Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Looking for affordable diamond sharpening stones
Bit of a thread bump but as sharpening seems to come up as an issue so frequently I thought I’d chip in.
I’ve been using the Ultex stones for 3-4 months now and getting excellent results. This has surely got to be to do with my improvement in sharpening technique but goes to show what can be achieved.
I managed to pick them up for £9.99 each from its.co.uk when on sale. A bit of thick hardwood plywood and half an hour with a router got me a sharpening station that works really well. I’m using a leather strop from Axminster which is a bit pricey for what it is seeing as it’s easy to make, plus Veritas honing compound from the same source.
if using “sand paper” try emery cloth.
its available in all grits and is very durable,much more so than wet and dry paper.
it works great if lubricated with wd 40 or similar
the coarser grades are good for flattening plane soles and irons etc.
its usually sold in lengths of 1M or multiples there of.(also available in sheets but rolls are better for our purposes)
widths are generally 50 or 100 mm.
100mm is best as it takes the width of a plane sole or iron.
get good quality stuff clean it during and after use (just a wipe of a rag) and it will last a long time.
it must of coarse be used on a flat surface and make sure to lubricate and clean.