Thread: sharpening stones

Mate, I just got back from the local paint store, $17 for two sheets each of 180 through 2000 grit paper for scary sharp, and 2 meters of 180 to flatten a plane sole. I'm gonna buy a set of waterstones soon to go with the Veritas Mark II honing jig, scary sharp is fine, but I'm moving on because:
you need to keep buying paper, where as a stone should last me forever.
its messy (I use WD-40 and baby oil to lubricate the paper so the swarf floats off),
takes longer to get organised,
the edge produced doesn't seem to hold the 'sharpness' as well,
the edge doesn't seem as sharp.

What clinched it was the Carbatec prices for King brand waterstones - up to 1200 grit = $39, 4000 and 6000 at $45 each and 8000 at $129.
I'm thinking of 1200 and 4000 grits and see about going finer later.
Cost = $84, without looking around at www.mik.com.au or other stores. Sorry, don't know the Kiwi $ involved, but carbatec is in Auckland as well, as I'm sure you know.

I went to scary sharp as my second sharpening way (oil stones first), and I was pretty impressed - getting a honing guide would have been smart right at the start. Don't know how many times I chased the bevel and ended up skewing the edge or having about 20 bloody bevels up near the edge. Scary sharp is fine though, like everything it has pro's and con's.

You can get cheap oilstones at places like the Reject Shop, Supercheap Autos, The Warehouse, Go-Lo etc

do the cheap stnes do a good job?

The old timers just used oilstones
I couldn't be bothered with scary sharp
so I just use a cheap oilstone, no complaints

I havent done the sums but scarey sharp may end up more expensive than satisfactorily sharp using King Japanese water stones. I get a perfectly good edge on my chisels and plane blades using three King stones, a Veritas Mk II honing guide and an Ashby strop.

The trick with the King stones is to make sure you spread the wear over the whole stone while youre honing and keep the things flat. I run my stones over 180grit wet and dry or silicon carbide grit spread over plate glass. I usually give th stone a quick flatten every 100 passes with a blade....

Originally Posted by kiwioutdoors

do the cheap stnes do a good job?

The cheap stones don't last as long and seem to dish quicker.

I have never got my tools sharper than when I use scary sharp but it does take longer whereas an oilstone is quick.

Originally Posted by kiwioutdoors

do the cheap stnes do a good job?

Make sure you look at the stone before you buy it. Take it out of the box and make sure its flat. I've seen some that are out of shape and useless.

I use scary sharp and get a very sharp edge on the cutters. I'm thinking of moving to waterstones for cost reasons.

However, time is also a consideration. For those who have waterstone, how long does it take, compared with scary sharp, to

- sharpen a HCS cutter with a nick in it (I usually grind them down, but just curious)
- hone a HSS cutter

If you're just starting out, I'd buy I quality set of waterstones like norton. Just add water. They flatten quickly and easy and cut quickly and effectively. If you have a system that works for you. Don't change it. You'll waste money and have to learn all over again.

Originally Posted by echnidna

You can get cheap oilstones at places like the Reject Shop, Supercheap Autos, The Warehouse, Go-Lo etc

K-mart Burwood Hwy in Victoria $3.49 for an oil stone, it looked pretty flat too

And they are open 24hrs!

I was wandering around aimlessly the other night at about 1.30am when I stumbled across an air compressor on sale and saw the stones just near it.

I could have swarn I paid around $9 for one a while back tho.

HI..I bought a couple of DMT 150mm diamond sharpening stones (course and fine...I already had an extra fine and a 6000 waterstone) for $44 each online from www.everten.com.au plus $5.90 flat postage..seemed a good buy to me given they are usually about $69 each at the specialist shops.