How would you flatten a natural stone? My grandfather was a shoe maker from the "old country" and I have his black hard stone that he used in the final sharpening phase on his leather knives. The stone has a badly dished out center that I want to flatten.
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Flatten Sharpening Stone?
- Thread starter ZUG
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Rub it on another stone with sand and water in between. The sand will roll around and peck off the high spots. A concrete paver or the concrete you are walking on will work too.
Angles for sharpening??? I get the picture of somebody holding a protractor to stone. Nonsense, you need to understand what you are trying to achieve. I work one side of the blade for a minuet and then look a the blade. The idea is to have a bevel that is appropriate for that knife. A thick forged blade, like a Buck knife, will have a more accute angle. Than a spring steel slicer.
Work on one side, many strokes, then do the other. When you have a nice burr, you can see it in bright light, go to a finer grit. I only alternate blade sides with the finest stone. I finsh with a steel and possibly a strop. As you go finer, increase the angle a bit. This will give the most acute angle on cutting edge. The effect is like a Japanese sword. The material behind the edge puts tension on the material being cut. That makes the cutting edge glide through.
Hollow ground blades are a European idea. Is is inferior the the Japanese way. The Japanese edge holds up longer and cuts better.
I polish a lot of my knives on my gun polishing wheels. It gives the same type of edge in seconds. #240 is plenty fine enough if you steel or strop after. #600 Polishh-o-ray will give a razor finish. Be super careful sharpening with a buffing wheel, you can get hurt real fast.
Angles for sharpening??? I get the picture of somebody holding a protractor to stone. Nonsense, you need to understand what you are trying to achieve. I work one side of the blade for a minuet and then look a the blade. The idea is to have a bevel that is appropriate for that knife. A thick forged blade, like a Buck knife, will have a more accute angle. Than a spring steel slicer.
Work on one side, many strokes, then do the other. When you have a nice burr, you can see it in bright light, go to a finer grit. I only alternate blade sides with the finest stone. I finsh with a steel and possibly a strop. As you go finer, increase the angle a bit. This will give the most acute angle on cutting edge. The effect is like a Japanese sword. The material behind the edge puts tension on the material being cut. That makes the cutting edge glide through.
Hollow ground blades are a European idea. Is is inferior the the Japanese way. The Japanese edge holds up longer and cuts better.
I polish a lot of my knives on my gun polishing wheels. It gives the same type of edge in seconds. #240 is plenty fine enough if you steel or strop after. #600 Polishh-o-ray will give a razor finish. Be super careful sharpening with a buffing wheel, you can get hurt real fast.
glw
36 Cal.
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If it is badly dished, it will take quite a long time to flatten it out. I have a Norton branded diamond plate in coarse grit that wasn't too expensive - perhaps $100.
They sell those hard black Arkansas stones at Dan's Whetstones in Pearcy, Arkansas. There business is almost all online but I stopped there once to see the quarry and bought two stones.
I bought a soft Arkansas and a hard translucent (sort of medium and fine grits) and paid about $130 for the pair so they are reasonably priced. They have all sizes.
They sell those hard black Arkansas stones at Dan's Whetstones in Pearcy, Arkansas. There business is almost all online but I stopped there once to see the quarry and bought two stones.
I bought a soft Arkansas and a hard translucent (sort of medium and fine grits) and paid about $130 for the pair so they are reasonably priced. They have all sizes.
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Billnpatti
Cannon
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+1 on what Brown Bear said. Much better than all of the other ideas.
Try securing the stone in a vice with pine wood pads, and even it out with a diamond abraisove block. Use wet or dry sandpaper with water for a finer finish.
Diamond block
Diamond block
I guess reasonable pricing is a matter of perspective. I believe them to be expensive. I've never seen a translucent stone. Do you like it?
So I got my diamond stone out and sat on the couch watching TV and moving the two surfaces together for about 3-1/2 hours. I got one face of the hard black stone flat except for two edges. The center was about 0.008" concaved. The other side is much worse it is concaved about 0.016" and it's over a larger area. I will be working on it over several days.
