Comments on: All Oilstones are not Equal

By: pmcgee

pmcgee — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:20:16 +0000

If we’re talking old oilstones from a garage sale or whatever – you can flatten them against another the same. Two old, dished out oilstones + some baby oil will come back to flat surprisingly quickly.
Or on your driveway. You can treat ‘em rough.
I wouldn’t necessarily do that with some nice, new arkansas-s.

By: cstanford

cstanford — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:25:01 +0000

I think it would be a safe bet that those on a waiting list for one of Larry and Don’s planes would rather them be in the shop clearing back orders rather than touring novaculite fields in the central part of the state with the almost inevitable ‘academic’ pant-wetting sure to follow.

By: lastwordsmith

lastwordsmith — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:12:37 +0000

I have had good success with a two-sided stone (soft/hard Arkansas) I got from Hall’s Pro Edge. They’re very reasonably priced, especially compared to the diamond stones I’ve been using. I’m keeping a coarse diamond stone around for a while, but the Arkansas stones are becoming my go-to sharpening method.

By: lastwordsmith

lastwordsmith — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:57:28 +0000

I can’t speak for Chris, but I’ve been using Arkansas stones for a while now. A hobby woodworker can probably get by with flattening them about once a year. If you take care to use the entire surface each time your sharpen, they can stay flat for a long time. You can flatten them on a diamond stone, or on wet/dry sandpaper on a patten.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:44:40 +0000

Bernard,

I meant that each stone removes the scratch pattern of the previous one.

Hope this helps.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:43:58 +0000

A difference of opinion?

My blog was not intended to poke anyone in the eye. I am just reporting my experience. Oilstones, steel and woodworkers are variable materials.

By: muthrie

muthrie — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:19:30 +0000

Ok, I know I’m probably missing something, but I’m trying to reconcile the comments in the Dan’s Whetstone article that says:
“To work, abrasives must be harder than the material you are abrading. With a Mohs hardness of 7, Arkansas stones are slightly softer than the carbide inclusions in some of the steels used today. Arkansas stones don’t work on steels like A2. Woodworkers who prefer A2 steel cite its abrasion
resistance.”

With
“All I want to do with this blog entry is to dispel a myth that oilstones can be used only with high-carbon-steel tools (aka O1 or W1). Good oilstones can sharpen A2, very hard Japanese tools, Veritas’s PM-V11 and other stuff.”

What did I miss? I know I’m going to look stupid, but I’m ok with that.

By: Bernard Naish

Bernard Naish — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:25:21 +0000

I am confused as Chris says “The two polishing stones do a nice job of removing the scratch pattern from the Black Hard Arkansas and the Translucent.” Does he mean that the polishing stones remove the scratch pattern from the soft?

I confirm that Dans are great to deal with. It is just the carriage charges to England that kills the deal so I am hoping Classic Hand Tools will stock them.

Thanks Chris. Bernard

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:50:43 +0000

I don’t. Like Sablebadger above, I go from washita to translucent, then strop. My advice is to try this first. If you feel you need a step inbetween, you can always buy another stone later.

Scientifically, I believe there are advantages to NOT skipping grits. An it’s probably more efficient- saving some elbow grease at the finest grit. Recognizing that, in my case, I’m still happy with my good enough solution.

Something I learned from Warren (who posts here and should always be considered very carefully) I sharpen WAY more often then I used to. Sometimes, every hour or less depending on what I’m doing. A quick easy touch up makes a huge difference for certain tasks. Some stones/approaches don’t lend themselves to this.

I’ll shut up now. I have my own blog. Thanks Chris.

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:43:01 +0000

Not Chris but….I don’t care for the 3″ stones. India goes out of flat. 3″ stones are harder to flatten. With a 2″ stone I can hold a 3″ wide blade askew and still wear the entire stone evenly. Honestly, I just don’t love India stones. I love ouachita (washita).

My favorite stone shape is 2″x8″. I have 2×10′s and 2×12′s as well but they are harder to flatten.