Thread: new to sharpening

The 800 and 1200 only need soaking for a few minutes before use, otherwise keep store them dry. The 6000 I was never quite able to get the best from, but spraying water on top and leaving it there for a few minutes seems to work ok.

Thanks kman-oz, what do you use for the final polish if you dont get the best from the 6000

In the past I used Veritas honing compound on some scrap wood, these days I've replaced the King with a Shapton Professional for the final polish.

I've got two King waterstones (1200 & 6000) which have sat in water for the last 4 years. No adverse reactions yet. Still need to have a dropper with water on top when using them.

Don't worry about buying the stone pond, mine are kept in a decor container. Has a grate on the bottom so the sediment sinks.

Cheers,

Tom

What TomH said - I've kept 800, 1200 and a 4000/8000 Norton permanently submerged for years too. Ready to use, no soaking required, and it does them no harm at all.

These are Japanese waterstones though; DON'T try this with most of the newer ceramic waterstones. I have a coarse Sigma ceramic stone that needs a brief soak before use but must NOT be left in water. Many of the Shapton ceramic stones don't actually soak up water, so you can just spritz some water onto the surface before use and dry them off when you're done.

thanks a lot guys, one more question, ( Actually i am sure there will be plenty of questions), I am trying to use all of the stone to keep it flat as possible, can i hone over the black KING logo. BTW, I have sharpened 3 of my old chisels and wow a difference a sharp tool makes.

You most definitely can - it comes off after a few strokes anyway.

Try to use the entire surface of the stone when sharpening to even out the wear, but you will still need to flatten the stones periodically when they become dished. Several methods and tools available to do this, but cheapest is 220 grit (or thereabouts) wet and dry paper stuck on a flat piece of glass. Draw a grid on the surface of the stone with a soft pencil, then you can see when the entire face has been flattened.

I've progressed to a coarse diamond plate for flattening my sharpening stones, but the wet and dry method is perfectly adequate.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

These are Japanese waterstones though; DON'T try this with most of the newer ceramic waterstones. I have a coarse Sigma ceramic stone that needs a brief soak before use but must NOT be left in water. Many of the Shapton ceramic stones don't actually soak up water, so you can just spritz some water onto the surface before use and dry them off when you're done.

Actually, you can leave any of the Sigma Power stones in water indefinitely. They're effectively indestructible as it is, and water will not harm them.

I may have said in the past to not perma-soak them, but the official word from SP is that they'll be fine.

The care and feeding is pretty much don't hit them too hard with a hammer, do drop them on your toes. Otherwise, anything goes.

Shapton Professional, no long term soaking. They'll be kilt very quickly, but do benefit from 10 minutes in water before use in #5000 and finer.

Stu, who's done seriously nasty things to Sigma stones, and even has photos for posterity.