and added another block to get the stones up off the surface so I can lap the backs while the blade is still clamped in. The other change I will make at some point is to widen the entire affair by ~20% to give enough room between stones so I don't have to move them around when lapping backs.

Best,
Chris

[Brian Hale]

Cluttered as usual.....

Small 3x8 DMT stones from from 120 through 8000, 8x8 EzeLap plates from 150 to 1200, 2 Norton India stones in steel cases next to hard and soft Arkansas stones. 1 very used medium Spyderco and a strop. There's also a pile of Shaptons and Sun Tiger Waterstones in a box up in the loft. The 1200, 8000 DMT's and the Spyderco are used for 90% of my sharpening. Also a 1"x42"
belt sander/grinder for those bad times.
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[Colby Campbell]

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Four 3x8 DMT stones (XXCoarse, Coarse, Fine, XFine) and leather strop. I use C/F/XF and strop in my day-to-day but the XCoarse has been useful when I don't want to go to the grinder. I had a couple Eclipse-style guides that I used before I upgraded to the LN - worth the money IMO. The blunt gnarly chisel is for tightening the guide. The white box contains green honing compound stick. The WD-40 is for the guide when I'm done using it for the day. I use Spring Green for honing.

[Andrew Hughes]

My sharpening station is just outside the back of the shop. I have garden hose spray to keep everything clean and wet. Shapton are my primary use stones.
I have a second sharpening area where my Tormeks sit.

[Luke Dupont]

Sharpening systems are a matter of much personal preference, and personal need, so you're sure to get very different answers from different people!

I've tried and used every sharpening method and type of stone you can imagine, including some pretty obscure stuff.
What have I settled on?

Oilstones. Often dismissed as slow, messy, old fashioned, etc. etc... They're none of that, in my experience.
They're low maintenance (no need to flatten, for the most part, or to presoak, and no need for a sink and running water.), hard but offer good feedback (both of which I like), and the right combination of good quality oil stones are by no means any slower than, say, diamond plates and the like. They work well on every steel that I've ever owned, though they do work best on simple carbon steels, which are my preference anyway.

I usually make wooden boxes for them, or simply make a Japanese style sharpening stone "dai." A thin layer of lightweight oil, and you're straight to work.
I typically use one of the following progressions:

One stone:
1. Just a Vintage Washita, followed by a Leather Strop *Real washita stones are not mined anymore, and are expensive and hard to find. Anything new being sold as washita these days are just super low density soft arkansas stones.

Two stones:
1. Medium or Fine Norton India
2. Hard Arkansas (Not a true hard or translucent, but just one step above the "soft"
Followed by a leather strop, this is as sharp as you typically ever need. I recommend this combination to anyone interested in trying oilstones, and buying new oilstones.

3 Stones:
1. Medium or Fine Norton India
2. Soft Arkansas or Hard Arkansas, or, if you have one, a real vintage Washita
3. True Hard or Black Arkansas
You can bring a razor to shaving sharpness with this progression and a leather strop.

My least favorite oil stone is the Soft Arkansas, which seems to clog and dull/burnish easily. It helps to refreshen the surface with a diamond plate. I still use them though, depending on what I'm doing.
My favorite are the Vintage Washita, and the Hard (one step above Soft, and one step below True Hard/Black) Arkansas stones. The Hard Arkansas seems to cut much finer than the soft, but almost as fast... Somtimes, I could even swear faster. Norton's Fine and Medium India stones are also some of my favorite -- both are prefilled and very good at quickly removing steel and bevel setting and repair.

In recent years, I've also been getting slowly into Japanese Natural Whetstones, which are my second favorite behind Traditional Oilstones.
Because I'm in Japan, I can pick up the cheaper varieties pretty easily. I tend to like the Binsui paired with a lower end finishing stone.
I have very limited experience with Jnats, however, and have not tried any of the really high quality, expensive stones.

As you can see, I have a strong preference for natural stones these days. I've used diamond and Japanese synthetic waterstones extensively, but I find them to actually be more trouble to prepare, use, and maintain, and don't like the feel and feedback of them, nor can I get the same kind of edge I get on an Arkansas stone.

Really hard stones, like Arks, do take some skill and practice to get good at, though. A soft stone is more forgiving of poor / imperfect geometry. But they're great, just like diamond plates, when you want to be assured that you're creating a perfectly flat surface. You should never need to flatten them, except for the Washita, or maybe the soft (after many years of use).

[Mike Manning]

Great posts all around. Really enjoying reading the thoughts and photos associated with how everyone sharpens their tools. I'm going to try to find the LN plan in FWW around a decade ago mentioned by Chris Charles. Should be on my FWW archive. Please carry on with your sharpening stations and thoughts about sharpening like Luke posted.

[Christopher Charles]

Andrew, nice set up. Wish I could use a garden hose :)

Luke, I have to say I enjoyed the irony of you being in Tokyo and having a preference for Ark stones.

Mike, I forgot to mention that I do have a slow speed grinder that's an important component to the system, as I find a hollow grind to be super helpful. Nothing fancy-I hand grind on a crowned wheel.

Here's the link to the FWW article from the July/August 2010 issue in case the link doesn't work. Again my advice would be to widen the design by 2-3x and get the stones up. Otherwise a great system.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/9705/011213042.pdf

Best,
Chris

[Luke Dupont]

Luke, I have to say I enjoyed the irony of you being in Tokyo and having a preference for Ark stones.


Haha, yeah.

To be fair, I think I could find myself with a preference for Jnats one day -- when I'm willing to put down the money for some really nice ones.

Edit: Even more ironically, I should mention that I like using oilstones on Japanese tools because Japanese steel is very prone to rusting. This sometimes even happens in the middle of sharpening. With oilstones, I never worry about having to apply oil afterwards or having rust form.

[Derek Cohen]

Luke, I have not ever experienced my Japanese chisels rusting as a result of sharpening with water stones. It certainly has not been a complaint of many millions of Japanese using Japanese chisels.

My main system is a Shapton Pro 1000, with Sigma 6000 and 13000. Alternatives include Medium and UltraFine Spyderco, along with several diamond stones used for rougher work.

https://i.postimg.cc/DZJpcBGM/3.jpg

Two half-speed 8" bench grinders: one with 80/180 grit CBN wheels, and the other set up for buffing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Scott Clausen]

If I had only bought what's best first I would have enough left over for a new tool! I started with stones, it was such a mess and pain I waited past dull to undertake. Move to the PSA paper on float glass (scary sharp) which was cleaner but only going in one direction sucked as in twice as long. Got the work sharp and love it for my chisels but not so much for pane irons. They are often too wide and if a mild camber is needed no such luck. For the ones the fit Work Sharp is nice to correct a really bad previous owner's work. Bring on the diamond plates, this should be anyone's go to as a one and done solution. I am sure (this is a sharpening thread) others will agree to disagree but with these and a good strop I am good to go now. It in fact was exactly the best solution to make a seldom used No. 4 into a scrub plane. Full disclosure: I don't have a grinder but that is on the shopping list this weekend.

[Luke Dupont]

Luke, I have not ever experienced my Japanese chisels rusting as a result of sharpening with water stones. It certainly has not been a complaint of many millions of Japanese using Japanese chisels.

My main system is a Shapton Pro 1000, with Sigma 6000 and 13000. Alternatives include Medium and UltraFine Spyderco, along with several diamond stones used for rougher work.

Two half-speed 8" bench grinders: one with 80/180 grit CBN wheels, and the other set up for buffing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Yeah, many people don't have that problem it seems.
To be fair, it only really happens when I am spending a long time doing major repairs, bevel setting, or trying to flatten the back of a new chisel.
Of course, this kind of work is better done on a coarse diamond plate most of the time anyway.

I like diamond stones as well, as Scott Clausen mentioned, and used to use them a lot, but I could not find a liquid that seemed to work well on them. Oil proves to be too thick, and water too thin (and leads to rusting swarf particles embedded in the stone). Many people use window cleaners and such, but I seem to be allergic to some chemical that is commonly used in those products. This, and the fact that oil stones offer better feedback but also reduced mess and maintenance were my reasons for switching from Waterstones > Diamond > Oilstones. Of course, a good diamond plate is always useful for major grinding and flattening stones, and is an absolute necessity if you restore a ton of old tools.

So, short answer might be that I was just "doing it wrong" and should have been using a coarse diamond plate over waterstones for major flattening and bevel setting/repairs.

[David Zor]

As I’m unpacking and moving into a new shop, this is timely. I’m using some free (el cheapo) kitchen cabinets with a laminate countertop to support a dedicated sharpening station. In one drawer I’ve got stones, blade holding jig and some other odds and ends at the ready. On top is a spray bottle and boot tray at the ready. In the other drawers: files, abrasives, beat up old chisels chisels and plane irons needing heavy work, tools that need to be restored and other “tool support” related stuff. As I unpack (and hopefully stay organized) I aim to make efficient use of this space. I have it directly behind my bench to facilitate convenience in keeping things sharp.
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/69f2862c-5c92-4f13-a3a7-7f236a8436af

[Todd Trebuna]

Lol….diamonds, water stones and Sand paper on float glass for chisels. 465054

[Jeffrey Hood]

A while back I made this cabinet to keep everything organized... putting it right next to the sink ended up being a good idea, and when I added the removable tray I really can keep the waterstone mess contained... I still use the dropdown most of the time with my Shaptons and diamond stones, but having running water and the sink really helps keep things dry when I break out the waterstones...

JH

[Mike Manning]

...

Here's the link to the FWW article from the July/August 2010 issue in case the link doesn't work. Again my advice would be to widen the design by 2-3x and get the stones up. Otherwise a great system.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/9705/011213042.pdf

Best,
Chris

Thanks Chris. I was able to find it rather quickly in my FWW archive.