New waterstones and a question

[Brian Hale]

Well i picked up a set of two sided waterstones from the WW Show on Saturday and my first question is... Is it bad to store these in water or give them a quick soak before use.

Set consists of 220/1000 combo, 4000/8000 combo, Norton flattening stone and a Norton Prep Stone (to be used like a Nargua stone) The blue plastic tray was an added freebie.

Brian

[Mark Singer]

Brian,
You may want to ask Norton. I think the impurities in the water will clog the stone and fill the abrasive tooth...
The truing stone is a stone and will also need to be trued in a short time. So in my mind you are better off with sandpaper on a flat granite plate or a truing plate which is metal and usually diamond and is more $$$
If the truing stone is to truly flatten the other stones it needs to be extremely flat....otherwise it is deforming the other stones.

[Ken Werner]

You've made an excellent start on the journey to THE edge you seek.

I keep my Norton 4K/8K dry in its case. A 10 minute soak is all the 4K needs, and a spritz is good for the 8K.

I keep my other stones in water, but given the case you have for the 220/1K, I'd be tempted to store it dry and soak for a bit just before use.

Remember, don't let them freeze.

Happy honing.

Ken

[Brian Hale]

Thanks Guys!!

The paper that came with the stones said to soak them for 10 minutes before use but said nothing about long term soaking.

The guy doing the demostration said to store them dry.

One guy standing next to me said his have been in water for over a year now but another guy said to only let them soak for a couple weeks.



Brian

[Michael Gibbons]

Brian, I keep all four stones in a water bath at all times with no ill effects. Just don't let them freeze as a previous post suggests.

...Mike

[Roy Wall]

Brian,

I have 2 - 1k nortons and a 8k norton..

I just soak the 1k's about 10-20 before use and spritz the 8k.

I have left them all in water overnight but couldn't tell a difference.

You will like those stones!

[Mark Stutz]

I've done both and can't tell a difference. That little blue tray may be the best thing ou picked up . I've been looking for something like that since I started using waterstones.

Mark

[Richard Keller]

Brian,

I have kept my stones in water for at least the last five years with no problems (Not Norton stones though - not sure if that matters) I find that there is no cutting difference between leaving them in and just a ten minute soak. I have a 220/1200x combo, an 800, 4000, and 8000. The only thing that leaving them in has over the pre-soak is that they are ready to go when you are. I find that when I am working, all of a sudden I will have the urge to sharpen something. If I wait ten minutes, the urge goes away, which means that nothing gets sharpened.

One recommendation though - change the water often - monthly or more depending on use. --- AND ---- if your not in a heated shop --- make sure you bring them in the house! Freezing is very bad. I also have heard bad things about guys putting anti-freeze in the water, so I wouldn't recommend it. Apparently that can cause the stones to dissolve!

Richard.

[Mike Henderson]

Let me suggest that you return that flattening stone. While it sounds good, the problem you run into is that it doesn't stay flat. So what you wind up doing is making your sharpening stones other than flat. You'd have to have something to flatten the flattening stone before you use it to flatten your working stones.

Rather than do that, return the flattening stone and buy a DMT coarse/extra coarse diamond stone. The diamond stone cuts quickly, stays flat, and can be used to flatten the backs of chisels and plane blades.

While I like Norton water stones, I think that flattening stone is a rip off.

Mike

[Rob Blaustein]

Rather than do that, return the flattening stone and buy a DMT coarse/extra coarse diamond stone. The diamond stone cuts quickly, stays flat, and can be used to flatten the backs of chisels and plane blades.
Mike

Mike,
Is this what you are referring to? Is that the right length? A few months ago I picked up a LV Veritas Mk II jig for sharpening and a 1000/4000 Japanese waterstone from them as well. I didn't realize I needed something else too. I admit I've been intimidated by the sharpening process and so haven't given them a try but I'm about to take a dovetail class and wanted to sharpen my chisels. Is the idea that the 1000/4000 stones get worn from use and need to be flattened periodically? Would they be fine initially right from the box? Will those stones plus jig plus flattening stone suffice for sharpening chisels and tuning up handplanes? Thanks, and sorry for bombarding you with questions.
--Rob

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
Is this what you are referring to? Is that the right length? A few months ago I picked up a LV Veritas Mk II jig for sharpening and a 1000/4000 Japanese waterstone from them as well. I didn't realize I needed something else too. I admit I've been intimidated by the sharpening process and so haven't given them a try but I'm about to take a dovetail class and wanted to sharpen my chisels. Is the idea that the 1000/4000 stones get worn from use and need to be flattened periodically? Would they be fine initially right from the box? Will those stones plus jig plus flattening stone suffice for sharpening chisels and tuning up handplanes? Thanks, and sorry for bombarding you with questions.
--Rob

Yes, that's the DMT stone that I purchased. Let me say that there are other ways to flatten a water stone. One alternative is wet-or-dry sandpaper on glass or other flat surface. But if you can afford it, the diamond stone is fast and easy to use.

To your other question, yes, water stones wear and get dished, usually in the center-middle. If you sharpen a chisel or plane blade on a non-flat stone, your edge will be curved rather than straight across. And if you try to flatten the back of a chisel or plane blade on a non-flat stone, it won't work.

The 1000/4000 will work for sharpening your chisels and plane blades. It'd be nice to have an additional stone in a higher grit, but you'll get acceptable results with what you have.

Generally, water stones are flat when shipped to you.

If you're just getting started, you might wait on the diamond stone and do your flattening with sandpaper on some flat surface. But if you're sure you're going to stay with it, the diamond stone is a good investment IMO.

Mike

[Rob Blaustein]

Thanks Mike. What is the appropriate grit of sandpaper for flattening a 1000/4000 stone? Do you use some sort of adhesive to attach it to a sheet of glass or say an unused piece of marble or granite?

[Ken Bryant]

If the truing stone is to truly flatten the other stones it needs to be extremely flat....otherwise it is deforming the other stones.

Well, not really. If you rub the two stones together so the bumps on one slide around and the bumps on the other slide around, pretty soon all the bumps on both are worn off...and both stones are flat. This is the recommendation of Rob Cosman of Lie-Nielsen (see any of his videos). He recommended to me on the phone that I keep two 1000 grit stones, rub them together to flatten both, and then use them both to flatten the finer stones. It works fine, every time. The diamond stone might cut faster, though.

Again, the trick in the two-stones approach is that BOTH stones have to be wearing away at once, along an intersection plane that's already more or less flat. If you had a lopsided diamond stone (which would not wear down), and tried to true a softer stone with it, THAT would be bad news.

[Richard Keller]

I use silicon-carbide powder from LV -- about 120x. I do this on my granite surface plate (with a sheet of self-stick mylar on it) and a little water. I would think that sandpaper would work fine, but use wet-dry and a little water. Also, I would highly recommend investing in a good 8000x water stone. Makes and edge MUCH noticeably sharper than 4000x.

Richard.

[Dan Forman]

The Norton flattening stone is worthless. Return it, it's an exercise in frustaration. 120 or 180 grit drywall screen works great, and can be flipped when worn, which doesn't take long.

Dan