waterstones

[johnnyb]

my ancient King brand combination 1000/6000 is getting very very thin. what are my replacement options and where should I buy them from?
I've seem to have a mix of steels Japanese a2 etc

 

[Argus]

Replace with the same thing, if you're happy with it.....?

Personally, I gave up on Japanese water stones when I discovered decent-quality Diamond plates.
After all, it's a matter of what suits your style of work; all sorts of stones sharpen all sorts of steel, sooner or later.

 

[D_W]

Sharpton 1000 and 8000 professional from japan.

 

[billw]

I get most of mine from Tyzack Tools. They’re on eBay and have their own website, best to check both for best price and remember to factor in postage as sometimes it’s free/included and sometimes not.

 

[johnnyb]

I am happy with the 1000 grit but the 6000 grit is a bit diggy and scratchy and Skidby. just wondering what is around. I've also got diamond diamond stones.but i do love waterstones.

 

[David C]

I would look at Workshop Heaven or Classic Handtools.

8,000 is nicer than 6. 10,000 very nice.

 

[johnnyb]

I think the problem is the 1000 grit is fine in water all the time but obviously the 6000 is not as well suited to this. its a problem on a combination stone! Im also not overly keen on extending my regime beyond 2 stones and autosol .
ill check out cht though

 

[johnnyb]

would the 8000 or 10000 jump from 1000 ok ?

 

[johnnyb]

I've found some naniwa super stones on a knife site 1000 5000 10000. that seems like a decent step size. £121

 

[billw]

would the 8000 or 10000 jump from 1000 ok ?

That’s a huge jump

 

[D_W]

I've found some naniwa super stones on a knife site 1000 5000 10000. that seems like a decent step size. £121

They are soft stones for knives and not fast cutters.

Not ideal for tools.

 

[johnnyb]

I've brought my 1000 grit stone slightly used off the bay. its a sigma power stone after seeing David barron demonstrate on a hock blade. blooming fast cutting. now I just need maybe a 4000/ 8000 combo. can't seem to find sigma power ones in the UK. what about Norton?

 

[D_W]

I've brought my 1000 grit stone slightly used off the bay. its a sigma power stone after seeing David barron demonstrate on a hock blade. blooming fast cutting. now I just need maybe a 4000/ 8000 combo. can't seem to find sigma power ones in the UK. what about Norton?

The norton stone is just ok, probably bottom of the list. Their Oilstones are great, but not the waterstones.

 

[David C]

The "huge jump" from 800g to 10,000 g is perfectly ok if a small change of angle (say 2-3 degrees is used.

It is only the tip which is being polished. SEE Rob Cosman or my plane sharpening DVD.

Polishing wide bevels is a waste of energy!

Ohishi stones from Classic do not need soaking.

Best wishes, David Charlesworth

 

[Ollie78]

I have a Norton 3 stone set, it comes in a box with the stones in a holder. Its very easy to use just turn to the next stone once ready. I have had it for a long time and its still good.
I like the self contained nature of it being all in the little box and not strewn all over the place which is how most stuff ends up in my workshop.

Ollie

 

[--Tom--]

Sigma are nice stones, think dictum or dieter Schmidt stock them in europe.

Now you have the 1k, the 6k+ stone won’t be doing much work and so can be a softer type. I’d see what you can find for a good price. As you’re stropping on autosol, I’d stay 6-8k personally for most things I don’t see much difference between 6k and strop or 12k and strop unless it’s something particularly troublesome, and then it can be easier to scrape anyway.

If you’ve been happy with 6k from King then no need to spend more really.

Also worth checking if the Sigma can be soaked, some stones use a magnesia binder and can start to go soft if kept wet

 

[D_W]

Johnny, do you do most of your sharpening with a guide? Given that you're finishing with autosol on a strop, there's no great need for a particularly fine stone. There's also no stone that's demonstrably finer than autosol on hard leather or medium hard woods. In my opinion, practical for you is something with decent speed rather than ultra fineness since the autosol covers that.

Any synthetic stone over about 60 pounds is a bit of a ruse, anyway, as there's nothing expensive in the composition of any of them. Even the nosebleed shapton half micron stones are unlikely to have more than a tiny fraction of their price in materials in them. Finer and more closely graded abrasives than the shapton uses are available in the U.S. for about $10 for the amounts in their high dollar finish stones.

 

[johnnyb]

D_W do you have any good suggestions for stones knowing my sharpening routine? I don't use any guides btw. it seems your saying superfine stones are not good value and autosol is practically as good(your micrographs must show this). I see then that speed can be emphasised over ultimate fineness. sigma seem to tick this box but what other stones do that are available in the UK?
tia

 

[johnnyb]

David I also get that sharpening just the tip is sensible but my sharpening is freehand and a bit imprecise also deeply ingrained! 2 degrees is more than I could feel

 

[johnnyb]

tom many thanks for pointing me to dieter scmidt. these have a large selection including sigma.