Thanks for that -- I didn't know that one existed -- I too, just ordered one.Originally Posted by Tom M King
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Thanks for that -- I didn't know that one existed -- I too, just ordered one.
Contributor
When grit numbers are given it doesn't occur to me the discussion is about oilstones.
Are the Chystolon stones labeled with grit numbers?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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Whoa, what is that? Just a big piece of granite / whatever tombstones are made of?
I've always wondered what random stones one can find that would work, and I've always wondered if having a massive stone conveys any benefit speed wise (I've always used a lot of short strokes on my stones, but then I've never owned anything longer than 8")
I don't have, and may never have the space for a large wheel grinder or tormek or something. One day, though, for the fun of it, I want one of those big old hand cranked or treddle grinding wheels. One day, when I have the space and won't be moving every couple of years...
I see these old little bench/table mounted hand cranked grinders a lot though. Are these worthwhile, or is one better served by sandpaper or a nice coarse crystolon stone?
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Luke, I bought a new Prairie Tool Company water cooled hand cranked grinder from Drew Langsner about 20 years ago. I do not think they make them any more. I have used it a few times over the years and have not mastered it. You crank with one hand and hold the blade with the other. Just can't get good results.
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For each stone, they usually use terms such as coarse, medium, and fine along with statements such as this:
They do mention general grit sizes on this page:The coarse grit stone quickly restores worn edges; medium grit produces a good edge needed for most tools; and fine grit produces an even sharper edge. Ideal for hand dimensioning and sharpening of all types of knives, plane blades, chisels, scrapers, or any other tool that needs a flat, sharp edge, working best when used with oil.
https://www.nortonabrasives.com/en-u...arpening-stone
I have found listed "approximate" grits for crystolon compared to the India stones along with the reasons that the India stones will leave a "finer" surface for the same grit size as indicated by coarse, medium, and fine.Man-made benchstones come in a variety of sizes and shapes and are available in a range of grit sizes: coarse (80-100 grit), medium (150-220 grit), and fine (280-320 grit). Benchstones are durable, wear slowly, and retain their flatness significantly longer than waterstones.
I really like your large stone. Do you sharpen on the stone, or, do you use adhesive backed sandpaper?
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Yes Luke that is a big piece of granite the tombstone shop had laying around the yard. He often uses scraps like that to make smaller stones for markers for people who want to have a memorial for a pet.Whoa, what is that? Just a big piece of granite / whatever tombstones are made of?
Andrew, I purchased a bunch of rolls of adhesive backed sandpaper from > https://www.supergrit.com/ < many years ago. Now that my tool restorations are fewer and further between it isn't used as much as in the past.I really like your large stone. Do you sharpen on the stone, or, do you use adhesive backed sandpaper?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
I have the coarsest Atoma plate and love it. It cuts fasts and does not degrade quickly like some other ones (DMT in particular, I have a dead one of those). If you go for diamonds, go for Atoma.
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I get a offcut from a granite countertop installer about three feet long. Cover it with painters tape and apply from a roll 90 grit PSA paper. I can move up to 120 and 220 before going back to diamond plates. Primary use is flattening the sole of the plane.
[OP]
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slim pickings in Israel
[OP]
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thanks everyone, I ended up deciding to get the 3m Stikit gold 80 grit and stick it on the atoma. I was using porter cable junk and it would wear out within 10 strokes. hopefully this will work better.
Contributor
Just an example of using a silicon carbide type of stone (a Carborundum in this case, but a Norton Crystolon would be equivalent), this freshly made plane iron needs its bevel to be ground for the first time. What you see is the rough bevel ground prior to heat treatment. There's a bit less than 1/32" of steel to remove. On that combination stone in the picture, it took about 15 minutes to get an apex ready for further honing.
20211214_005011.jpg
After grinding.
20211214_011310.jpg
why do it this way? it's just a different method, one small stone and plenty of oil. A PSA sandpaper strip and a honing guide would have worked, but you have to watch and not burn your fingers.
Last edited by Rafael Herrera; 12-14-2021 at 4:12 PM. Reason: add picture
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The big, coarse stone came a couple of days ago, but I haven't had a chance to try it on an edge yet. It is Big, and I recognized it from rub "bricks" for tile work. It is nice, and flat on all surfaces.
I was looking through Bon Tools stonework tools, and ran across their selection of rub stones. Those are only 6" x2", but I ordered a 24 grit, and a 46 grit, mainly to see what they will do to a beat up chisel. If they are way too coarse, I'll use them sometime for their intended purpose.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Okay, now that's very interesting.
Contributor
The 24 grit and 46 grit stones came today. I played with them a little bit, because also some chisels I bought off ebay came. These chisels need to be reground, so I wasn't worried about them.
MAN!! do these things eat metal! I don't think you can skip grits though, because the scratches are pretty deep. The 46 made quick work out of the 24 scratches, and the 80 made pretty quick work out of the 46 scratches.
I just played with them for not even a minute. I'll need to set up to check the bevel angles before I do any more with them.
It would be nice if the really coarse stones were larger, but they're useable this size.
Even the 80 grit stone is pretty fast. I used to have an X-coarse diamond plate, that I never really liked. I already like this 80 grit stone better.
Member
After Tom, brought this to our attention, I ordered one of the coarse SiC stones from Sharpening Supplies (the link is back up in Tom's post #9)
I recently gave it a go, and it is everything I'd hoped for. This is a 12" x 3" x ¾" man-made stone containing 80 grit Silicon Carbide.
My woodshop has absolutely no power tools of any kind. (electricity is used for lighting and music only). Though I have about 20 vintage hand-cranked grinders, they are annoying to use.
I've had my share of coarse diamond plates (short-lived) and experimented with sandpaper, but so far, this thing is the best.
I freehand ground a couple of nicked and chipped #6 irons as well as two or three chisels in the same condition. None had a recognizable bevel angle when I started.
I have ground and honed freehand for decades now, and can get within 2 or 3 degrees of 25° with no problem. The coarse grit and long runway had the steel shaped in no time.
As recommended, I used only water as a cutting agent.
Time will tell how long this stone lasts, before potentially loading up like every other Crystolon-style stone I've ever encountered. But for now, this is a fantastic substitute for a powered grinding wheel.
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