Nothing is more important to the woodworker than getting and keeping a keen edge. The tools listed below will help you do just that.
Quick Tip: Most stones need a liquid (either oil or water) to keep the steel in suspension during sharpening so it doesn't load the stone and block the cutting action. The liquid is not a lubricant, but a sharpening environment.
There are several types of sharpening media. Arkansas (or Washita) oil stones are familiar to most of us, but they require you to strop to get the final edge. In use they wear slowly, but an oil stone with a dished surface is very difficult to re-flatten (called lapping the stone). Oilstones are graded as soft (fast steel removal), hard (a fine edge) and extra-hard or black surgical (ultimate edge).
Diamond stones stay flat but not a complete sharpening system, also requiring stropping. Most manufacturers recommend the use of water with diamond stones. The are graded as extra-course, course, medium, fine and extra-fine. Diamond stones and laps are good for touching up carbide router bits and dressing the edge of high speed steel turning tools.
Ceramic stones can raise a very keen edge alone and stay flat in use. They are a favorite of knife users, such as chip carvers. An ultra fine ceramic stone is almost like glass, with very little grit. These stones are usually used dry, and when they begin to load with steel you can clean them with soapy water and a scouring pad.
My favorite stones for sharpening high-carbon steel edge tools are the Japanese water stones. These stones are man-made clay bricks into which is added aluminum oxides of various grits. They cut fast and are a complete sharpening system not requiring stropping if you finish with the polishing stones of 4000-8000 grit. I use a 1000# stone for general resharpening, followed by a 6000# polishing stone, which gives a mirror finish on the steel. If you don't store your water stones wet (I use some of my wife's plasticware containers) you will need to soak the stones for 15-30 min. prior to use. Keep the stone wet during use. Water stones wear faster than other stones but they are easy to lap, using 320# wet-dry sandpaper and a flat surface (glass is ideal but I usually use a piece of MDF). Wet the paper and scrub the stone back and forth on the paper until it is flat. This won't take long.
Finally, a strop is a flat surface (frequently leather) onto which an fine abrasive powder has been added. In use the edge is pulled away from the strop, opposite of the motion used in honing. Powered aluminum oxide is an ideal strop abrasive, although some folks prefer wax-bound abrasives like polishing compounds.
Veritas Has released an improved version of their sharpening jig, called the Mark II. This is a wonderful re-engineering of a workhorse tool that has addressed the few limitations of the original. Highly recommended.
405-M09.01 Mark II Honing System . $64.95
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