First boot-fair haul

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I've just had a play around with the larger of the Marples cast steel chisels and bloody hell is it keen!

That was just with pushing my hand; no blows to the handle. It hasn't even dulled in the least. For all the talk of Veritas PMV II or whatever in that other thread I think old English steel is hard to beat.
 
The right hand clamp (the red one) is a Record #121; these were forged steel, not cast iron, and are a premium item.

BugBear
 
Thanks again to Andy on this thread for his helpful guidance. I have given the old Tyzack saw a light going over with the restorer mixture but will give it some more thorough attention in due course:



What has distracted me from my work on this saw has been my subsequent car boot hauls but I think that is a topic for another thread!
 
memzey":2lbg4sxa said:
Thanks Andy. You're a star! I'll have another think about to what extent I shall restore these items but I must admit to liking shiny things so we shall have to wait and see!

As regards sharpening the chisels: I have already sharpened them all on the South African carbonundurom stone. I'd never used an oilstone before but got the hang of it after a few minutes and judging by the bare patches of shaved skin on my left arm they are good to go in that respect!

On the topic of oilstones I've had another look at the smaller one and discovered it is actually a two grit one but very different to the larger stone. I had thought it was all the same mucky colour but on closer inspection it is actually two tone with the finer side a chocolatey brown and the coarser one a strong coffee sort of colour. More peculiarly the line isn't totally even between the two sides and has some areas where they sort of to into each other - like its a natural stone or something. But that wouldn't make sense as you don't get natural course/fine stones do you? Here's what I mean:



Is anyone familiar with stones like this? The finer side feels almost creamy by texture.

Can you do me a favour on this stone and take the end and sand it down to the stone itself on a flat board...clean it up and then let's have another look at a picture of it then...it looks interesting.

Jimi
 
memzey":hiyv16g5 said:
Will do Jimi. Would any old allox sanding paper do?

Sure...or even scraped with a knife...just to get it back so we can see the actual colour of the natural stone...don't put any oil on it until we can check.

Jimi
 
Here you go Jimi:


I have a feeling that if I were to carry on sanding it would get a bit lighter. Would it also be helpful to note that it is also a completely irregular size? 4 1/4" long by 2 7/8" wide by 3/4 deep. Most peculiar.
 
I am stuck with this one mate...it's not in my book and it does look like a natural sedimentary stone one rather than a fabricated one....mystery to me.

Most of the sediment ones are waterstones...and produce a slurry...but that one looks very gritty...almost granite like on the coarser side.

I have to say I pass on identifying that one...but I should love to find out the answer.

EDIT...on looking at it again...I wonder if it's some kind of natural stone which has been soaked in oil over the years and from the end...that's what you see? Or do both sides feel a different grit?

Sorry mate.

Jimi
 
No worries Jimi. It is definitely two grit with the darker side finer. It is actually quite possible that this is not an oil stone as the old box it came in doesn't particularly smell of oil. That may have been a false assumption by me I'm afraid! Is there a way I can tell for sure?
 
I would say...just from looking at the end...that it should be used with oil. If you get some water on the smoother side and use some sandpaper or diamond stone...does it create a slurry (like a creamy sludge?)

Jimi
 
memzey":2qp6o17i said:
Here you go Jimi:


I have a feeling that if I were to carry on sanding it would get a bit lighter. Would it also be helpful to note that it is also a completely irregular size? 4 1/4" long by 2 7/8" wide by 3/4 deep. Most peculiar.

My guess would be a double side synthetic stone - all the information points to it, except the wavy join line.

BugBear
 
bugbear":2pgnkuj7 said:
My guess would be a double side synthetic stone - all the information points to it, except the wavy join line.
I wouldn't know a natural stone if one fell on me but, if that's synthetic then I reckon that was the result of a bad day in the QC department - like someone didn't smooth out one grit before pouring in the second grit...

Cheers, Vann.
 
I think this one might fall in the X-files category. I'll update this post if I shed any more light on it :)
 
Certainly seems to be synthetic type except the join is...as others have said...awful!

If you are at all interested in hones...this book...

20140807_131012.jpg


...makes for very interesting reading but is highly technical..and it is a rather obscure subject.

Available from TATHS.

And obviously they like WARD chisels too!!! 8)

Jimi
 
I've been down to the workshop and looked at some old very cheap imported double sided synthetic stones. These have somehow found their way into a box of sharpening junk which doesn't normally see the light of day, let alone get photographed. Like yours, they have a coarse/fine join which is far from flat - so I think that's what your stone is. Good enough to lend to a neighbour perhaps, but not to use with your best paring chisels.
 
Well that is all good to know as I shall now avoid defacing my lovely Ward and (possibly) 200 year old Sorby with it!
 

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