Sharpening methods

[Jacob]

What I do know however is that Norton India stones seem to last forever.

Do you have to refresh the surface every so often to expose new, sharp abrasive ....

Yes. It's not so much the new sharp abrasive it's more that it gets clogged up with fine dust, swarf, sawdust, dried oil etc. I use a 3M diapad as I happen to have several and they are bendy so will work on a non flat stone. They last for years too. But other materials will do - a bit of coarser stone, pan scrubber, plus white spirit, etc.

 

[Saer Llongau]

I would think the oil makes it a messy affair to sharpen a chisel or plane blade but I've never tried it so I wouldn't really know.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Funny how people seem to think water is messy and oil isn't. :?

 

[StraightOffTheArk]

Slightly off-topic, but I thought I'd warn you all about a bad habit I developed while freehanding. For some reason I held the iron very close to the stone and got into the habit of touching the stone in front as a way of feeling the angle, later this developed to my finger dragging on the stone - then I tried out some diamond stones, amazingly it's not until the damage has been done that you can feel your skin has worn away, when it then hurts, a lot! (homer) Doh!!

Cheers,

Carl

 

[Saer Llongau]

That's exactly what happened the first time I used the Atoma 600 plate. It's very aggressive and will strip away your flesh I quickly learned to hold the blade up higher when I'm using that one.

 

[El Barto]

I would think the oil makes it a messy affair to sharpen a chisel or plane blade but I've never tried it so I wouldn't really know.

No more messy than water for wetstones or WD40/another lubricant for diamond stones. Actually probably less messy than a wetstone. I get water everywhere when using a wetstone :?

 

[Saer Llongau]

I have a separate large sink with a bridge for my stones in my shop so I don't have to worry about making a mess.

 

[Jacob]

I have a separate large sink with a bridge for my stones in my shop so I don't have to worry about making a mess.

Oil is much less trouble. Amongst other things it inhibits rust and you don't need to dry it off
A magnet lifts out the swarf and keeps it clean.
Having a few old rags always on hand is essential - you need to wipe down the stone and put the lid back on as soon as finished, and wipe oil off the tool and your finger ends.
A few oily rags are always useful in the workshop for cleaning off tools/machines etc and you can put them in the washing machine.
But wet rags are no use at all and cause rust.

'Saer Llongau'; welsh for 'ship wright'! I didn't know that I just googled it!

 

[Lons]

I'd get strung up if I put oily rags in the washing machine Jacob, you must have a very forgiving other half. I just throw the used rags away.

 

[Saer Llongau]

Oil is much less trouble. Amongst other things it inhibits rust and you don't need to dry it off
A magnet lifts out the swarf and keeps it clean.
Having a few old rags always on hand is essential - you need to wipe down the stone and put the lid back on as soon as finished, and wipe oil off the tool and your finger ends.
A few oily rags are always useful in the workshop for cleaning off tools/machines etc and you can put them in the washing machine.
But wet rags are no use at all and cause rust.

Of course it all depends on what you were taught from the beginning. I was taught sharpening using water stones and because it's a system that works for me I have no reason to change it. (And I like how Japanese natural stones sharpen)

'Saer Llongau'; welsh for 'ship wright'! I didn't know that I just googled it!

 

[El Barto]

(And I like how Japanese natural stones sharpen)

I like it too. I use them for knives and the finish is excellent.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I would think the oil makes it a messy affair to sharpen a chisel or plane blade but I've never tried it so I wouldn't really know.

No more messy than water for wetstones or WD40/another lubricant for diamond stones. Actually probably less messy than a wetstone. I get water everywhere when using a wetstone :?

I keep mine in Tupperware type containers. I lift the stone out, put it on the upturned lid, do the business and put it back. Wipe the blade on my trousers and done. No water anywhere. I'd rather have a drop of water on my work than a drop of oil, anyway.

 

[Seiken]

Oh goody!
A sharpening thread

Yes you are never alone on a sharpening thread!

Paul Sellers' method

I wonder how many plates he goes through annually with the pressure he puts on the blade.

No idea.
What I do know however is that Norton India stones seem to last forever. I've still first my first one, getting on for 50 years. I've got one or two more now which means zero likelihood of wearing one out in a lifetime

I've always used oilstones and they do seem to go on forever, I've got some that were inherited from my Great Uncle who trained as a cabinet maker and my Grandfather so some must be well over their sixtieth birthday by now and still in use.

 

[bridger]

I use everything I can find in stones (except for soft synthetic waterstones), freehand.[/quote

That's pretty much where I'm at. Probably the biggest difference is that so far I have managed to resist going down the jnat rabbit hole.

For rough shaping I use one of 5 or so bench grinders. Bevel shaping is often on a slow speed 8" machine with a cbn wheel. Heavy back flattening will get me to set up the Makita flat top with diamond disks. I have disks for that machine from 80 grit to 3000 grit

Most of the time I don't need those machines.

I have several drawers full of bench stones. Idk, maybe 50 or 60. Not all of them are fabulous rocks... I have a tendency to pick up anything interesting that I can get for cheap. Some of them are more "interesting" than useful. However, at this point I have several approaches to honing fairly well represented and can experiment around amongst them.
Just off of the top of my head:
Arkansas stones, soft to surgical black. These vary wildly in size and quality.
Diamond stones, maybe 100 grit to 1200 grit.
Waterstones, up to (iirc) 14000 grit I rarely use these.
Sandpaper on glass up to .3 micron lapping film, though nowhere near a full progression.
Norton India oilstones, coarse medium and fine.
Some random stuff like coticules, slate stones and barber's razor hones.
Also a spyderco ultrafine. And some jaspers. And some rocks I have picked up off of the ground and flattened. I once owned a 2 sided stone with one side sandstone and the other side slate. It was too slow for me at the time so I gave it away. I kind of regret that now as I've never seen another.
Also a drawer full of shaped abrasive sticks for things like carving tools. Those run the gamut of abrasive types.

What I use day to day on the bench to keep chisels and planes sharp? I do mix it up a bit just because I can but generally diamond for coarse work if needed followed by washita or hard ark for mid level honing and finish on the spyderco or surgical black. All of those get alcohol as the honing fluid.

If I need to hone on a jobsite I use an old well broken in 600g dmt plate and call it good.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I've been experimenting with pyramids. Blades must lie exactly on a N-S axis. Problem so far is that I can only get them to work on the full moon.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Andy Kev.]

I've been experimenting with pyramids. Blades must lie exactly on a N-S axis. Problem so far is that I can only get them to work on the full moon.

Regards from Perth

Derek

So nobody's told you about how vital half a fluid ounce of the sweat of a virgin is then? It's not surprising you're having difficulty.

 

[StraightOffTheArk]

Don't forget to lubricate with unicorn piss while standing on one leg with a rubber chicken up your jacksi!

 

[D_W]

I use everything I can find in stones (except for soft synthetic waterstones), freehand.[/quote

That's pretty much where I'm at. Probably the biggest difference is that so far I have managed to resist going down the jnat rabbit hole.

There's no great practical reason to go down that rabbit hole. As many of them that I have and have had, they're variable, expensive, and sometimes really rewarding, but there's no "need" for them. Even if you want to bring out the hamon contrast, almost anything natural will do that (washitas do it well). Bringing out the hamon and having a bright polish on the hagane/hard layer is where you get stuck chasing expensive things, but it's cosmetic and not functional.

 

[bugbear]

... but it's cosmetic and not functional.

The same is more or less true of the bodywork on a Ferrari Daytona...

BugBear

 

[D_W]

You're right, and if one has expensive knives with watetsu backing and wants a very specific look, i'm not aware of anything else that will satisfy like japanese natural stones. That look is extremely pleasing. And out of my price range on the knife side.

I can't really make the case that one shouldn't buy japanese natural stones (everyone should do what pleases them in my opinion -even if it makes other people on forums upset because it doesn't meet said other peoples' standards), just that there's no great need to.