I was sent to another shipyard today to help out with a teak deck and one of the shipwrights there was using a Shapton glass 3000 grit stone. I've heard about these stone and also read some reviews and they all say the glass stones are unforgiving, hard and fast. I was curious about how it sharpens so I asked the guy if I could try it out. He was a little apprehensive because he didn't want someone messing up his stone which I completely understand. After telling him what I use he said it was okay. I took my PM-V11 plane blade and started sharpening and I'm blown away by this stone. The rate at which it removes metal is simply unbelievable. From the first stroke you can see metal filings accumulating on the surface and it just keeps going. It doesn't load up at all and cleaning it is as simple as running it under a tap and rubbing it with the palm of your hand. Another nice feature is that it's a true splash and go stone, it doesn't absorb any water. Lastly, the feedback is simply superb. It feels very smooth and "creamy" and although it's a hard stone it also feels soft. I asked him how wear resistant it is and he said he's been using it for 7 months and it's still completely flat. Pretty impressive. I've ordered 2 of these stone myself because I read they've been discontinued so I figured better safe than sorry.
Shapton glass 3000 grit. Wow. Just wow.
- Thread starter Lemwise
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HarveyWildes
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Just to clarify, was this the 3000 grit stone or the 30000 grit stone?
HarveyWildes
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In the US, still available from Woodcraft. My local dealer hasn't been notified of any plans to discontinue the Shapton Glass line.
You're right, there are no plans to stop production of the glass stones according to Shapton. I'm now using the other one for my kitchen knives. I'm going from the Sigma 1200 to the Shapton 3000 and that gives me the perfect edge for kitchen use with plenty of bite and durability.
Shaping glass stones do a great job and are much easier to use and maintain than regular water stones. However, I would recommend that plane blades and chisels be honed above 3000. I currently have the Sharpton 4000 and 8000 stones and finish my micro bevels with those two stones. My chisels are much sharper than they have ever been and I'm not a sharpening expert.
HarveyWildes
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Well I bit the bullet and got a Shapton glass 8000 grit stone. I'm generally happy with the results I get through 2000 grit with sandpaper, but don't like the honing stones that I have. The 8000 grit stone seemed to work really well. I started out with a 1/2" chisel that had been previously flattened with 2000 grit sandpaper and polished with a 4000 grit stone. I had tried some higher grit stones after that but not been happy with the results. Using the 8000 grit Shapton, I was able to polish the back of a 1/2" chisel and then hone the edge in less than five minutes, and the polish on the back was noticeably better than what I had done previously. As a result, I got the 16000 grit stone yesterday and will be trying that out on the 1/2" chisel today.
[member=61231]HarveyWildes[/member] I've been told that the Shapton 10000 Glass Stone is more like a normal 8000 water stone, so going to 16000 should give you much better results. I've found, though, that just using the 8000 Shapton stone has improved my result with chisels and my spokeshave blade. Since I still need more practice I don't believe I've even reached the best result I can get with the 8000 and, for the most part, from everything I have read, that should be sufficient anyway. I have never found the need to strop the tools after using a stone like the 8000 Shapton, but everyone has little things that give them the "edge".
Completely unnecessary. Wood is so abrasive that the extremely fine edge you put on the steel with a strop is gone with the first chop. I don't meant to be rude but who the hell taught you people how to use a chisel? Stop listening to youtube "gurus" and take it from a real shipwright who has used chisels almost every day of his working life the past 17 years.waho6o9 said:
It goes for paring as well. That fine of an edge simply isn't resilient enough for woodworking, especially when you're dealing with hard woods. But you know what? I'm not giving advice any more. You people do what you want to do and I'll keep doing what 17 years worth of professional woodworking has taught me.
This argument (if you can call it that) goes both ways. Some of those "gurus" received wide recognition for their work, not to mention a lifetime in fine furniture.Lemwise said:
I personally don't use strop. However, the only thing I'd take as an argument would be a scientific experiment with actual quantifiable evidence.
Lemwise said:
[member=60576]Lemwise[/member] Why are you so angry about this subject? There are a lot of ways to sharpen and get satisfactory results, depending on what you do with the chisel and a sharpener's experience with sharpening and woodworking. We're all trying to learn and improve our skills. I happen to agree that stropping isn't necessary or really does anything to improve results. Plus, I find it's too easy to round over the cutting edge when stropping. However, some really like the result and feel it improves the edge and cutting properties of chisels. I've been woodworking longer than 17 years and I'm still learning, especially about sharpening.
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