OK...I'm pretty excited. I just got my order for waterstones from Stu @ toolsfromjapan.com. Now, keep in mind, this little "review" of mine here will be from a veritable novice (at best) in the world of hand sharpening...but I wanted to share my initial impressions nonetheless.
First off, let me tell you about my sharpening journey thus far...
When it comes to sharpening my chisels and plane irons, I started out with cheap oilstones. I had no idea what I was doing. I thought it was messy and too much trouble and...well...gave up.
I then went to sandpaper on glass. I followed that up with compound on a cotton wheel on my bench grinder. I got "pretty good" results, but I wasn't too thrilled with how quickly I used up my sandpaper and the hassles it was to get the adhesive off the glass.
So...I picked up a WorkSharp. That was a tad faster and the results seemed even a little better, but...I still had the issue of sandpaper usage (and this time it was even more difficult to come by economical replacements). Besides that...how can I explain it...I felt less in control of the sharpening process with the WS. I wasn't getting the same "feel" that I was before. Kind of like the difference between handplaning and power sanding stock.
Not to bash the WS system, mind you...it works well...that was just my observations.
Then I got my hands on some used King waterstones. I again felt more "in control". And I liked the results. I did, however, quickly noticed what many had mentioned about the "softness" of the Kings. I also knew that they are pretty much "entry level". I did use them enough, however, to know that this "waterstone thing" was the way I wanted to go.
Anyway...guys here kept talking about this fella named Stu in Japan. That immediately caught my attention...mostly because I never met anyone from Japan named Stu before.
I started reading what guys were saying about him. And I read his posts. To be honest, I initially thought him to be abrasive (OK...normally I hate puns, but you have to admit that was a good one). But I came to see him as very knowledgable...and extremely passionate.
Suffice to say, I liked him.
I read here recommendations for his "special set": http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1667
Man, that would be a HUGE investment for me. I thought long and hard about it. I got to where I was checking it nearly everyday to see if the dollar/yen exchange rate was in my favor more than the previous day in hopes that it might push me over the edge one way or the other. To be honest, the shipping alone scared the crap out of me. Not just the cost, but the idea of having something THAT expensive travel THAT far.
I still remember the moment that I…no kidding…closed my eyes and clicked “finalize” on my order. And then I held my breath and waited…
They came yesterday. I forgot to mention that along with the “special set”, I also ordered the Sigma #400. I figured that if I was going to make the investment now that I might as well get what I wanted and save a little on shipping. Anyway…my initial impressions are these:
He sent them in 3 boxes. I was immediately impressed with how well he packaged everything. Some of the best packaging, in fact, that I have encountered in my mail orders. The boxes looked as though they had just come from across town, instead of across the world. And though the $50+ that I paid for shipping stung a bit, it was still a tad cheaper that it would have cost me to go get them (from Japan). And they wouldn’t have arrived in any better shape than they did.
The next thing that impressed me was what was in the boxes. Yes, the waterstones were cool. Quite a bit bigger that my Kings. Then there was the neat Atoma…and the nifty stone holder…but I was expecting all of that. What I didn’t expect was a couple of bottles of loose grit (to help flatten the Sigma 400) along with a little water bottle. I know that that in and of itself is no real big deal, but…to be honest…in today’s economy, you don’t very often see anybody just throw stuff in. Especially when that “insignificant” stuff probably meant packing a third box…and costing him more on shipping.
Suffice to say, I am very happy with my purchase. If and when I need anything else, I will definitely not hesitate to buy from Stu again. In fact…the next time…I will click “complete” with my eyes wide open.
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Originally Posted by Harold Burrell
