cheapest sharpening stone I can get away with

[Andy Henriksen]

I debated posting this to the neanderthals, but decided here would be better. I generally prefer power tools when I can, but like anyone, have to clean some stuff up with chisels here and there. Anyway, the older ones I have are pretty well dull beyond use and the newer ones are close. I haven't used them much, and have never sharpened them. (yeah, I'm that green). So, what is the cheapest stone or stones I can get away with. I stopped by woodcraft, and was dumbfounded by the options (and the prices). how do I know what I'm looking at, or what I need?

[Maurice Ungaro]

Andy,

Take a look at the "Economy" set of Japanese Water stones from Highlands Hardware (www.tools-for-woodworking.com). When you purchase the set, they provide you with literature (also available on their website in the "Library" section) that completely goes over use and care of waterstones.

I've been using the Scary Sharp system for about two years, but am getting into stones for most sharpening. Both systems have their place, but the stones work fast, and with the set from HHW, you can get in the game relatively cheap (about $65).

On another note, if you're using power tools and have a thickness planer and a jointer, you may consider getting the Makita power sharpener - this thing is tops for jointer and planer blades, plus you can sharpen chisels and other tools. I was lucky and picked up a returned one at HHW for $100 (gloat...), other than that they have a great deal on a package tht includes two wheels, tool jig, and a set of chisels for $319.

Good luck, and remember, there's ALWAYS more stuff to buy!


Maurice

[Scott Parks]

Try this: http://www.hallsproedge.com/history.htm

I haven't used them, yet. But I plan to buy some stones from them. They came recommended from somwhere esle, but I can't remember where, sorry.

[Mark Singer]

Sandpaper on glass!

[Dave Wright #2]

A couple months ago I got rid of some MDF scraps by cutting them into sharpening stone size chunks and sticking 2500 grit sandpaper to both sides to make final stage honing "stones". I figured that if people polish with diamond paste directly on MDF then the material must be flat and smooth enough to work below sandpaper. The MDF would have been thrown out otherwise. It works great! MDF is thick enough that tool handles don't rub along the workbench while working the backs. The swarf patterns (or lack thereof) are just like when I used glass, which tells me that there isn't any functional difference. The paper lasts a long time if used with moderate pressure and cleaned with a laminate roller that has been faced with Longmask tape.

When both sides of the "stone" wear out I just toss it in the shop trash and pick another off the stack. I don't know if this approach would work for the coarser grits, but so far it's looking good for final stage touchup of microbevels.

[Dean Baumgartner]

I'd have to say go with the scary sharp sand paper on glass or mdf. $2.50 will get you 2 sheets each of 220, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 grit. I cut mine into 2"x4" pieces. I can usually sharpen 3 chisels on one set of paper with no problem. If you need to do major work on a bevel you might want to locate something coarser since the 220 can take quite a while if you have a lot of metal to remove. You can also get finer grit papers. I can tell a difference going to the 1500 grit but not much beyond that. Others may tell you that going even finer will give you even more improvement but at the level I'm at I don't see it yet.

Dean

[Steve Cox]

I started with sandpaper on glass and found it cheap and easy to work with. I did find that the coarser grades of sandpaper wore out rather quickly so I bought a x-coarse/coarse DMT diamond stone to start the sharpeniing process with and then went with sandpaper grits above that. I'm getting ready to buy the next grit size of the DMT stone and will continue to use sandpaper above that. This has worked for me as a cheap start and I can then build on the system as I need to change. Personally I go to 2500 grit used wet. BTW be aware as you are looking at stones that grit equivalents are different for American and Japanese stones. 800 grit in Japanese is not the same as 800 grit in sandpaper. Just something else to confuse you.

[Bob Smalser]

Tradesmen without enough money for expensive stones have used abrasive paper to sharpen since the early decades of the 20th Century when it began to replace fartblocks on a large scale.

Even today, many commercial shops and yards still sharpen their large planer blades using paper and a flat surface like a jointer table or plate glass.

The next step up in price are India or other composite oil stones, which are subject to wear just like water stones.

Novaculite oil stones remain among the most expensive....but also last tyhe longest.

[Brad Olson]

Someone on another forum reviewed several finishing stones and the finishing stone from Halsproedge.com was determened to be the best for final polishing. The stone will run you about $50+ depending on size though, so I would wait and see what your needs are.


Scary sharp is a good place to start until you get an idea of what your needs are. Then waterstones seem to be the best value for sharpening and then get yourself a buffing wheel and green rouge from lee valley. It had never occured to me to buff and edge, but I started doing this on my drill press and get an excellent final edge on my cutting edges.

For a long time I have been doing scary sharp and now with this method I have found that 220/320/400/600/1000 and then finishing on the buffer works very well and is fairly economical for the short haul especially if you sharpening needs are not that great.

Good luck and happy sharpening!

[Steven Wilson]

The Norton combination waterstones would be my choice with scary sharp for flatening backs.

[Donnie Raines]

King(through Woodcraft) sells a combo water stone(1200/8000) for 39 bucks...works great!