Observation on the new Sigma Power Ceramic #400

[Superbunny]

I just received in the post my new Sigma #400 from Stuart in Japan. I just had to give it a go so here are some Pics. It did cut quite fast and I must say the chisel I used was not in good shape but its an oldie so a goodie as they say and at 50 cents at the market I can't complain. It only took me 10 mins to get it this far and it was less than flat to start with. I'm impressed with this stone and plan to spend more time with it preparing my other chisels for sharpening.

SB

[snafuspyramid]

I've had similar results; very pleasing.

I've been using it to flatten my King stones with some success. I doubt this would work with more modern stones, but the relative softness of the Kings and the remarkable hardness of the Sigma, along with the remarkably fine finish / scratch pattern the Sigma leaves behind, seems to be working well. If I can't get consistent results this way I'll probably invest in a diamond plate from Stu; I'm heartily sick of the inconsistent and messy results from WD or SiC on glass (which seems to work best on harder stones).

It may just be my imagination, and I'll have to play with it some more to be certain, but it seems that the King 1000 cuts more quickly when establishing a bevel. Strange. However, when the amount of metal in contact with the stone increases, the King becomes entirely useless while the Sigma doesn't slow down at all.

I mentioned in another post about the stone that it doesn't stay flat as long as I'd like. I take that back; I suspect that the out-of-flatness I kept detecting was a result of the slight warp in the stone (and my failure to check that it had been eliminated after the first flattening). Now that that's gone, it's plain sailing.

Aside from flattening backs, I've found it's very useful for establishing a micro-bevel before I use the Kings. This means I can use the Kings less (an entirely good thing) and speeds up the entire process. As mentioned, the scratch pattern the Sigma leaves behind is surprisingly fine, and disappears with just a few strokes of the 1000 stone.

[Superbunny]

Yep, it is good, I've just finished another 6 chisels and some have seen better days and I'm still impressed. I find a little more pressure works better and it uncloggs nicely with a little water. Will soon be moving onto the 1000 then 6000 to see what will happen but I expect I'll get a top result.

SB