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Post by bill44 on Dec 7, 2014 12:12:02 GMT 10
Smokey on your very fine stones you are better off letting the paste from the stone build up, I've even got a special small stone that is used to create the slurry of paste on a cleaned stone before I put a blade to it.
I've been using Jap waterstones for donkeys years on all my knives, chisels, plane blades etc.
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Post by smokey on Dec 7, 2014 13:52:25 GMT 10
Posibly Bill, I'll never say never. I have that chalk block that I use to clean off the stone. Here is how I came about my thinking. And maybe a touch of OCD  Back in the eightys I did my trade in a large factory that had a polishing and finishing , as in chroming shop. Using those big old linear belts and Brillo belts tought me that they needed to be clean. Slow everything down to a whet stone and the effect of any contaminant becomes greater. I use a lorp to check the edge up close and use a dressing chalk as you do but only to clean the black( metal) off the stone As soon as I feel a lump on the fine stones and they are tiny little niggles, I know I've just made a scratch in the mirror and go again until I'm satisfied there were enough lump free strokes and then stop. Thats why I do it under constant running water to wash away slurry and the evil micro steel filings. It gets more critical the finer you go. Also depends on the knife steel being sharpened. Carbon steel is so much easyer and doesn't suffer the niggles like stainless or super steels. Super steels have stuff like molybdenum and cobalt that "gaull " any one with a SS riffle will tell you about bolt gauling. My experience puts the problem down to the same remedy, Ultra clean and well lubricated. In reality, we are splitting hairs. Any effort on the stones will give a fit for purpose tool. |
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Post by chrisg on Dec 7, 2014 17:21:05 GMT 10
I can relate Smoky, you get to a certain point in any endeavor and you go after perfection  Bill I'm going to assume is a (retired?) tradie? My dad was the same with sharpening, once the edge was to his satisfaction he wasn't going to fret over what the tool looked like over much. I've never owned a Japanese knife though, mate of mine is very into the Samurai thing, told me once that the part of the training that focused on sharpening the swords was akin to religion. In the days when I did pistol shooting my most frustrating but also most rewarding gun was a Remington .44 Automag, rare beast, so powerful it was forever shaking itself to pieces. Automags are all stainless, an absolute pain to keep clean and prevent jams. I only ever used it for silhouette but it occupied far more of my time on the bench doing repairs etc than a combination of a worked .45 ACP, an S&W Model 41 and a Thompson Contender with four interchangeable barrels did combined It was with very mixed feelings that I sold that one, never missed its petulance but did the days when it actually behaved One fellow shooter did mod a .45 with an SS barrel, everyone told him he'd regret that... he did Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 7, 2014 18:00:10 GMT 10
I've never done what Bill speaks of but I can understand it. I shall surely give it a visit as I bring out the fine stone once a month to touch up the favourite blades. Talke is an awsome polisher.
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Post by bill44 on Dec 8, 2014 6:04:24 GMT 10
On a very fine stone it will give nearly the same finish as jewellers rouge on a leather strop. Edit. I don't use a steel on my Japanese knives for obvious reasons  , but on my other knives I use a 90 year old steel from when my Mother had her butchers shop. I shudder at what some call a steel these days. |
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, but on my other knives I use a 90 year old steel from when my Mother had her butchers shop. I shudder at what some call a steel these days.