For a while now I use mostly oilstones. It's getting cold now even here in Holland, so I'm glad I don't have to freeze of my fingers. I also do a lot of work with curved tools, which was my reason to start on the oilstone route. No grooves or gouges in my waterstones this time.

I'd like to compare notes, so to speak. I have a washita and an arkansas stone. I think the latter is a translucent, at least some light comes through when I hold a light behind it. It doesn't seem to be so much finer then my washita though. Both stones raise a sizeable wire edge which takes quite some back and forth and the use of a strop to get rid of.

I use babyoil now. The cheap stuff without perfume. I don't like the scent of most oils, but this one is probably just a pure light mineral oil. I need only a little bit because these natural stones are not permeable, unlike an India which soaks up cups of oil.

I don't think that the washita is very fast. After rehoning a few times it takes a long time to raise a wire edge. I could go back to the grinder early, but I now also bought an Ezelap 400 plate. Maybe that helps as an initial step before the Washita. Sometimes I wonder if the Arkansas isn't just as quick. So I now really wonder if I didn't just get an hard Arkansas with a coarse cut. After each sharpening session I clean of the stones with a paper kitchen towel.

For flattening ancient pitted backs, I start with 80 grit Sic grit on a floor tile. This is really quick. Then the diamond stone to remove these huge scrathes, and finally the oilstones. This goes quick. Especially the 80 grit is a huge time saver. I should have tried this ages before.

The leather strop is charged with Flexcut Gold paste. For no specific reason other then that I have it. I use the Flexcut slipstrop which is a mold with several profiles, very usefull for gouges and other hollow tool shapes.

The weird thing is, I started using the oilstones after I moved into the new shop with a real sink and running water. I always wanted this for my waterstones. But it is the use of gouges and moulding planes which got got me going and they are really a lot nicer to sharpen on these stones. My oilstones are quite narrow but it is no problem to sharpen plane blades. I skew the blade quite a lot on the stone and move around in little cirkels.

Now I am curious to the experience of others and maybe some smart tips.