What (type - abrasive medium) are you using to finish tools?

[D_W]

Selections above are for what types of stones you finish with - not necessarily what you'd use to grind, etc.

Wife asked me what I'd like to have for Christmas last night, and I said "donut pans". That's all of $20 of Christmas spending, but I can't figure out anything else that I'd want other than a nice set of beading planes (the small ones are a pain in the arse to make by hand), and I won't be sending the wife out to locate those. My only other go to thought has always been to just select another type of finishing stone or planemaking tool that I haven't got yet, but I think I'm cured of that by virtue of having too much crap in the shop.

But, I'm curious since I have not been on this forum for long, what the prevailing finishing choice is. Only because of the same not-always-true dogma about each type of stone exists as does with ways to finish preparing a surface. (As in, I think there's a distribution of the above survey that would be different from on the internet vs. not on).

Not contending that any don't work. I have tried and liked pretty much every type of stone there is except for the second line stones like hindostans, coarse sandstones, etc, that are both slow and coarse.

 

[bugbear]

Pick only one? Are you mad?

It varies according to tool and intended use.

And whatever interesting abrasive I've found s/h and cheap most recently.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

You could add an option of a leather strop with non-diamond compound.
And another one for a bare leather strop with no compound.
And a bit of wood with some Autosol polish on.

But surely anyone's answer will depend on the circumstances?

For example, I'd be likely to finish a mortice chisel on a medium oilstone, but for a carving tool I would go on to a finer stone and a strop.

And why lump all oilstones together? A cheap aluminim oxide stone from a pound shop is not the same as a black Arkansas.

 

[D_W]

You could add an option of a leather strop with non-diamond compound.
And another one for a bare leather strop with no compound.
And a bit of wood with some Autosol polish on.

But surely anyone's answer will depend on the circumstances?

For example, I'd be likely to finish a mortice chisel on a medium oilstone, but for a carving tool I would go on to a finer stone and a strop.

And why lump all oilstones together? A cheap aluminim oxide stone from a pound shop is not the same as a black Arkansas.

I thought about those things, but intended to keep it simple. I think you're right that I should add a category for compounds.

Also, re: the al-ox, I think every big fan of oilstones is going to come to a point where they put a carborundum or aluminum oxide stone in the mix just because it's not much fun taking a nick out of a chisel with a hard arkansas stone.

My first taste of sharpening reality, after starting woodworking, was when an English friend (who lives in the states now) retrieved his father's tool chest. His father was a tradesman 50 years ago, but I think more on the carpentry and house joiner side of things than cabinetmaking-ish stuff, and he had two planes in his box. A record 5 1/2, and a stanley 4. He had two sharpening stones, too - a synthetic (probably silicon carbide, I don't remember) and a washita stone. His planes were pretty much worn out. My English friend turned his nose up at the sharpening stones and I didn't know enough about them at the time to take the washita. He probably threw them both away. I took the record 5 1/2 and refurbished it for him as a gift, but he will not take it back. He kept the 4.

As a many of many planes and sharpening stones back then, I bought into the internet dogma that life is easier with many options.

I won't say how many sharpening stones I've bought, but Charlie has told me that I'm lying when I mention what I've bought and tried.

(btw..side comment, autosol dursol on horse butt glued hard to wood is the cat's arse....superb. good on MDF, and cheap, too, but a step up on horse butt strip)

 

[D_W]

OK, I've reset the options. Sorry about that, won't do it again. Looks like it wiped out the results.

I divvied the two types of strops because I often see people say they finish with an oilstone and then follow it up with a stropping compound. That kind of thing is regularly practiced on the shaving forums, where the result is more easily noticed on the face. That being that someone may buy a $500 escher and then work the edge many many laps a step after that on chromium oxide (which completely wipes out any evidence that the edge was ever touched by a very expensive stone). I have no criticism in woodworking, though, the differences between working edges are less easily noticed - when shaving, the differing feel of a fresh edge is stark.

 

[MIGNAL]

600G diamond and leather for a quick sharpen. Diamond for cabinet scrapers. Synthetic 8,000G waterstone and leather if I need the ultimate edge. I've used others but those are the options that see the most use.

 

[Zeddedhed]

1000g DMT plate and leather. I used to use a compound (not sure what) but I've lost it so just leather now. To be honest can't tell the difference

 

[JJ1]

5000 grit wet & dry paper or Veritas honing compound on leather. Although a while back I read an article (can't remember where) that stated that a leather strop could actually be detrimental to the sharpened edge. I can't recall what the reason was, presumably because of any 'give' in the leather. Also, not sure if this is correct or not, but I was under the impression that the Veritas honing compound was roughly equivalent to about 8000 grit. My 5000 grit wet & dry is well used so is probably closer to 8000 grit now anyway, so why bother taking the extra time to strop. That's my current way of thinking anyway although I don't have a fraction of the sharpening experience of many others on the forum so I'm quite possibly totally incorrect :roll:

 

[deema]

The only ones I don't use are warerstones and film/paper. It depends on the tool, and the state of the tool at the time. Interesting stuff though

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

For chisels and plane irons and knives, diamond stones (ezelap) and leather strop with some green stuff I got a long time ago (don't know what it is). Gouges with abrasive film stuck to shaped hardwood blocks (one hollow, one round custom made for each gouge ) followed by autsol on hardwood blocks. Turning tools, axes,standard drill bits , cold chisels (rarely) ceramic paper on sorby pro edge. Moulding planes and lip and spur drill bits diamond files.
Blimey I didn't realise it was so complicated till writing this.
Paddy

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Over the years, I've used three methods. I started with a combination India stone, but abandoned it because the box I bought for it became saturated with oil and started contaminating everything it contacted (note - seal the box with varnish or similar before putting it to use, and wipe it out after use). That was during the late 1980s, when waterstones were very fashionable, so I tried a couple of King stones, the finest being a 6000 grit, from which I first discovered really sharp edges. However, I was working in a comparatively restricted space, and the mess of water and constant flattening didn't suit bench sharpening, so I tried ceramics - a Spyderco medium and extra fine. These are bench friendly, and take up very little storage space (they'd be a very good travelling sharpening solution). Most recently, I've gone back to the combination India for 'basic' edges (I virtually never use the coarse side, a grinder's quicker), and finish on an Inigo Jones slate (used with oil, and always trailing the edge). That gives me the best edges I've ever achieved, from possibly the cheapest (new) stone I've ever bought. I strop away the remains of the wire edge off the India, but not off the slate because a stropped edge off the slate seems a bit duller than a non-stropped one.

Like Paddy, I seem to have accumulated quite a few bits and bats for 'odd' tools - auger bit file (needle files would be just as good or better), several slipstones (limited usefulness in my experience), bits of shaped wood with wet-and-dry stuck to them (better than slipstones, because you can get a closer fit to a curved edge), sawfiles and mill file, a set of ceramic files that cost a mint and barely cut but polish nicely (wouldn't bother to replace them if I lost them; the wet-and-dry does just as well), and bits of leather stuck to bits of wood to strop off burrs. All the 'bits' just seem to accumulate; you make them up as you need them.

 

[D_W]

If there's give in a strop, it can be detrimental to an edge if you overdo the stropping. If you have a hard strop and you keep the angle similar to the honed angle and do most of your work on the bevel, no problem.

Hard strop being like horse butt on wood (which is so hard, that it sounds like wood when you make contact with the horse butt). MDF is also fine, no problem with "give". loose leather, buffs and especially softer leathers like thick soft bovine leathers can cause trouble if pressure is used on them and then overdone. You will be able to notice that they rounded an edge.

Lee Valley's honing compound is a range of aluminum oxide particles that are on average finer than 8k (the majority is aluminum oxide and the minority of the content is Chromium Oxide). A stray particle here or there may be larger, but on average it's finer and should make a sharper edge. The composition would only make any difference on a razor.

There's a lot of bad information about stropping because it's given without context. For example, if you read Brent Beach's page, he (if it's still up) makes a stark statement about stropping that makes every beginner that reads it conclude that there is never a reason to strop at all. If you ever push for maximum sharpness, you'll gather that a clean leather strop of good quality leather will always make an edge a little better at severing hair or wood fibers (off of a very fine stone, the increase isn't too much). And if you ever were to shave with a straight razor straight off of the stone instead of off of a clean leather strop, you'd wonder why you just did it. Bare leather improves edges if done skillfully. The rest of the stuff depends on how it's employed (the Formax Microfine compound that Lee Valley sells will improve an 8k stone's edge if it's used on an appropriate (harder) surface, and the level of sharpness will be similar to a 0.5 micron honing film).

 

[Corneel]

I am one of those that smears autosol on his strop. It is hard leather (old motorcycle bag) and i haven't noticed any dubbing yet.

The autosol seems to polish the bevel a bit brighter then the translucent Arkansas makes it. The strop is also easier in regards to getting rid of the burr.

My sharpening system is overly complex of course compared to David's. A dry grinder, an India-like oilstone, a Washita, translucent Arkansas and the autosol on the strop.

 

[D_W]

I am one of those that smears autosol on his strop. It is hard leather (old motorcycle bag) and i haven't noticed any dubbing yet.

The autosol seems to polish the bevel a bit brighter then the translucent Arkansas makes it. The strop is also easier in regards to getting rid of the burr.

My sharpening system is overly complex of course compared to David's. A dry grinder, an India-like oilstone, a Washita, translucent Arkansas and the autosol on the strop.

David being me? I'm using a washita right now because I like to, but I've tried everything for sport and that includes coarse natural stones (which suck) to gok 20k (1/2 micron hard stone), to pure green chrome and diamonds down to a tenth of a micron. I just settled on the washita because it seems to be the best way to actually get things done if the steel allows.

I've got no problem with complex, though. Just preference.

I have seen looked over the edge and found too sharp, too. .09 micron iron oxide makes for a razor that is painfully sharp - one that makes minor nicks without any feel and then shaves off the slights bump cleanly...until the read dots start to appear.

Depth of experience with different stones and different tools to be sharpened makes me curious. I know they all work, short routines, long routines, fast abrasives, slow abrasives, etc.

 

[Corneel]

Yes I know, I was just joking. But I do sometimes wonder why I still use that Arkansas. At least it feels good, thats's for sure.

 

[ED65]

Like a number of previous responders I've used a fair spread of things over the years. I started with waterstones, hated the mess and the too-easy dishing so went to diamond plates. I was reasonably happy with the results from diamond but I knew my edges could do with being sharper and did my first weak attempts at stropping. Some improvement but because I didn't have a good abrasive to use on them (what I tried were both too soft and too coarse) I wasn't getting the results I knew were possible from what I was seeing online.

Fast forward a bit, because I was reading a lot of older woodworking books where oilstones were the only recommendation (other than the occasional mention of stropping) I wanted to try them for myself. Initially I wasn't sold on oilstones but eventually I found a good fine one at a car boot sale that could give me work-ready edges so I was sold from then on, although I'd sorted out my stropping setup by then so I would normally follow with the strop.

For edge maintenance I strop only, unless I've been lazy and have left it too long, in which case it's back to the finest oilstone for a minute or two and then finishing off with stropping.

 

[bugbear]

Initially I wasn't sold on oilstones but eventually I found a good fine one at a car boot sale...

"oil-stone" is no more, and no less, than "sharpening stone used with oil as a lubricant"

The range is enormous, and fascinating. It's the geology of a major continent.

BugeBear

 

[D_W]

Initially I wasn't sold on oilstones but eventually I found a good fine one at a car boot sale...

"oil-stone" is no more, and no less, than "sharpening stone used with oil as a lubricant"

The range is enormous, and fascinating. It's the geology of a major continent.

BugeBear

Hone slate (some of you might object to that being used with oil, but it works fine)
Jasper
Agate
Novaculite (idwall, cretan, arkansas, washita, charn)
Queer Creek (I doubt any of those made it to the UK)
India (and all of the al ox types)
Crystolon (and all of the silicon carbide types)

What did I miss on those?

99% of what's used in the US here is either of the norton type of synthetics or the arkansas/washita. The English stones are extremely difficult to find.

 

[Jelly]

Normally slate stone (with oil) strop on palm of hand to remove wire edge.

 

[Doug B]

It depends on where I'm working & whats available, over the last year I've probably used most of what is listed though I wouldn't know if the water stones were synthetic or natural.
In my own shop I use diamond stones, abrasive films & a leather strop but in other folks workshop I'm happy to use what ever regime they use, it's only a means to an end after all.