help with stones for chisel sharpening

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I am a professional and I sharpen atm two or three times a day and I am using cheap disposable diamond stones, about five quid for a set of three and they last me a month or two. Water lubricated, so no messy oil, always flat enough, and the coarse grade takes off a steel at a suprising rate (when it's new, but what the heck, buy another).

Tim W

1. Buy a piece or pieces of thick glass
2. Buy a can of spray adhesive
3. Buy some silicon carbide (wet/dry) sandpaper in grits from, say 280-1000
4. Put strips of paper on glass piece(s) with adhesive

I've got a set of Arkansas stones that were at the local hardware store for about $30. They came glued to a triangle-shaped block that rests on a little stand.

I've used both these and the scary-sharp method, and there is little real difference between the two. It seems like sharpening is more about technique than abrasive to me.

For in the field touchups, I carry a mill file and an old Buck knife "Wakesha stone" I got from a swap-meet for a couple bucks. A good file will get them surprisingly sharp, especially after dinging the blade badly.

You can pay anything you want for stones, but it's more about practice than money. I've even sharpened old chisels to a reasonable edge on the side of an old brick.

I use Ezy-lap diamond hones. I've had them for 3 years and they are still going strong.

Sharpening is just about a religious subject. In any case, I have tried just about everything at one time or another. None are really better than another. What I most often use now is a dual sided diamond (320 and 600 grit) and a hard Arkansas to finish. Waterstones work fine but no better than my current system and they need to be flattened. Between the diamond stone and the hard Arkansas, about $200 is about right. Less money for a system that works very well, just a bit slower, is a two grit India stone and a piece of leather. About $25.00.

And just like religion, there is only one true path. They're called Shapton Ceramic Sharpening Stones and the others are just pretenders to the throne.

Yes, except for the others.

By 16 May 2006 18:30:22 -0700, "Jay Pique" decided to post "Re: help with stones for chisel sharpening" to rec.woodworking:

is either misinformed or pretentious. Or both. Do the stones match the pitch? Hmmm.

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