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Thread: Sharpening Japanese chisels

  1. #16
    Got these after reading Stan's blog...

    https://www.fine-tools.com/bester.html

    Best stones I have ever used... they cut amazingly well and fast... and are right in line with prices of other comparable stones... much better than the King stones that I had before...

    JH

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    Silicon Valley, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Hood View Post
    ... Best stones I have ever used....
    Lee Valley has those, in the medium to fine grits, closer to home.

    Stu, from Tools from Japan, used to recommend the Sigma Power stones. Those don't seem to be imported, if they're made at all, and have been replaced by the Select II stones in stores here. Again LV has many of the Sigma Select II stones. But these are more the high-alloy steels and have been reported to be a waste on steel like (most) Japanese chisels use.

    Stu also recommended an Suehiro Cerax and Rika as a "budget set". When his store was open he had a very good price, but at least they seem readily available on Amazon at reasonable cost. He suggested the Cerax 320, Cerax 1000, and the Rika 5000 as very well matched and cost effective set. I've used these and can vouch for them. Easy, quick, and not too much fuss. They do like short soaks, in my experience.

    Another recommendation I've seen frequently, though I don't have any experience with them, that is available from Amazon is the Shapton Pro stones. They are true splash & go. Christopher Schwarz uses and recommends them. (I think Fitz does too.) I think I'd have tried these, if I really couldn't soak for 5-10 mins. (May still give them a try someday.)

    Lastly, Naniwa Pro (formerly Chosera) has been recommended by it's fans. I think it's a love them or hate them stone. But the only real negative I've heard is they crack if not dried very slowly and carefully.

    One thought, if you have friends, a woodworking club, or a class where you can try stones before committing you'd probably save some time and money. I think most stones will easily sharpen most chisels and the biggest variable is personal preference.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Colorado Springs
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    360
    Sorry, wasn’t clear. I was referring to natural Japanese stones. Thx.

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Snider View Post
    Sorry, wasn’t clear. I was referring to natural Japanese stones. Thx.
    Jon,

    Be careful out there, they can be addicting and harmful to your pocket book . The truth is you only need one but two are nice to have and if you do not buy collector stones and "pretty" isn't important they are semi-reasonable. One is https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/ another is So's site but I'm on the road and can't find it Brian Holcomb should be able to help.

    ken

  5. Agree that Maksim at Japanese natural stones is great (although also usually one of the most expensive). Another one is: https://www.aframestokyo.com/ (usually with less expensive options) or http://www.japan-tool.com/zc/ (awesome but slow and possibly not shipping now).

    I haven't ever interacted with Stanley Covington, but people seem to like him a lot (I like his blog). Probably others could advice if he can offer stones.

  6. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Lawrence Burkett View Post
    Agree that Maksim at Japanese natural stones is great (although also usually one of the most expensive). Another one is: https://www.aframestokyo.com/ (usually with less expensive options) or http://www.japan-tool.com/zc/ (awesome but slow and possibly not shipping now).

    I haven't ever interacted with Stanley Covington, but people seem to like him a lot (I like his blog). Probably others could advice if he can offer stones.
    He does not. good on tools but no stones.

    ken

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    Silicon Valley, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Snider View Post
    Sorry, wasn’t clear. I was referring to natural Japanese stones. Thx.
    That's an even deeper twistier rabbit hole!


    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Jon,

    Be careful out there, they can be addicting and harmful to your pocket book . The truth is you only need one but two are nice to have and if you do not buy collector stones and "pretty" isn't important they are semi-reasonable. One is https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/ another is So's site but I'm on the road and can't find it Brian Holcomb should be able to help.

    ken
    JNS has an outstanding reputation, but is in Denmark and I'm not sure how well packages are flowing right now. There are several others overseas people have praised, but I don't seem to have bookmarked them. I do know of several US stores with good reputations that stock some J-Nats, though I haven't sampled their stone offerings and can't really rate that part of their business. (You can find any of these with a search, I'm sure.) Japanese Knife Imports, in Los Angeles. Bernal Cutlery, in San Francisco & Oakland. Hida Tool, in Berkeley. And Carbon Knife Co, in Denver.

    Another option, if you're adventurous, is to buy from Japanese auctions and have the stones shipped in bulk to the US. David Weaver has described doing this (on another forum) and characterized it as kissing a lot of frogs to find a few princes. He doesn't seem to count his time, but concludes he saved money overall because he was able to break even on the frogs by selling them on eBay with good photos and accurate descriptions. I'm sure I'd lose my mind long before I found any of the princely offerings.


    ETA: BTW- JKI is the only place I've ever shopped that makes LV service look pedestrian. E.g. never once have I had Rob Lee call me up and tell me to change my order because buying the expensive item was wasting my money. Of course JKI is a much smaller business and is based on high quality and incredible service.
    Last edited by David Bassett; 06-29-2020 at 8:25 PM. Reason: Another thought.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Sioux City, IA
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    804
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    3
    For me, just like any other chisel. Free hand ala Paul Sellers. The back on a plate with 600 grit sandpaper until the hollow shows. To grind, I set it at 25 degrees on the belt sander for a second or two. To me, chisels are tools, regardless of where they originated.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Stone Mountain, GA
    Posts
    751
    I sharpen my WS #2 chisels and plane irons with oil stones. Fine india > soft ark > translucent ark. Leaves a very nice finish with good contrast between hard and soft steel.

    I sharpen them full flat bevel, mostly because it looks nice that way. Sometimes at the end of sharpening I will raise the tool a hair and put on a slight microbevel on the translucent ark.

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