Waterstones - again

I

itrade

Joined
Jul 3, 2002
Messages
645
Well, I'm still been playing with the shapton stones. It seems more and more often I move to the stones to get things done. The more experience with them the more I naturally switch to them. With hardened S30V they just work faster than paper or belts.

Today I ordered the #120. I plan on using that to flatten bevels. You see with a grinder and especially paper, you can fudge the flats. You know, a little extra pressure here and there or a change in angle. However, with the stones you can't do that. I hope with a 120 stone I can achieve perfect flatness. The rest of the work should go much faster.

Also, Shapton says you don't need to pre-soak their stones. Wrong. I was having real loadup/glazing problems, that goes away if you pre-soak. Also the stones seem to have a 'warmup' period. You work and work, then all of a sudden they start cutting like crazy.

RE Brand. Haven't tried the Nortons, but I have tried a stone purchased in Japan. Works fine, but not as well as the Shapton.

Just posting 'cause there were enough folks interested in the results of my tests.

Steve

PS for more info on Japanese made Shapton stones:
http://www.shaptonstones.com/stones/Professional-Series.php
 
Thanks for the link itrade. I was just going to post my own thread asking about waterstones. These look like the ones for me, I'm picky about my tools. I'll have to check out your other tests too, thanks again!
 
Thanks for the info on the Shapton stones Steve. I've been looking into stones for a very similar reason (in my case, control for precisely shaping and swedging small, thin blades for slipjoint folders). These might be the ticket.
 
Thanks for the practical tips about the Shapton stones, Steve. I'm looking to pick some up for my folders, but I wonder how practical they are for large choppers. I have to reprofile a few (including my friend's khukris :( ) and for those convex grinds I'm gonna take the cheap and easy route: $10 diamond file :D .
 
You're welcome, guys.

I should mention that I'm not using the stones for sharpening. (Maybe you knew that.) For sharpening I use the belt grinder and buffer.

I'm using stones for defining the grind lines and polising the blade. However, these stones are designed for sharpening so either use should be fine.

Steve
 
Im on the verge of carpal tunnel now but I would like your final word on a stone to make the flats very flat and the finish unscratched.

Thanks for letting us know your results. There are people interested. It must be the Samari in us.
 
Did you purchase the stones from their web-page or somewhere else? Also, do they wear fast? Thanks!
 
Turkeyman,

I bought them over the phone.

Don't get the 120 stone! That sucker wears out fast. I just got mine yesterday and used it today. It wouldn't last thru 5 large knives.

The 320 stone is pretty good. The 1000 stone is nice (about 700 grit). It's a good go between from belts to hand sanding. In fact, Bruce, I did finish one knife this week by using the 320, 1000 and then hand sanding with 800 and 1200 sc paper.

Steve
 
Glad I got to you in time! That was $50 I could have used on belts or something.

Steve
 
Steve at one time you talked about having to dress the stones flat again. What's the process and how often required and how long does it take? Thanks,

Dave
 
Dave,

The 120 stone went sooo wavy soooo much faster then the other stone that I wrecked the bevels before I knew what happened.:mad:

The 320 lasts fairly long and the 1000 & 2000 stones are very hard.

I used a piece of plate glass and placed a sheet of 100 grit paper over it. Just rub the stone around, back and forth.

Hard to describe how often because it's depends on how hard you push, what angle, etc. But all in all it isn't bad.


But for you readers, remember I'm still working on my grinding skills. If you're happy with a grinder and can finish a knife on it, I wouldn't try this. If you hand rub your finishes then this might be something to try.

Steve
 
So this brings up the question of the diamond sharpening "stones" we see advertised. Has anyone tried these for this work? Perhaps they'd last longer and stay flatter than actual stone? Or maybe the patches of grit are too far apart for sanding.

Dave
 
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