Love for washita stones and alternatives?

[John C Cox]

Hey all,

As I push further into the rat hole that is sharpening, I think I am accumulating more questions than answers.

I also don't want to buy six of everything just to try it. I'm sure other people have been here before.

So... I have a Norton soft Arkansas that I like very much. That seems to be a nice stone for cleaning off burrs and putting on a dull mirror finish. It will also raise a burr... BUT it is not super ultra aggressive. It will clean off P1000 sandpaper marks, but it won't really deal with machine grind marks or sort out geometry in any reasonable amount of time.

I've got a Worksharp sandpaper disc unit which I also love, but it leaves semi-circular grind marks. The fine papers load up blindingly fast, and it doesn't always produce a flat surface depending on the wear on the sandpaper.

I tried P1000 PSA sandpaper on my surface plate as an intermediary. It works very well and goes fast, but that stuff is like $40/roll. It's also not happy with oil contamination. It also ties up my surface plate.

I tried a fine India, and it's too fine once settled in, and it's VERY difficult to flatten/lap/rejuvenate. I got it figured out, but it requires a lot of elbow grease along with fancy pants ceramic sandpaper.

Then, I tried an actual Norton Lily White Washita. Freshly lapped with 220, it's everything I want. And it's so easy to refresh on P220. The thing is, it settles in super fast, and then it's polishing like a Hard Arkansas stone. Apparently, it is one of those "Hard/fine" flavors of Washita. That's not what I need/want.

So... Do I:
Try out some more Washita stones in the hopes of finding a softer/more coarse one? These are expensive and hard to find.

Try out a Medium India stone? This seems to be the classic intermediary prior to a soft Ark. I am sort of hesitant after my current Fine India, which is VERY difficult to flatten and has settled in considerably more fine than I expected.

Try out a fine Crystolon stone? These are reputed to be very fast and easy to level, but also quite coarse.

Punt and go Water stone? I'm tempted to try out a Shapton Pro 1000, just to see.