Oil Stones

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MattMoore

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Hi all,
Recently i have been using an old norton oil stone for my sharpening,
and i can get a much better edge using this opposed to diamond stones,
i have been looking for some but havent come up with much
any ideas where i could get some?
I'm looking for coarse, fine and extra fine stones

Cheers,

Matt
 
do you have any experience with these oil stones Philly?
i wondered whether there would be much difference between the natural and man made

Cheers,
Matt
 
Sorry, Matt, I love my waterstones :roll:
Norton make great stones though, so I would think they are pretty good. I know their waterstones are highly regarded.
Hope this helps,
Philly :D
 
Hi Matt

I bought the 8x3 stones here
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=237
check out their range of sharpening stones from the home page.
I do live in the UK and they posted after a quote to me. To be honest this sharpening business is a minefield. There seems to be this strange thing going on, where different people get different results with the same methods, yet when they find the right medium for them they are away. I learnt to sharpen with a double side 8x2 manmade india really cheap stone, and I came across secondhand what I believe to be black hard Arkansas. But believing all the hype about waterstones I went for it. Well I must be doing something wrong because I just don't get on with it. The stones don't stay flat or my blade sticks on the back to the fine stone and I can't get a polish,and I seem to end up mess everywhere. Hence my ordering the other stones haven't had a chance to bed them in properly yet but they seem OK, Not terribly thick but will take years to wear out.

Cheers Alan
 
thanks for the link woody,
i will have a look about at what else i can get my hands on
i know what you mean about differences in sharpening from person to person
a guy i worked with a while ago was raving about diamond stones,
i bought a couple an whilst i found they were ok i couldnt get a decent edge
then i found an old norton oil stone that hasnt been used.
its one of my dads old ones so probably from about 1975ish.
the first chisel i done on it was better than anything i had done before. the fine side i would guestimate is somewhere round the 400 grit mark.
im just looking for something finer now!
 
MattMoore":2bi64cjy said:
thanks for the link woody,
i will have a look about at what else i can get my hands on
i know what you mean about differences in sharpening from person to person
a guy i worked with a while ago was raving about diamond stones,
i bought a couple an whilst i found they were ok i couldnt get a decent edge
then i found an old norton oil stone that hasnt been used.
its one of my dads old ones so probably from about 1975ish.
the first chisel i done on it was better than anything i had done before. the fine side i would guestimate is somewhere round the 400 grit mark.
im just looking for something finer now!
I was using a combination of diamond for the primary bevel and ceramic for the final hone for quite a while. I had tried some waterstones up to that point but had difficulty with them. I revisited the waterstones after watching Rob Cosman make quick work on them, and I haven't turned back. I get really good results with them now. The final hone is much better than the ceramic I was using. One key thing that Cosman did was to flatten the stone everytime you pulled it out of the water.
 
Matt,
Tilgear often have Norton stones available in a special deal and they almost always have cheapish stones on a special at their shop.

You can also pick up stones at car boot sales. They look awful but can be restored easily. Basically get the excess oil and crud out, then flatten them with your diamond stone. Some of the older stones one sees are actually excellent quality natural stones (eg Arkansas) that you can pay an arm and a leg for if you try to buy them new.
 
MattMoore":3shk0is0 said:
do you have any experience with these oil stones Philly?
i wondered whether there would be much difference between the natural and man made
Manmade "fine" only gets so fine. For really fine edges you need at least one natural stone. Lief, the Norse Woodsmith, has a handy look at oilstones here. FWIW I've never yet seen an Arkansas at a car boot, but you do often find a sort of Welsh slate type and they can be very effective. It's a bit in the lap of the gods as to what grit they'll turn out to be though, so going that route you might end up eventually paying as much as for a new, named stone just to get the grade of old stone you like. Looks don't always tell you anything, unfortunately.

Cheers, Alf
 
thanks for the links, alf and mike, both very informative.
so for a good set of stones. I should really be aiming for a coarse/fine india stone,
soft white arkansas and then a black/translucent arkansas?
 

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