Japanese Water stones VS Arkansas stones

[wetdog1911]

Convexing with a flat stone is much easier than you'd think. In fact if your hand sharpening on a stone without a jig your probably already doing it. If not be more sloppy on holding an angle, or have a few drinks before sharpening.

THAT I can do!

Now I'll start looking at wet stones. Of course I'm going to need a 12 pack or some Bourbon and Ginger just to check out the sites. Sorta pre practice.

I love my Arkansas stones, but with these newer, harder steels, they don't seem to remove metal all that fast. Not compared to my 100 yr old Green River skinner which only took a few passes.

Thanks for the info guys.

Rob

 

[TorzJohnson]

I love my Arkansas stones, but with these newer, harder steels, they don't seem to remove metal all that fast.

I won't stop using my beloved black Arkansas stone - I just do the first part with a DMT and finish with the Arkansas. You just can't beat the feel of polishing your edge on gazillion-year-old Novaculite.

 

[wetdog1911]

I won't stop using my beloved black Arkansas stone - I just do the first part with a DMT and finish with the Arkansas. You just can't beat the feel of polishing your edge on gazillion-year-old Novaculite.

No doubt. I'm sure I won't be throwing my Arkansas stones in the well. LOL Especially the black.

I know I'll be having some questions on the waterstones, but that's a different thread.

Rob

 

[wetdog1911]

Thanks HoB, So it is true! I've heard that this is one of the very few man-made stones that actually work like a natural stone (I figured it might since, while I don't remember where I read it, I heard that the natural stones are getting scarce... ocean blue stones are pretty much gone and other mines are finding it difficult to find large good quality pieces anymore, so they figured out a way to grind up the tailings, small stones, broken/cracked stones etc. and rebond the dust into nice uniform stones. So, these are really man-rebonded natural stones rather than artificial).

Yes, I love my aoto blue stone... flushing it constantly makes a nice fast stone but it also builds up a wonderful fine mud that gives a fine polish and is about the consistancy of thick yogurt that your blade just glides through... playing in the mud is just so fun that I have to resist the temptation to sharpen stuff that doesn't need sharpening I was hoping these handled just like the natural stones since I may wear out my small stone soon and thought it would be handy to be able to buy a nice big brick that isn't full of chert veins or cost an arm and a leg.

So you have the aoto and HoB has the man made? I'm looking at both and wondering since they are very close in price to each other at Hida Tool. Could the man made be more consistant that the natural, or is natural a better bet?

Please see the thread I started 'Waterstone questions'. Thanks.

Rob

 

[yuzuha]

So you have the aoto and HoB has the man made? I'm looking at both and wondering since they are very close in price to each other at Hida Tool. Could the man made be more consistant that the natural, or is natural a better bet?

Please see the thread I started 'Waterstone questions'. Thanks.

Rob

Yes, I have the natural and HoB has the reconstituted kind.

Natural stones can have cracks or chert veins (or other hydrothermally deposited mineral filling a crack). Some areas can be harder than others etc. so different areas of the stone can act slightly differently. The reconstitued "manmade" stone would be free of defects and have a more consistant feel (natural stones have variations (this can also be a good thing as one area may work particularly well on one type of steel while a different area works better on another type of steel, but the only way to tell is to actually use the stone). Mine does have a crack down one side with some hydrothermal deposit in it, though it is soft and doesn't seem to have any effect on using the stone. Works well on hard carbon and tool steel, one end on the other side seems to work better on my German kitchen knives, so I have flattened both sides and flip it depending on what I'm sharpening.

Personally, I think if you brought your knives & chisels etc to a stone company and tried a bunch of their natural stones, you would find a few favorites that you would like better than the man made stones (maybe one would be the greatest thing since sliced bread for blue-paper steel, but suck on D2, while another is fantastic on D2 but not so great on your kitchen knives), or maybe luck out and get "the perfect stone" for whatever it is you want to sharpen. But, buying natural stones without trying them is a crap shoot (though I'm satisfied with what I got). So, if you want to be on the safe side, the man made stone would be a safer purchase, sight unseen... they would be a pretty consistant average (all of them are pretty much identical, so all of them will be good decent stones, with no duds or defects, but no outstanding stones either).