Carborundum Stone

[Terry_P]

I've bought a scythe type tool to cut back brambles in a woodland area. I now need a carborundum stone to keep it sharp. I've read various sites from which I've learned that I need a coarse stone for my purpose. Can anyone suggest where I can get one and which sort exactly should I be looking for?

TIA, Terry

[Jim S]

Any farm suppliers in your area? The correct one looks like an oval 1" grey-blue stone stick about 10" long.

[EricP]

It's a thing that looks like a baton or cosh.

But the ones you get in shops can crucify a scythe as they are so rough. They don't sharpen so much as cut away the metal to expose a new surface.

The old farm labourers used to use pieces of stone like fine grained sandstone that they found on the ground. These were hard but rough enough to give a nice edge to the thing.

[BigWallop]

Any grinding stone will do the job, really, but you can get hand-held diamond sharpeners which are excellent for larger bladed tools.

Try a search on eBay.co.uk for sharpening stones or grinding stones and you might get a few good hits. DIY stores, I have notices, hold a small, limited stock of these types of things, so you are better off finding a proper ironmongers who can advise as well as supply, I would think.

Good luck with it.

[Cicero]

================================ Any decent garden centre or hardware shop will sell you one of these:

It's about a foot long and will last forever if you don't drop it on anything hard.

Cic.

[Terry_P]

Thanks for your advice, everyone. Much appreciated.

Terry