Budget Sharpening Stones

Hi Simon

I cant help with stone choice buddy, I use scary sharp system. I pinched this info of my suppliers site 🙂

Originally developed for polishing fibre optics 3M PSA-backed lapping film is fast cutting abrasive system that provides precise, consistently uniform, close-tolerance finishes. A high-strength polyester film backing is coated with premium, micron-graded mineral particles that are electrostatically oriented for greater cutting efficiency. The particles are bonded into a layer of resin that wears away slowly for increased durability. PSA is the acronym for Pressure Sensitive Adhesive and is a heavy duty version of the adhesive on the back of a Post-It note.

To use, cut each sheet into strips, peel off the backing and fix a strip of each grade next to each other on the piece of float glass applying firm pressure for an even secure bond, be careful to squeeze out any air bubbles. Spread a drop of HoneRite No.1 (or water if you are using this method in conjunction with waterstones) on the surface of the lapping film to lubricate the process and prevent swarf from building up.

Work down the grits, using a honing guide if you prefer (we recommend Richard Kell’s guides as particularly suitable for use with this system), start with blue (40 micron) on the main bevel. Then move onto green (30 micron) using a slightly steeper angle to create a secondary bevel on the tip of the blade, then brown (5 micron) to polish the secondary bevel to a mirror finish.

A few strokes on the back of the blade using the edge of the 5 micron film will remove the burr and leave you with an exquisitely fine edge.

Each section of abrasive can be used many times before it becomes worn, I like to use a fairly short stroke and then work my way down the strip as each section eventually wears. When I reach halfway, I rotate the glass and start again from the other end, thus ensuring that the whole strip is used efficiently. You can re-hone the secondary bevel several times before you need to do the main bevel again, an intermediate honing should only take a few strokes on each and have you back to work in well under two minutes.

HaHa, dose get plane Irons and chisels scary sharp Simon. Ok once again pinched the info 😉

This rock solid, 2 kilo block of dead flat of 10mm thick float glass is the ideal substrate for use with sheet abrasives for scary sharpening. The lapping plate is the same width as 3M lapping film sheets so that both ends can be used for flattening the backs of blades, and long enough to accommodate several grades.

We had initially looked at a thinner sheet of toughened float glass but then discovered that some of the flatness is lost during the toughening process. Consequently this glass is not toughened and will produce shards if it breaks, it is however, very, very flat.

360mm (14.1″) x 220mm (8.6″) x 10mm (0.4″) 

Scary sharp is great for starting out. It’s cheaper than a set of diamond/water stones when starting out but you’ll be out of pocket over the long term (a year or two if you do much sharpening). If you go with scary, save a little money every month to get yourself some proper stones later.

A perfectly timed blog post came up on unpluggedshop.com today: http://milwaukeemonastery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/sharpening-rant.html

George.

I use the system from harbor freight followed by an 8000 grit sword stone I found on an E bay bu it now for 20 US then I strop and my blades are all scary sharp. I had a bounce the other day and barley touched my finger creating a new bloody mess on my table I was making. Hands behind the tool. I forgot all bout that,I was getting so intimate with the wood. I hope this helps but I can say that glass and sand papers do work very well too I have used both but I prefer my system I have now.

Hey Simon,

the perforated stones you attached should work but they are better for wider chisels and plane blades because the edges of narrower chisels and plough plane blades might run into the holes or their edges could catch the corners. I think Paul was talking about this issue in his blog, too.

Hi,

I just went through this process myself so I may be able to help you.  The three plate option you showed would be the be the only one you should consider because the grits go from coarse (220), fine (600) and superfine (1200).  The 4 sided block doesnt include a superfine side.  It just ranges from extra coarse to fine.

That being said, most diamond stones usually have a series of perforations in them to allow the debris to run off the stone and safely out of the way into the perforated depressions.  And this usually helps the stone to work more quickly and efficiently.  But if your blade is a size that is comparable to the perforations then the blades will tend to get caught in the perforations.  That is why makers like Eze-Lap and DMT make continuous surface stones (like the ones demonstrated by Mr. Sellers.)  You can sharpen even needle like edges on the continuous surface.

So what to do?  I purchased stones like this to get started and they work fine for my smoothing planes and most chisels.  For the  small stuff I use a 12 inch square granite tile and sand paper of similar grits.  Mr. Sellers showed how to use sandpaper when he was flattening a plane bottom in one of his youtube videos.   And over time I will gradually buy some 3×8 stones from EZE-lap to upgrade.

I hope this gives you some clarity.  I found some of these options rather overwhelming when I started looking for sharpening supplies.