Early Access Video: All About Sharpening Stones
Added 2022-10-01 11:01:03 +0000 UTCFriends:
It seems like every day there's a new sharpening stone or system out there. As the options pile up, people just get more and more confused. New woodworkers especially need help when they pick a sharpening system.
I've recently done a months-long experiment with diamond plates and I'm now pretty experienced with all the major kinds of stone. This seemed like the perfect time to put together a video about sharpening stone basics. I hope you enjoy it.
Please note: the links to all the books, videos, and products are in the video description, but you must click through to YouTube to see them. Just click on the video and you'll go to YouTube.
Also, I'm spending all of next week at the Hershey PA Antique Auto Show and Flea Market. I know many of you live in the area and I wanted to put together a meet-up, but I just ran out of time to organize it. This is also kind of a family trip for me. Anyway, if you're at the show and you see me, please say hi! I love to meet my Patrons.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
I bounced around on ways to sharpen for a long time - Scary Sharp, WorkSharp, Water Stones, Tormek, back to Water Stones, Diamond Plates, and finally oil stones. I bought Richard Maguire's Sharpening Course almost 6 years ago, and pretty much just follow his oil stone setup. I have an extra coarse diamond plate, a medium India stone, soft white Arkansas stone, and a translucent Arkansas stone. I use a leather strop, but I also really like using my small buffer and honing compound to strop. I first saw the buffer power stropping method in a demonstration that I saw of Ernie Conover at a turners club.
Austin V Papp
2022-10-06 12:39:50 +0000 UTCVery nice! I agree if you got a good set and like it, then stick with it. Once I got my DMT diamond stones I really upped my sharpening game. Even got my kitchen knives sharpened!
Bradley Barth
2022-10-04 02:25:58 +0000 UTCFunny - i used to sharpen my tools with water stones - and just three hours before i watched this video i ordered (the cheap) diamond stones on amazone!
Stefan Blümke
2022-10-03 18:55:44 +0000 UTCIf buying DMT, just be careful to buy directly from them, or from THEIR amazon store. (Rex's links are fine.) There are a lot of counterfeits out there. I had a bad one, and DMT replaced without a hassle. Thanks for the nice overview also. I forget whose video I watched but you can make the "dish" on a diamond stone by holding the blade with slightly uneven pressure. After it is sharp, put two fingers on the left side, 5 strokes, then two fingers on the right side, 5 strokes.
Paul Cezanne
2022-10-03 13:28:42 +0000 UTCI started with water stones but moved onto diamond for sake of low-maintenance. My water stones are more-or-less unutilized now. I'll test them and make a post on the forum.
Cody Coleman
2022-10-03 12:53:34 +0000 UTCHi Chris, I do that for different steel edges. Totally make sense
Luke Lyu
2022-10-02 23:18:48 +0000 UTCActual, that’s what I used when I used the Scary Sharping Technique. I had a scrap piece from our kitchen remodel. Also Quartz counter tops work even better, since they are synthetic they are void free. Granite can have some divots.
Richard C von Brecht
2022-10-02 21:39:33 +0000 UTCIf you know someone in the business see if you can score a small granite sink cutout...machined to great tolerances and good for flattening everything w some self stick sandpaper, can also suction adhere fine wet/dry sandpaper w water.
John Griswold
2022-10-02 19:49:24 +0000 UTCDiamonds are a great choice for many people!
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:14:06 +0000 UTCThat kind of cheap, coarse stone sounds really useful. Everyone should have one.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:13:46 +0000 UTCThat's another name I could have mentioned. They have a strong reputation.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:13:15 +0000 UTCA nice old stone at the flea is a cheap thrill. When you find them in a user-made box, it's a real treasure.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:12:54 +0000 UTCThat last thing you said about "filling a gap" is a pro-tip! That's why I have 4 oilstones. I kept filling the gaps until I was happy. I think I've had 4 black Arkansas stones, but only one white stone. It's like the 2nd one I ever bought and worth its weight in gold.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:12:11 +0000 UTCLots of people love water stones. I'm the weirdo for not liking them.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:10:26 +0000 UTCI did mine with the concrete block and a little bit on the diamond plate. That worked well.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:10:03 +0000 UTCI have a spare set tucked in my tool chest. If I'm ever working elsewhere I have a "last resort" sharpening system. They're so thin!
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:09:28 +0000 UTCI also use a water stone for my kitchen knife. Love it.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:08:43 +0000 UTCDiamonds might be the best all-around solution. If I were starting over, I'd go with all diamonds.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:08:27 +0000 UTCI also use water stones for my (japanese) chef's knife. The only way to fly for those.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:07:28 +0000 UTCYou're not alone. DMT makes a fine product.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:06:45 +0000 UTCI have one in my No 5. Love it. Did a whole review on those blades last year.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:06:27 +0000 UTCFor whatever it's worth, I don't have a parament sharpening space. I just pull them out and sharpen right on my work area. YMMV.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:06:00 +0000 UTCI bet I'd love them if I hadn't spent a decade learning oil stones.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:05:11 +0000 UTCIt appears to be VERY important that you don't put oil on a water stone. I could test this, but I don't feel like ruining the stone just to find out.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:04:49 +0000 UTCI skipped last week! So i did get my admin time. The new shop has only added to non-project work. I really hope those cheap stones work out for you.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:04:06 +0000 UTCYou're so welcome. Many water stones don't "need" to be stored in water, but they need to be soaked prior to use, so storing them in water is the only thing that really makes sense. Shapton and some other stones just need a little water, which makes them a lot more attractive.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-02 18:03:13 +0000 UTCThanks Rex! Can you mix & match different sharpening materials? E.g., get an expensive diamond stone for your "workhorse" then use a cheaper oil stones or water stones for some of the finer grits?
Chris and Julie Anne
2022-10-02 10:29:59 +0000 UTCThank you Rex. I settled on E-Z Lap diamond plates and have been well satisfied with their performance. I had problems with my oil stones dishing and tried out a diamond stone given to me as a father's day gift and haven't gone back. Take care and have a good week.
Matt Evans-Koch
2022-10-02 06:28:28 +0000 UTCI use water stones on my kitchen knives. I store them dry and soak them in distiled water when I want to use them. I heard the reason for keeping them wet was so that they wouldn't build up mineral deposits from having water dry on them. Distilled water doesn't have any minerals. I have a really big course/medium water stone from a Chinese Restaurant Supply store that was very cheap and extremely useful just for its size.
Madeleine Yeh
2022-10-02 04:17:27 +0000 UTCFor diamond stones I only use atoma now, DMT have not been improving much in recent years.
Luke Lyu
2022-10-02 01:22:28 +0000 UTCI’ve fallen deep for sharpening stones. How wonderful to come out with this video!
Jonathan Keeling
2022-10-02 00:54:49 +0000 UTCLove everything about this video. I used to obsess over this, now I just pull out my DMT rig and sharpen when I feel I need it, ignoring the pile of stones I've already bought. I also really dislike my water stones and rarely use them any more. Maybe I'll come back to them for kitchen knives again, lately I find it faster to just go to my regular sharpening rig. My oil stones aren't as nice as yours, and I haven't had time to gather a collection - and probably won't. I'm super happy with my DMT stones. (Wait -- they have more than 1200 now? *Interest intensifies*) I have to be more careful with corners on my plane irons, too. That's a real issue. The biggest thing is to not go blow money because some other system is "better". Sharp tools are what's important here, chances are you can get really good with what you've got now. Add a new stone if it's cheap, or you find a gap where you need a coarser or (usually) finer stone.
Mark Zaugg
2022-10-01 18:24:32 +0000 UTCI’ve used water stones for years and love them. I don’t have a big tub of water in my shop. My stones live in a modest size container about 6” x 12” with a snap on lid so they stay wet and no dust or debris gets in.
Laura Reutter
2022-10-01 17:20:54 +0000 UTCI use a combination of oil and water stones. I’m happy with the edges but wasn’t aware of the potential downsides to them. You said that both can cup too much. I’ll have to watch for that. I guess I’ll have to buy some concrete to flatten my oil stones. Do have a web link for that. ;-)
Richard C von Brecht
2022-10-01 17:16:42 +0000 UTCThe cheap diamond plates were a great idea for me for traveling on airplanes. They really cut down the luggage weight and work well since I don’t do a ton of sharpening on trips. :) I also am still nervous about sharpening, so the reminder to choose a system and stick with it is super helpful for someone who still tries to fix things by buying a new gadget, even though I know better.
Carrie B
2022-10-01 16:36:45 +0000 UTCI use water stones for the kitchen knives and diamons plates and a strop for my tools.
Thomas Hverring
2022-10-01 16:20:36 +0000 UTCThank you for the informative video Rex. I Started with the Sharpal Diamond stone set (325 and 1000 grit) with a strop and it seems to work. I did have a tough time flattening the back of chisels, it did take a lot of time and now I know why. At the time it was the right price. I think I'll probably stick with diamond stones now. Thanks again for your sage advice!
John Hiemstra
2022-10-01 15:59:33 +0000 UTCI didn't want to have the water tub but wanted to try water stones and ended up with some "splash and go" water stones that I keep in the kitchen. When it comes time to sharpen knives I just pull them out of the drawer and dribble some water on them and sharpen. When I am done I rinse them and dry them off and back into the drawer. As for dishing stones I have seen sharpening videos where people put the bevel flat on the stone and move the blade 90 degrees from the cutting direction. It seems quick, you don't need the stone to be as large and you can maintain cambered tools with the same technique. This technique doesn't require the stone to be as flat and you can "move" around on the stone to help even out the wear/dishing.
Stuart
2022-10-01 15:11:38 +0000 UTCis DMT.
Kevin S Thomas
2022-10-01 15:00:30 +0000 UTCI use different methods for different tools. I have all those stones, but my preference
Kevin S Thomas
2022-10-01 15:00:13 +0000 UTCIf you are using Stanley type planes save up and buy Ron Hock's iron sets (iron and chip breaker...they really perform. Might cost you as much as you paid for the old Stanley you restored but I love mine!
John Griswold
2022-10-01 14:50:57 +0000 UTCThanks Rex. Just got started and bought the thin diamond plates from your previous video. They work well and got me going just fine. I do think I will switch to oil stones in the future when I get my new bench done and create a permanent sharpening space for them.
Jonathan
2022-10-01 14:12:43 +0000 UTCI’ve been using the DMT Diamond Plates and a strop and I love them.
Sean O'Neill
2022-10-01 13:42:38 +0000 UTCWould using oil as a lubricant on a waterstone ruin it? Assuming you let your stones dry first. I've been looking into this for awhile and struggle to find a clear answer
Cody Coleman
2022-10-01 13:34:42 +0000 UTCThanks for today's video. In the past at the end of the month you took a break to do paperwork and other administrative duties. I guess being in a dedicated shop has some additional benefits. Anyway, great video as I have all three systems including the $19.00 diamond plates on amazon. Not sure which I prefer but I will find out.
Marc Barash
2022-10-01 12:30:41 +0000 UTCI have tried all you mentioned, I like my water stones best not sure why, I flatten them before I put them away. I store mine dry and have had no problems. There is nothing in the instructions that says to store them wet. Like you, a container of icky water has no place in my shop. I think the advice to pick one and stick with it is best. One thing I would like to add is that typically the guide that comes with these sets are terrible. The best honing guide out there including bang for the buck is the one from Jonathan Katz Moses. I may try to acquire the freehand sharpening skill someday but for now the guide works well for me. Thanks for another amazing lesson.
Link Dickerson
2022-10-01 11:29:54 +0000 UTC
