Fromey":3613t685 said:
mickthetree":3613t685 said:
Do ezelap do an extra extra course? Saw one of these in axminster the other day, looks like its got teeth!!
I've not seen greater than "coarse" in any UK online store. However, Dieter Schmid sells "extra coarse" Exe-Lap plates;
http://www.fine-tools.com/ezelap-diasharpener.html
I've read elsewhere that some consider the DMT extra-extra coarse is in fact too coarse and leaves deep scratches. "coarse" plates are sold for flattening stones in sharpening kits, so I've just bought a DMT one from Dick (sniggers) as they are cheaper than UK sources even with the postage factored in;
http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/product ... coarse.htm
This may help and is something I learned when I was heavily involved in collecting Japanese swords and learning about sword polishing (The Japanese version of sharpening whilst enhancing surface patterns within forge welded steel and iron).
As with water stones, the correct method of using them is to adhere to using the grits in sequence, BUT alternating direction of travel (i.e. Straight, diagonal left, diagonal right, straight) with each grit change and this helps remove scratch patterns formed via previous grits. Otherwise - if travelling in the same direction with each progressive grit - you'll often find scratch patterns "tram-line" and difficult to remove/eradicate. The difference between using diamond and water stones isn't solely wear, as diamond plates lack the ability to create slurry, which - in the later stages of sharpening - helps one refine surfaces even further by virtue of the presence of increasingly finer slurry-bound particles. Nagura stones aren't solely used for flattening, as their primary purpose is two fold in both flattening and the creation of slurry. In terms of softer stones wearing faster, it's the nature of the beast, because using harder stones on hard steel tends to be slow progress as the stone surface doesn't fracture - renewing the necessary cutting texture continually. Soft stones constantly surface fracture with their surface texture constantly renewed to reveal fresh cutting particles.
Basic rule of thumb when using water stones;
Soft stone = hard steel
Hard stone = soft steel
it's much the reason behind Japanese water stones being so highly prices and prized in Japan and - whilst not necessarily as important to carpenters - Japanese sword polishers tend to have an extremely wide selection of stones to work from due to the need to match stone to steel being worked upon.
Use of wider than necessary stones can prove problematical when sharpening items narrower than the stone's width. It proves more difficult for one to use the bulk of the stone's surface evenly, than if using narrower stone and you tend to find the need to re-flatten surfaces far more frequently than should be necessary.
I hope the above helps in some way, but need to say Jacob isn't wrong in what he says about users finding themselves needing to flatten stones far more frequently than should be necessary, but much is to do with them not fully understanding the medium with which they're working.
