Cheapskate interested in waterstone benchstones

[HoB]

Found a new favorite coarse stone : arato kimi PA 220 あらと君 It is the big pink 220 grit aluminum oxide brick sold at epicurian and Japan woodworker.

I have the same, got mine from bladegallery which is the same place (same people) as epicurian (I never new it was pink, I always thought it was white...but then again I am color blind ). Well, I have the thin version (yellow box), and that has lasted me already a few years. I like it mainly because it cuts so fast. It out-cuts the Ohmura stone from hidatool (about 180 grit) many, many times. But it is so agressive, I always get goosebumps on the first few strokes. I really don't find it pleasent to use, but it definitly get the job done.

Yes, as I said, on the softer stones, like the blue and the Naniwa, I have transitioned completely to a trailing stroke. I still go both directions on the Bester. I am pretty sure you will like the Bester 700 a lot. You can really lean into the stone and scrub away and it will not glaze as long as you keep it wet (it will build up some metal, but you can rub that off with your tumb). I rarely use the 220 or 180 anymore because the Bester 700 cuts so fast and it leaves (obviously) a much finer finish in comparison.

Steeldriver: How long do you soak your 220 before hand. I find that I have to soak the coarse stones for a long time (like 10 min) before it really saturates. Until it is fully saturated it sucks up water like a sponge.

 

[HoB]

Since I have a new camera I though I show a picture of my "to-go" stone box (the one that I can put into my car and take to the lab for example). I really don't use everything in the box though. I mainly use the Bester (second from left), Blue (left most) and Naniwa (on right lower corner). Occasionally the 220 (next to the King combi) and the synthetic Nagura in the round plastic cup. My wooden wedges (12, 15, 17, 20) on the Ohmura I don't use so much anymore. I use mostly the gauge on the lower lefthand corner together with the protractor on the stoneholder on the upper right corner. This way I can set any angle I want. The protractor itself is difficult to use because it won't stand by itself on the stone. I though of making a little stand for it, but then I found the other gauge for $5 at homedepot and have been using that ever since. It balances on the steel arm and the pivot screw on the stone and I lean the blade against the plastic arm to get a feel for the angle. After that I sharpen free hand. I check every 5-10 strokes, since you can feel the edge right after you've turned the blade over, but after a few strokes you bend the burr the other way (or build it up on the other side) and you lose some of you feeling for the angle. For the final strokes on the final stone I don't need a gauge, I do this just by feel, but on the final step I do between 1-5 strokes per side anyway. The steel ruler is to check flatness of the stones, which I usually achieve by using my 220 DMT stone for (leaning against the box). I have a glass lapping plate with 80 (?) grit carborundum powder at home, but I use that mainly on the 180 and 220 stones. The blue and the Naniwa a very easy to true, since they are so soft and fine. The aluminum foil is for the Naniwa, to slow the trying process a little bit. I found it protects the corners somewhat (more a precaution than anything else).

 

[SteelDriver]

Thanks for sharing the pic, HoB. Nice collection you have there . I soak the Norton 220 at least 15 min before using, but mine remains porous even after sitting in water indefinitely. I bought it because my hidatool Ohmura was too slow for my liking. I'll check out that arato kimi after my Norton wears away.

Might as well share what I'm using - Norton 220, Shapton 1k & 5k, HandAmerican strop w/ CrO. I'm gonna try the 0.7 micron BC from Thom on the strop also. In retrospect I would have gone with the Norton 4k/8k instead of the Shapton 5k, especially since I sharpen mostly stainless and higher-Cr steels. I'm working on a more precise angle calculation for my EZE Sharp and will load it with waterstones when I'm done.

 

[thombrogan]

Great waterstone leads and now Steeldriver is reminding me about the 'any-stone'll-do' goodness of the EZE-Sharp. This is great, everyone. Expensive even as a daydream, but great nonetheless.