Who still sharpens freehand with oil stone?

FortyTwoBlades said:
Don't worry about it too much. Ever see the stones used by a lot of professional Japanese sharpeners? Dished as hell. You can flatten your stones if they get more hollow than you're comfortable with, but don't obsess over it too hard or you'll artificially shorten the life of the stone.
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Definitely this^!!

I think too many people get obsessed by a stone getting a little dished. The best knife smith I ever knew, Bill Moran, had a big old gray aluminum oxide stone on his bench. The old ones we used to call a carborundum stone in the 1950's. He'd finish all his knife edges on that dished out old stone, and he'd shave hair with it after. I once asked him if that concave surface made it difficult to sharpen. He just shrugged, than shaved some hair of his arm, and said, "It don't appear to."

Carl.
 
Norton JB8 and Norton IB8 with Norton honing oil. The JB8 crystolon(silicon carbide) is a really fast cutter. Only use the the IB8(india) when I just want that something extra.
 
jackknife said:
The best knife smith I ever knew, Bill Moran, had a big old gray aluminum oxide stone on his bench. The old ones we used to call a carborundum stone in the 1950's.

Carl.
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Do they still make carborundum stones? I had one (my very first sharpening stone) but dropped it last year. Or do they just have a new name?

Cheers,
Connor
 
'Corundum' is a naturally-occurring form of aluminum oxide (Al[SUB]2[/SUB]O[SUB]3[/SUB]); it's very hard (~9 Mohs) and has been used in sharpening/grinding stones for a long time.

'Carborundum' was the trade name given to silicon carbide, by the original discoverer (inventor) of it. These days, carborundum is basically a generic reference to silicon carbide.

The Carborundum corporation (as named when started by the inventor), is also making other abrasives nowadays, including AlOx. The company is currently owned by Saint-Gobain Abrasives, which is also the owner/parent of Norton Abrasives. The quoted text below is from the company's own site, about the historical origin of Carborundum:

(Quoted from site: http://www.carborundumabrasives.com/aboutCarborundum.aspx )

"It all began with a failed experiment.

It was in 1890. In a small Pennsylvania town, the inventor Edward Goodrich Acheson carried out a series of experiments. He tried to heat carbon so intensely that it would result in diamond.

It didn't work.

So Acheson began mixing clay with carbon and electrically fusing it. The result was a product with shiny specks that were hard enough to scratch glass.

This was silicon carbide. Also known as carborundum.

The next year Acheson formed his company in Monongehela, PA and named it Carborundum, and moved the organization to Niagara Falls, NY in 1895."
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David
 
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For me, it depends. Most of my sharpening these days is using diamond and ceramic stones. When I want a really good edge, I break out my Edgepro. My straight razors are all honed on my Norton water stones.

Every once in a while, I break out my Norton IB8 in my garage with a cigar and a beer, listening to a ball game on the radio. I use kerosene, hence, I'm out in the garage (it really stinks). But there's a zen to sharpening on that Norton, it's a very pleasant way to spend an evening.
 
Absolutely! Unless the steel dictates diamond stones, I will be honing away with my India and arkansas stones.

Chris
 
I'll be sharpening freehand in style when the "Ultimate Oil Stone Kit" that I ordered finally arrives. It said to allow 4-5 weeks for delivery, so I need to be patient.
 
I sharpen freehand myself; I have an old model Spyderco Sharpmaker that just sits on a shelf.


I actually like the ceramic stones from Spyderco and I use them dry. I get what I consider to be a decent edge; at least a useful edge.
 
dont guess ive ever sharpened any other way but freehand on an oil stone.
unless you count rubbing the edge on the bottom of a porcelain coffee cup or the top edge of a car window. i think those methods would be considered sharpening. the knife leaves a mark on the coffee cup so i guess im removing metal. lol

im probably at best a mediocre sharpener but i can make a knife sharper than when i started. *that* is the essential success criteria. anything beyond that is gravy.

the best advice ive ever read on here are; pay close attention to keeping the angle between the blade and the stone steady, practice a lot on old cheap kitchen knives so you develop 'muscle memory' of that regular angle and be very very patient.
 
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