Indian hand tools

[j]

Anybody got any experience ofany indian hand tools?
Any reasonable quality ones available over there?

I'll be holidaying soon, and would like to keep an eye out for a potential bargain.

The reason I thought of it is that when looking at sharpening stones, I found references to "india stones".

I recently bought a set of the "diamond" sharpenning stones from ebay. But I suspect that diamond refers to the shape of the holes in the stone surface, rather than the material used to make them Anybody got experience of these, probably the worst £5 i've spent on ebay.

Anyway, thanks for any advice.
J

 

[Anonymous]

I think you'll find that India refers to the type of stone and not it's country of origin.

I suspect that with the diamond stones, you gets what you pay for. If I tell you that I pay in the region of £40 per stone (large DMT), then it might give you some idea of the quality of stones at a fiver per set.
Certainly, the diamond refers to the material that the stone is impregnated with and mine are absolutely superb.

 

[j]

To be honest, I didn't expect much from these stones, but i've read a lot about having flat stones, and indeed stones for flattening your stones.

The ones I have are a kind of diamond lattice, so not a single flat surface.
like a flat surface with diamond shaped holes in it.

maybe i'll try them on my £3 block plane I got form the market and see if they actually work.

I'll keep an eye out for some stones over there anyway

Ta
J

 

[Jarviser]

"India" stones are made from a particular type of Aluminium Oxide and usually are made in USA. They are used with a light oil. Anything coming out of India will be a waste of luggage space, usually being crumbly. You can get them on any UK market stall but you may as well use a paving slab. Stones of the Japanese type used with water often have another smaller "nagura" stone to flatten it and work up a slurry. Diamond stones rely on a flat steel base and an impregnation of well graded industrial diamonds. They can be a continuous layer, or like yours on a surface with holes allegedly to collect swarf, but they also have less diamonds. There are a lot of imports for a few pounds which will work to a fashion, but you get what you pay for. I bought an eze-lap 8x3 diamond stone for £35 which is dead flat, takes a 2 3/8 plane blade, and is as new after 2 years - I use WD40 as lubricant.

 

[j]

OK, thanks for the info, i'll look into getting a propper stone of some description, althought I'm not sure how much difference it'll make to me.

I'm far from a pro woodworker, with far from pro tools.

I guess the stone is another tool and no amout of diamonds will make a rubbish plane glide like a hot knife through butter

 

[Jarviser]

My father had a cheap block plane from a £1 shop. I sharpened the blade properly and checked that the sole of the plane was flat by rubbing it on a sheet of glass with medium wet and dry, and it cut really quite nicely. It needed sharpening again quite quickly, but it did lasted out the job. Even hobbyists and DIYers need properly sharpened and set tools. You should be able to shave the hairs from your fore-arm (or borrow someone else's) if it is to cut wood. I taught myself by reading old woodwork books by Chris Hayward which crop up on eBay. And also websites like this one. But if you want a free book with a whole display of tools and information, from cheapy to professional, get an Axminster catalogue from www.axminster.co.uk.