Where to buy oil stones?

[Bob Stroupe]

Do you have any recommendations on the best deals at the moment?
I’ve been searching through my stack of catalogs and eye balling a few websites that came up in a google search. I don’t want to cheap out and get some stones that are too small, too thin or just poor quality, but my pockets are not exactly full of cash. So, I'm definitely looking for the best bang for the buck.
I intend to follow Maurice Fraser's guide on the museum of woodworking tools website with an india/washita stone and a translucent/black stone followed with a strop.

[Joe Bailey]

I'm partial to this place: http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/

[Jim Koepke]

One venue you might consider is rock shows. I don't mean the kind with loud music. I bought a couple of nice pieces of translucent Arkansas stone for $1 ea.

Sometimes the gem and mineral people don't know exactly what they have. They may call it flint or even novaculite. It isn't finished to be a sharpening stone. Some of the pieces for sell might be flat or easy to make flat.

My experience was posted here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...xpected-Gloat&

jtk

[David Weaver]

I'd say the first decision to make is whether you want black (you can get big ones fairly cheap) or translucent (you can't get big ones fairly cheap). Once you get that, I would figure out where you can get the black or trans stone you want, and then buy an india stone from there because the india is cheap.

if you are looking for a soft or hard (there's not tons of difference between the two) novaculite stone, there is some business that goes by the name "naturalwhestone.com" that cut me two big very nice novaculite stones that are 10x3x1 - one soft ark and one hard ark. Whatever they did to cut the stones, they came out very flat, and they were cheaper than anyone else. I sold the soft ark, but I kept the hard ark (they are not far enough different for me to keep both). If you're willing to scuff a hard or soft ark, they cut really fast. If you're not, they cut a lot finer than their grit would suggest - they have nice versatility and a good feel.

[Ben Beckham]

I got soft, hard, and black stones from Hall's Pro-Edge. I got the wide bench stone models at 12" length and I've had good success with them so far.

If you're willing to scuff a hard or soft ark, they cut really fast.

David, what do you mean to "scuff" one? If it could make my soft arkansas cut faster and be more different from the hard one, then this sounds like something I probably ought to be doing.

[Chris Griggs]

I got soft, hard, and black stones from Hall's Pro-Edge. I got the wide bench stone models at 12" length and I've had good success with them so far.


David, what do you mean to "scuff" one? If it could make my soft arkansas cut faster and be more different from the hard one, then this sounds like something I probably ought to be doing.

I believe David is referring dressing them with a diamond stone - soft arks are pretty slow cutting for there coarseness, but if you lap with a diamond stone before each use they cut MUCH faster.

Regarding Trans Vs Black - I'm not convinced it really matters, the little I've tried them side by side it seems they just have a slightly different feel. The Trans being a little more tactile/aggressive feeling the surgical being a little more smooth and glassy feeling (although my guess is that these differences will vary from stone to stone). Both will give a great edge when followed by a strop

BTW I have 2 8x2s from Halls - a soft and a surgical. Both are excellent and the surgical is exceptional. However, while they do lap their stones, they do not come as flat as I think most woodworker would want. If you are a stickler for stone flatness (I am) you will want to lap them when you get them.

While I love Halls, if I had wanted wide stone, I'd probably go with the Norton Med India, Hard/Trans Ark combo from Tools for Working Wood - it's a lot of bang for buck. My friend has the Norton Hard/Trans Ark and it is a VERY nice stone.

[Chris Griggs]

Hey Bob,

I have a spare 8x2 soft Ark from Halls - it has a tiny imperfection so when I got it, Mr. Hall sent me a new one free of charge and let me keep the original. Its a perfectly useable stone (in a lovely shade of pink) that's just sitting in the bottom of a box in my shop. It maybe narrower and slower cutting then you want, and it doesn't have the wooden box (replacement didn't include a new box) but if you you're interested PM me your address and I'll send it to you. Won't save you a ton a money since it's the least expensive of the stones, but it's something. Anyway, if it's not what you need that's cool, but if you think you can use it, it's yours.

[David Weaver]

Yeah, scuff as in scuff with a diamond hone.

I can get a soft or hard arkansas to cut the hardest japanese chisel I have pretty easily with a freshly scuffed surface.

I like the feel of the hard and soft better than the india, and a hard ark left unscuffed can become a pretty fine stone.

In practical terms, though, I still go back to ceramic stones most of the time because they cut everything no matter what, and you don't get stuck choosing between fast or fine.

But I still like the oilstones, they are a nice pleasant stone to sharpen with when you understand working with them - much like any natural stone of any quality.

I'm not sure what norton's HTA is, looking at it (I ave one of their slips and the 8x3 bench stone), I get the sense that it might be "assembled", for lack of a better word. But I don't know. I've never seen a big natural HTA stone to know. It's a nice stone for the price, regardless of whether it's sliced off a rock that way, or smashed together in some industrial process - a bit more uniform than a surgical black stone in my experience, though an experienced sharpener might be able to get more out of a black stone in terms of fineness and they can definitely be found cheaply.

The huge 12x3 surgical black halls stone that I had was also not that flat new. It was a very nice stone, but the surface of it was like an uneven dome. A surgical black stone scuffed is a fast but not very fine stone. If it's left to settle in and kept clean, it can become very fine, but it will cut very slowly.

[Kevin Adams]

Bob,

I have stones from Hall's, too, and they have been excellent.

If I were going to get new ones today, I would seriously consider the Norton kit of coarse/fine India combo and their translucent. While the wide stones are attractive, I like thicker stones so I would go with the 8x2 stones (the translucent is 3/4" thick though). This is really all you need with a nice strop. I think TFWW has all of this and is a great place to shop.


One more thing, I believe Larry Williams just wrote an article (maybe for the upcoming new PWW) where he visits some quarries and talks about what to look for in oil stones. If you can wait a bit, I'm sure there will be some good info in there.


Kevin

[Johnny Kleso]

I get mine from Dan's Whetstones
http://www.danswhetstone.com/

You can find some great deals on Seconds at http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ but sign up for their email list and wait for a good coupon like 80% (retail) or 25% sale price

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/hunting-knives~d~118/

[Bob Stroupe]

Thank you for all of the advice and links. They have been very helpful.

[Bob Stroupe]

I think I've got a fighting chance at kicking this sandpaper habit.


I’ve got to express my gratitude to Chris Griggs for sending over his Halls soft Arkansas. It sure got here quick, and I’m going to be putting it to good use.
Thank You.

The Dan's translucent stone is a 2nd from sierratradingpost. Through one of their current promotions I ended up getting $10 off. At that price for a translucent stone I just couldn't help myself.
The stone looks pretty good. It's nice and flat and has some lighter and darker coloration in it. However on camera it just looks like kind of a dull white. The only imperfection I can find is at one corner. To the naked eye it looks like a crack, but I can't feel a crack it's just as smooth as the rest of the stone. I think it may be a discoloration, or impurity? It doesn't show up on camera too well. It took me a couple of tries to figure out how to get a good picture of it.


From one side

Then I flipped the stone over and shined the light through the other side. The stone is pretty much the same on both sides the light just doesn't make it through the impurity as well.
From what I've read about how slowly these stones wear, I figure I'll probably never have to worry about it.

[Chris Griggs]

Glad you're setup is coming together. That translucent looks mighty nice - and no you'll never come close to wearing down to that discoloration - not is several lifetimes.

[Russell Cook]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but do Dan's whetstones arrive flatter than Hall's ones, does anyone know? Dan's are a bit pricier, but I may be willing to pay the higher price to avoid having to lap novaculite...

[David Weaver]

Yes, they're lapped flat and without any mill marks. They're the best of the new stones that I've seen, but Dan's does like to get paid for their stones. Both their black stones and translucents are the best I've seen of either type in newly mined stones.

Their softer stones are to be avoided, though, at least of what I've seen. Use a fine india or a vintage washita instead.