First off - Not intending to launch another full on sharpening thread here. There are plenty of those to search (and I have).
I've used 3M abrasive film on glass blocks for about 10 years. If starting from scratch, I grind a hollow with a low speed grinder, or if the primary isn't too bad I refresh it with a coarse diamond stone to pull a wire edge. I then cycle through the five film grits from 40 to 15 to 5 to 1 and to .3 microns, with a few strokes on each. If in maintenance mode I just use the film on blocks as appropriate for what I need to touch up. I flatten backs on the film as well. In general the results are quite good and especially so with fresh film. I recently refreshed all my film and it was a stark reminder of how much it wears over time. When new it cuts fast, even my A2 and PM-V11 tools. After a while, not so much.
I'm thinking of adding a water stone or two as a replacement for or a supplement to the film. I like the idea of the "spritz only" stones like Shapton and Ohishi as I don't have a sink at my sharpening station and would rather not keep them in a tub of water.
Any Creekers out there that have made this specific transition, from film to stones? If so, how often are you needing to flatten the stones as compared to how often you were changing film? It's been suggested that two or three grits would be more than adequate, perhaps a 6K and 10K to supplement my coarser diamond.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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