Anyone who has heard me talk about sharpening knows that I don’t really give a rodent’s hinder what system you select. Just pick one and stick with it. Just please don’t sample all the systems — that will definitely slow your efforts to get a keen edge.
Despite my “I’m OK, you’re OK philosophy,” I have a few beefs with some sharpening systems. Sandpaper is crazy expensive in the long run. Water-cooled grinders are crazy slow in the long walk, short run or whatever. I can say this because I’ve had to learn and use all the systems on the market, including LapSharp, Jool Tool, WorkSharp, etc. etc.
When I worked at Popular Woodworking Magazine, I used Shapton waterstones almost exclusively. Why? Because they cut faster than any system I’ve used, and they don’t need to be soaked. They do have downsides. They are sloppy, like all waterstones. You need a dedicated place to sharpen or you have to be one of those woodworkers who is, um, let’s just say “fastidious.” And they are expensive. I can say this because I have burned through several stones from several manufacturers.
When I left Popular Woodworking Magazine, I moved all my woodworking equipment to my shop at home. This shop is a lot smaller. There is no easy access to water. The floor is oak instead of hateful concrete. I don’t have room for a dedicated sharpening station.
So I switched back to oilstones for sharpening.
When I first learned sharpening, I had an India combination stone and a nice black Arkansas that a friend picked up for me at a gun meet. And a strop. That was plenty of equipment to get a keen edge.
But as I became the person who had to sharpen lots and lots of tools for the shop and for all our tool testing, I needed a system that was faster. We had the space for a dedicated sharpening area, so I dove into waterstones.
Today I have had to go back to my roots. I need to be able to sharpen on my bench. I need to do it without slopping water all over my benchtop and work pieces. And the system needs to be fast, but seconds don’t count anymore.
So I switched back to natural oilstones. When I was on the hunt for some, I bought a couple nice vintage ones. But then I had a chat with Larry Williams at Old Street Tool (formerly Clark & Williams planemakers) in Eureka Springs, Ark. He had been down to visit two places that mined and sold natural oilstones. He was quite pleased with the stones he picked up, and he’s now working on an article about the stones.
The two places Larry visited are Best Sharpening Stones and Dan’s Whetstone Co. (Correction: Larry informs me they visited Dan’s, but not Best, which is in New Jersey. My mistake.) Both carry a full range of natural and beautiful novaculite stones in any size you could want. Natural oilstones cut plenty fast for the home woodworker and make a nice keen edge.
So should you follow suit and switch to oilstones?
No. Stick with the system you are exploring right now. But if you haven’t chosen a system, don’t let the sharpening snobs talk you out of trying oilstones. They are tremendous.
So that is why I recently switched to oilstones. I sold one of my set of Shaptons. I’ll probably hold onto the other for when I teach classes, or until the day comes when I have a dedicated sharpening area in my shop.
— Christopher Schwarz
Can natural oilstones handle some of the harder steels some companies are using now like A2 and some of the more exotic stuff?
Yes. It just takes longer.
THe old-fashioned high-carbon steels and oilstones are ideally suited for one another, I should add.
Well, we have had the “marketing experts” going on for years how we cannot do without the latest innovations. It is awfully hard to make money off of us if we just buy a couple stones that last for 15 or 20 years.
I wouldn’t mind a nice natural oil stone but have not seen one bigger than 1×4 or so in a long time.
There are lots of natural stones available. I just bought 3″ x 10″ stones. They are fantastic.
Terrific piece! I, as I imagine most, have pragmatically gone where technology and popular trends direct, i.e., the water stone. But, home for me is always the oil stone. Chris, I’ll be reading with interest as you rekindle this lost art. And my well stored gems are ready for use!
Additionally to the sites noted, the folks at “Tools for Working Wood” seem to be quiet, yet sincere aficionados of the oil stone. They are the only people I have talked to who both advocate for and are knowledgeable in their use.
Personally I’m really enjoying my relatively new DMT continuous surface stone. Cuts pretty fast on everything I’ve tried it on so far, and I’m also loving the flatness factor. Also just takes a spritz of water to lubricate.
I really like my set of DMT’s as well, and REALLY like their low maintenance. Unfortunately the “extra-extra-fine” DMT doesn’t leave an edge that I am happy with for things like paring chisels and smoothing plane blades, so I have been looking for a final honing solution. Like Chris, I don’t have a sink in my shop, so the idea of waterstones has never appealed to me. The 3M abrasive films I was using for final honing produce an excellent edge, but I recently saw the light regarding their cumulative cost, and have decided to switch to something which will be cheaper in the long run. The last thing I want to do is buy a piece of sharpening equipment that I will never use, thus the reason I asked Chris about the switch to oilstones in his last post.
The super-cheap option that I am currently “auditioning” is a brown paper covered glass plate charged with a very fine chromium oxide honing compound (typically the dark green stuff). The total cost for the strop and compound was ~$10, so there wasn’t much monetary risk testing this method for a bit. So far, I am quite happy with the results and think I have a winner, but the idea of finishing with a translucent Arkansas stone had piqued my interest if I do realize a dealbreaker with this method for some reason.
I use DMTs alot, especially carving tools and rough shaping of chisels and plane blades. As you say, very little mess. But also not fine enough. I use a ceramic stone for final polishing. It adds a mirror edge, and also no stone maintenance or mess. Then I always strop at the end. I don’t like the green stuff, it’s greasy. I like Herb’s Yellowstone.
Chris,
It was actually Dan’s and Hall’s that we visited. Keep those oil stones freshly dressed and I doubt you’ll ever look back.
Larry,
My mistake. I was writing things down while we were talking and I was driving.
Is Dan the guy with the parrot?
Yep, Dan has a parrot–a very demanding parrot.
I have some Arkansas slipstones from Dan’s. Very nice quality, and they seem to be good folks to deal with.
I am imagine the 2 links above will receive insane amounts of hits… and cash very shortly.
I’m behind you 100% on this one. I treasure a set of Arkansas stones I bought around 30 years ago. Those, along with a set of ceramic stones (bought around 20 years ago) are all that I have used for decades. Mind you, I don’t measure the angle of the bevel. I just eyeball it for the purpose: hardwoods, softwoods, jack plane, smooth plane, etc. An occasional scrubbing with detergent is all that’s needed to keep them clean.
This is refreshing. I inherited all my grandfather’s stones when he died. He used to teach me how to sharpen my pocket knife on them. I put my hand tools away for many years in favor of power, but recently have re-discovered the zen and joy of traditional hand tools. However, thanks to media, I’ve been made to feel my oil stones were poor quality to the water stone method. Why I didn’t just listen to history…he was a carpenter as was his father. They used oil stones and it served them very well.
Quick question- can these (oil) stones be flattened just in the same manner as water stones or should I replace them? (I’ve got one in particular that’s got a nice dip in it.)
Thanks
Yes. Flatten them with a coarse diamond plate (I use the DMT DiaFlat). Keep them flat and you will find them plenty aggressive and suitable for work.
“I’ve got one in particular that’s got a nice dip in it.)”
My grandpappy’s sharpening advice:
The dish stone is for a straight razor because it should be sharpened with the opposite hand movements of how it is used. [I assume he meant a lot of wrist action was involved]
Axe: take the stone to the axe, never the other way around, hone off the burr with a piece of hard wood.
Files: are for shoeing horses. [Don’t ask me]
A knife for whitling should be sharpened like a straight razor, a knife for working should be sharpened from head to toe. [pushed across stone from tip to shank in a linear fashion]
He had a couple of other gems, but your comment brought this to mind 30 years after the conversation. I confess that I sharpen my pocket knife like his straight razor, and I use files on my axes, shovels, mower blades, etc.
Wow, moment of clarity- The dip in my stones now make PERFECT sense – the other thing that I inherited from my grandfather were his 13 straight razors. Now I understand the ruby stone as well. Thanks Scott!
I couldn’t agree more.
I learned on oilstones as a young ‘un in my dads shop. When I started woodworking again when I bought a house after a number of years on the move (too many!) I needed to build up my own tool set. I tried waterstones since everyone seemed to think that they were the most awesone thing evah!
Fast forward – I lasted a year before I bought the wide oilstones and a hard Arkansas from Joel at TFWW. As for waterstones – I hate the damn things!
I also use kerosene as a lubricant. I only recently discovered Frank Klaus does as well.
Chris, I switched to the same system you describe for pretty much the same reasons, including the influence from Larry Williams (Though I didn’t hear about the parrot. Do we all need parrots too? Where’s the best place to order a parrot?). In addition to using the DMT to flatten the other stones, I use it to get rid of hollow grind on carving tools.
Chris is recommending parrots for our shops, now? Where can I get my own parrot?? Not the cheap ones from the local Home Depot, either. I want a custom parrot!
Chris, which kind and brand of parrot do you recommend?
Chris,
Which grades are you using? Medium and Black?
I can’t believe last week you didn’t pick up the stone that Ed had reserved for you…
“The key isn’t to pick a system. The key is to stay with a system. Like a marriage.” I think this is an exact quote from Chris made during his hand tool class at Marc Adam’s School of Woodworking held July 11 – 15. I think I learned more during this week than any other single week in my entire life.
I decided to stay with the Norton waterstones I had borrowed for the class because 1) They were working for me. 2) My planes are A2 steel, my chisels are the blue Japanese variety and I wanted a more aggressive sharpening system.
To get over the mess of the waterstones, made a fixture to hold the stones that fits over my kitchen sink. I took an old oak 2×12, cut it to 18” long with my panel saw. Then I cut a ½” deep, “plus sign” whose legs were 3” x 8” using a forstner bit and chisels. A towel keeps water from running onto the counter. I’ll probably cut a couple of dadoes in the top to allow the water to run directly into the sink. The website has a picture of the fixture
I have lots of experience with sandpaper on glass and do not find that it is “crazy expensive”. If you use PSA backed abrasive sheets on glass, use light mineral oil, use a jig, use microbevels, then it is a super economical system. In all my sharpening I probably have spent less on sheet abrasives than the price of one translucent black Arkansas stone and one diamond flattening plate.
The combination also gets superior edges – starts sharper, lasts longer.
If you don’t use sandpaper correctly, it can be expensive.
Oilstones are a good choice. Very durable and if used with enough oil won’t gum up with filings. Of course, if you don’t use oilstones correctly they can be expensive as well. The combined price of a 10×3 translucent black Arkansas and a DMT DiaFlat looks to be in the region of $300 to $450. Hardly an inexpensive alternative. In 9 years of sharpening with 3M microfinishing abrasives I have not spent half that much and I have lots of unused sheets. $50 worth of sheet abrasives should last most people, using correct techniques, many years.
Novaculite, the mineral in these oilstones, is a form of quartz – a relatively soft mineral. On the Mohs scale, it has the same hardness as tool steel. The use of the terms hard and soft with these stones, when they are all composed of the same mineral, is a little misleading. The difference in hardness is related to the bonding strength of the stone, not the hardness of the grits. That bonding strength is related to grit size – finer grits pack better and form a stronger bond. Soft coarse stones cut faster because they shed broken grits more easily, so naturally refresh more quickly. Hard fine stones cut more slowly both because they have finer grit and because grits tend to break and stay rather than break off.
The ability to dress a hard Arkansas stone with a diamond stone is relatively new. How did people manage before (these new fangled) diamond stones?
How often do you flatten/dress your stone?
“The combined price of a 10×3 translucent black Arkansas and a DMT DiaFlat looks to be in the region of $300 to $450.” That’s a rather large stone, though. I got into my oilstone system for ~$200 with 8-1/2″ by 2″ stones, which are plenty large for freehand honing. Maybe folks who use a jig would want the wider stone.
Brent,thanks for adding to the discussion. Learned a lot from your well-written explanations on your site.
Christopher said, “Sandpaper is crazy expensive in the long run.”
Like Brent, I disagree with that statement. Sometime around 2002 I bought a 3M micro abrasive sample pack from Tools for Working Wood. I can’t find that purchase, but it wasn’t much. I was mostly into power tools then anyway. At the end of 2007 and again in early 2009 I bought some more sandpaper. I spent a grand total of $41.45 for the two purchases combined. This includes several sheets that I gave away to friends and family. I still have quite a few of those sheets left. For the last couple of years I have been a dedicated hand tool woodworker. For example, I’ve been doing my stock prep without machines. (As a hobby, of course!) I admit I’m not preparing zillions of blades for tool reviews, but who does that any more. 😉 For the hobby woodworker, sandpaper is very economical. Now, I have a few caveats:
* The paper is initially very sharp and works very fast. It looses that sharpness pretty quickly, but stays plenty useful for a long time after that. I use 0.5 micron, 5 micron, and 15 micron. The finer grits last a really long time. Mostly I burn through 15 micron.
* I use a slightly modified version of Brent’s honing jig. Using an accurate jig really cuts down on the abrasive use. http://www.mwells.org/woodworking/sharpening/single-point-honing-jig
* Recently I have been doing a very quick grind on the belt sander before each honing. I don’t grind to the tip, so the blade is getting consumed only at the rate at which I hone. The grinding helps reduce the time at the 15 micron, which saves time and abrasive.
* I don’t flatten the backs of my plane irons. That uses up abrasive like crazy and takes a lot of time for old tools. I just use a small back bevel from Brent’s jig. This step alone saves A LOT of time and hassle.
* On the 5 micron and 0.5 micron abrasives, I do very few strokes, like 2 or 3. All I want to do is remove the scratches from the previous abrasive. Each abrasive is honed at a slightly higher angle, so it doesn’t take much.
Like Christopher, I don’t have water in my shop. Worse, my shop is not heated, so any water I leave there might freeze in the winter. That makes all the water-based systems a pain for me. I have been tempted to try other systems, but this one works well for me and the cost is hard to argue with.
Mark
Chris,
I have tried almost every system as well! I am too in your situation and have no running water in my woodshop. I have been using the shapton system for a few years and though the outcome is absolutly great, the mess is such a hassle. I have always wanted to switch over to oilstones but have been waiting for the right time.
Please let us know which stones you suggest to set up a oilstone system (ie. medium, and black, or translucent) and what size stones do you suggest.
Thank you,
Jason
Jason,
I use a soft Arkansas to renew the edge. Then I polish with a hard black Arkansas and strop.
As to sizes, that depends on your tools and budget. 2″ x 6″ or 2″ x 8″ are both nice sizes for hand sharpening. Some people like really big stones.
I used the Hall’s ProEdge Oilstones for many years (soft Arkansas, Hard Arkansas and Surgical Black) for all my tools then discovered Shaptons about 5 years ago. I have a small spray bottle for water that I keep over my bench. With a towel under the stone holder I use the 1000, 4000 and/or 8000 grit to sharpen all flat edge tools. I use water and a green scrubber to clean each stone and the process is as quick and clean as any method I’ve used. I still use the oilstones for carving tools, pocket knives and kitchen knives. I have no room for a dedicated sharpening area, and all that is required is one drawer in my bench to house the stones. I also have/use a 300 grit diamond stone for nicks and dings in blades….which I’ve learned to carefully avoid most of the time. I ran the gamut from scary sharp to tormek and settled on my method as the quickest & most functional….with the least amount of set-up/clean-up trouble.
Don in San Diego
Very interesting discussion. What about India stones for the initial work? (I inherited two med/fine India stones, one from each grandfather.)
Ken