India versus Crystolon versus...?

S

Sword and Shield

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Apr 3, 2004
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So far, I've always been stuck using second-hand stones, ones that have ridden shotgun in the toolbox for years, or found at estate sales. I can clean a stone decently well, using my concrete steps to grind and flatten, but I need a good clean one for a change.

I like Norton abrasives as a rule- have a itty-bitty Crystolon I like- but I'm stuck as to what stone would work best. What grit combo would y'all recommend as a general use stone? I don't have a preference with oil over water, just looking for a good stone.

Thanks!
 
You can clean up and flatten an old stone by just finding a flat surface and using sandpaper to eliminate any differences in the surface. Makes an old stone new in no time and at a fraction of the cost.
 
I got a waterstone the other day and its great. Its fast and leaves a beautiful edge.

I still keep my SiC stone for reprofiling =)
 
GarageBoy said:
India leaves a beauitiful edge, but I think Crystolon cuts quicker
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Agree. And while AO (India) in similar grit isn't as aggressive or hard as SiC (Crystolon) it'll still handle very hard tool steels and the "super" stainlesses just fine and doesn't dish nearly as much. I like the edge you get with India a lot.
 
So what grits would be recommended for general use? I know some stones cut more aggressively than their number suggests, or much more weakly. Would a coarse-fine combo or medium-fine work best?
 
If your "general use" is like mine a medium India stone is very useful ..... in the Norton line the grit difference between medium and fine isn't all that much. Then if you have a Sharpmaker or similar for finish sharpening and maintaining the edge, you're pretty much covered if your blades aren't taking any major damage. When I do bung up an edge bad I like a diamond hone, but coarse SiC is good, and a belt grinder even better.
 
That's what I was thinking. HD seems to have the India med-fine stone. :)

As for cleaning out what I have, that's the problem. I can get them flat again- as evidenced by removing pencil marks on the stone- but they still don't cut as well.
 
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