Stone Sharpening?

[HeavyHanded]

Thanks for the reply i have pretty good skills on the stones i have now and am learning as i go along but i am trying to upgrade my sharpening equipment, i can get a pretty sharp edge on my bk2 but i would like to get a better edge onto it and i have been looking for ways to do it and i was told that i should get a finer set of stones. Should i not get a fine stone then because it could get damaged or just because the compound can be added to many other materials and sort of emulate the results acheived by the finer stone?

There is a difference between a finer stone and a grit value approximated by other means. It can be emulated, especially if one step up from your current is the last stop. If using multiple steps you'll want a finer stone. Razor Edge Systems sells seconds from time to time at a discount, their fine hone is approx 800 grit and makes a very nice edge. Would be worth buying at the regular price and if a discounted one is available is a great bargain.

Using compounds on hardwood is very much the same as a stone, but is challenging to manage as the surface of the wood, the thickness of the abrasive slurry have to be just so. You can apply compound directly to wood, but again it has its own issues, and anytime you start taking off a lot of steel the surface will load up very quickly and you'll be cleaning it often. Compound on a sheet of paper wrapped around one of your current stones can be used as a strop and I'd start there - it doesn't get any cheaper and if you like the effect you're done. When it loads up you just toss it and start with a fresh sheet.

The sharpening block I make takes this a step further by increasing the spot pressure when using compounds on paper and it also more closely approximates a finer stone when used in that capacity. It has replaced all other stropping means I used to use and also works well with wet/dry and lapping films. Might be in the ball park of what you're looking for, the link to the site is in my signature below and has a ton of content.

There are a ton of options, I'd be conservative to start, and learn to use well whatever your next purchase. Is very easy to fill a bin to overflowing with sharpening supplies you think you need and only wind up using a few items.

 

[nowadays]

Jason B-If you did start over and went with these stones what grit(s) would you get? Preferably in order of usage so if you where to use one stone the most what would it be grit wise?

 

[nowadays]

Thanks for the reply and the info i checked out the "washboard" too, thats one cool system for sure :thumbup: i would buy it but i think i would prefer to learn on stones first

 

[Jason B.]

Jason B-If you did start over and went with these stones what grit(s) would you get? Preferably in order of usage so if you where to use one stone the most what would it be grit wise?

I would probably go, 220, 1k, 2k, 5k as a complete set. To save out the gate you can skip the 2k and add it later if you feel it's needed. My most used is the 1k and 5k.