Which type of abrasive for chisels and plane irons?

[Brian Hale]

Is aluminum oxide the way to go? Seems the wet/dry stuff gets dull before i get a chisel near it. :(

Brian :)

[Rob Millard]

Brian,

I grind, followed by a combination medium/fine Inda stone, and then 800,1000,1500 and 2000 grit paper, and finally a hone with diamond paste. I use the 3M paper sold in the automotive department at Wal-Mart.
It seems to last a good while.
Rob Millard

[JayStPeter]

Best stuff I've found is sold by LV (in micron sizes). It lasts a good long time. Unfortunately, it's only available in finer grit sizes so I still have to suffer when I need to do some serious work on an edge. On the plus side, their roughest grit cuts really aggressively, so I've eliminated a couple steps in my lower grits and have found I don't need to go lower unless the edge is in bad shape.
I believe the same stuff is sold by toolsforworkingwood.com.


Jay

[Steve Cox]

I bought a couple of DMT duo-sharps in the rougher grits and switch to sandpaper on the finer grits. I finish up with a 2500 grit wet/dry I found at an automotive paint store. Excellent mirror and I could replace my razor if need be.