Ok, now that I have acquired a block plane and a set of chisels, the next obvious stage in neandethal evolution is learning sharpening. Even though I have an open offer to visit and make use of Dennis Peacock's workshop, I would still like to have a minimum set of sharpening stones in my garage workshop.
I wanted to ask your advice as to what would be a good set of stones to get within $50. I know the budget is miserly, but so is the expectation. I already have a hard Arkansas water stone, which I found out the hard way is fine grit (somewhere around 700-800) and probably not the best choice for major grinding such as flattening the back of a plane iron. I see several sets of three different grits of arkansas stones on ebay and similar, are these any good? I am thinking I need three different grits, is a diamond stone/file a good choice for first sharpening, specially since my hard Arkansas stone seems appropriate for final sharpening. Any and all advice is welcome, as well as sources to acquire any suggested items.
thanks
Zahid