To Slurry or not to Slurry? That is the question !

[yvan]

I started with 3 new Shapton Pro wetstones: 220 - 1000 & 8000G and used them to sharpen a 3/4" Titan chisel I inherited.
In the process of flattening the back of the chisel, I thought that the jump from 1000 to 8000G was too much and felt no "purchase"
on the 8000 stone. The back of the chisel was "slipping" rather than grinding. So purchased a 2000 and a 5000G to fill the gap and I believe it was the correct step to take. (Maybe either of the two may have been sufficient?)

I also read about Nagura stones and I am asking if my sharpening would improve even more by using Naguras to create a slurry on the finer stones, from 2000G upward. If so, do I need a different Nagura for each wetstone?

Advice & opinions will be gratefully received

Yvan

[Evanism]

Slurry!

I'm a nagura man.... Same one on all stones.

Slurry is an imperative, the quality of finish improves hugely.

[yvan]

Slurry!

I'm a nagura man.... Same one on all stones.

Slurry is an imperative, the quality of finish improves hugely.

Thanks Evanism. Do you use your nagura on all your stones or start at a specific grit?
Also, I assume that there is no need to match the brand of a nagura with the that of a wetstone?

Yva

[Luke Maddux]

I think it depends a lot on the stone. I use Norton stones and was instructed not to use a nagura (which was great since I had already bought one...)

It might pay to contact the manufacturer?

Just a thought.

Cheers,
Luke

[Evanism]

Yes, same stone on all, plus used on all... Well, not the 240 (which I dislike) and the 180 diamond plate.... But for all the others, yes.

The stones are a random mixture of king, naniwa and Shaptons in 240 (hate), 800, 1000 (love), 4000 (really love), 6000 (rarely use), 8000(love), 12000(really good), 30k (barely use, but for the kitchen knives: OMG-sharp).

I like to use the nagura for the positive effects it has on the stones. I use it to clean them when they get grotty, plus the slurry lets me see the metal coming off the tool, it gives me a good visualisation of the effectiveness.

I've found, very distinctly, that every chisel and kanna blade is very different. Some love some stones with they hate others. Don't know why, but the nagura let's me see how effective that blade is with that stone. If its doing a bad job, jumping up a stone usually gets it back to life.(e.g. I have heaps of jap chisels that do nothing on the 4k, but love the 6k)

Also, I like to keep the slurry on the stone and don't frequently wash them off. They are also kept dry. I also don't tend to flatten them very often at all.... There is the diamond plate for that. I'm also aware of some people that use the diamond plate to make a quick slurry out of the stone itself, but this seems like a really expensive thing to do.

My sharpening technique is based on Des Kings description of strict muscle control and stance outlined in his kumiko book.

[Evanism]

I use the eraser sized blue wrapped nagura. I don't know the brand, but they are everywhere... They seem to be freebies, for there are many in my try and I don't recall actually ever buying one.

You can buy natural nuggets from a dude on eBay, but do they work "better"? I don't know!