Whats the coarsest benchstone you know of?

doing it by hand is ok but old fashioned use a belt sander or a file if you want to hand bomb it.ive got a grinder but most people use belt sanders to fast removal and then fine tume by hand

 

DMT extra extra course diamond stones.

 

The DMT XX-coarse is 120 mesh and should cut faster than any other stone. When it comes to removing stock Diamonds are a man's best friend.

 

Come on, guys- it's COARSE!

 

Ha, I didn't even see that LOL!

 

Naniwa makes a 24 grit stone used for flattening other waterstones, but it should work on steel as well. Check out the waterstones section at www.toolsforworkingwood.com

 

You need a way to vise or hold the blade but I like a 12" $18 Nicholson file. (Mill Bastard or "single cut").

There's definitely a learning curve. But once I learned that there a many traditional bowhunters who sharpen their broadheads with nothing but a file (and get them shaving sharp) I had to try it.

It's great. You can hog-off metal or get a fairly nice, albeit "toothy" edge by varying pressure and technique. My attempts to get shaving-sharp are about 50/50. Give me a piece of 2000grit sandpaper though and I'm in business...as far as broadheads go.

For 1/10 of what some stones cost its worth a try!

 

this is probably a good bet for fast removal
http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/images/hires/LHONE.jpg
like a file/rasp but in ceramic so it will cut knife steels.

 

I've taken a 34 grit 1x30 belt sander belt and glued it to the side of a 2x4 and truthfully it was just too darn aggressive. For sharpening I think the DMT XXC hone is my favorite coarse hone. A cheap black silicon hone is a very close second. I've also read that the RazorEdge coarse hone also works great and at its price it is worth a try.

 

Heck Hardheart, I forgot most broadheads are only hardened to the mid 50s at most. (Some reach high 50s and a few stay in the 40s) Axes/machetes are also very soft compared to a nice piece of treated D2 or 1095.

Now I have to actually get over my fear of scratching my pretty knife blades and see if my Nicholasons will even "catch" on the harder steels. I'm thinking my [email protected] is a lost cause but will get back to the gang about my AUS8/6,420, S30V, 1095, and ATS34. (I think that cover most of my collection.) Pretty sure they'll catch on my Bucks and the AUS blades...as they seem much softer from experience in sharpening and use.

 

Dmt course or extra course will most likely work for you.

 

A DMT Coarse stone will do anything you need, the XCoarse and XXCoarse will do it faster, but require more time removing the deeper scratch pattern. IMHO for hand work DMT's are the best bet for the lower grits, as you move up to normal sharpening use then you can choose whatever you prefer.

 

coarse!

 

Of coarse it is!!

Get it right, guys.

 

You could drag it behind a camoflaged motor home! (sorry I just had to) LOL
Ken.

 

And who has the best price on very, very large DMT XXCoarse and XCoarse stones?

Thanks,

John

 

Here's the 24 grit in the large size that Thom is referring to:



It's pretty agressive.

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Ken