Woodcraft "Natural Polishing Stone"

[Michael Schwartz]

I just got one of the "Natural Polishing Stones" from China that Woodcraft carries. They claim it is 12,000 grit plus. Here are some observations based on using it on a few tools.


The stone is pretty dense, black in color a few white veins, and while hard, is softer than some arkansas stones I have used. Not sure what specific kind of stone it is.

I think it is at least on par with my 8000 grit Norton stone. I think it cuts bit harder, but the Norton is a bit soft and dishes out quickly.

I find it is good for honing micro bevels, as they are hard to strop so it is good to hone them on the finest stone available. Also I find that my Norton 8000 grit stone is a bit soft and tends to give inconsistent results.

I used it to hone two LN plane blades today. After a quick strop they both left some nice bald spots on my arms

For 29 bucks it is a good deal.

[Aaron Kline]

I have that stone and I find mine a bit too soft for my tastes.

[Michael Schwartz]

They claim 12000 grit, but I doesn't polish as nicely as my 8000 grit nornton. I think in reality it is around 5000-6000 grit. It is harder than my 8000 grit stone which does make it nice for honing on a micro-bevel. For its price it is a good deal.

In my opinion once you reach about a 4000 grit stone, and if you have a flat bevel meeting a dead flat back, that blade is going to be useful. I have goten an edge that will take off arm hair off of an Extra Fine Diamond stone which is about 1200 mesh. 8000 grit is more than enough for bench chissiles, and I like to go beyond that for plane blades. I strop all of my carving tools, since I rough out with air tools, I only use then for finishing, details, and light mallet work. I find that with carving tools used in hardwoods, you can get away for years stropping, as long as you don't chip the edge. Of course the edge will become rounded over time, but again, it is less important with gouges, than with a plane blade which requires a dead flat back, and a dead flat bevel.