seeking true grit
July 8, 2012 3:10 PM Subscribe
How do I identify the grit on a sharpening stone?
I have some japanese water stones that have no identifying information on them. It's obvious which is the coarsest one, but there are a couple of others that I think are 600 and 800 grit, but they are so fine that I can't tell them apart. I need to identify them so I can use them in the proper order when sharpening. Any advice? Thanks!
I have some japanese water stones that have no identifying information on them. It's obvious which is the coarsest one, but there are a couple of others that I think are 600 and 800 grit, but they are so fine that I can't tell them apart. I need to identify them so I can use them in the proper order when sharpening. Any advice? Thanks!
On second thought, another option: compare against sand papers, assuming that grit size is standardized.
posted by BrandonW at 3:27 PM on July 8, 2012
posted by BrandonW at 3:27 PM on July 8, 2012
Do you know the brand? They're usually color coded.
posted by jedicus at 3:27 PM on July 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jedicus at 3:27 PM on July 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh you said no identifying information. Do you know where they were purchased? Most stores only carry one brand in my experience.
posted by jedicus at 3:28 PM on July 8, 2012
posted by jedicus at 3:28 PM on July 8, 2012
Assuming that you're sharpening chisels, and that you're using some kind of fixture to maintain a consistent bevel, I think you'll find that the finer one will leave the bevel noticeably shinier than the coarser one.
posted by Bruce H. at 3:44 PM on July 8, 2012
posted by Bruce H. at 3:44 PM on July 8, 2012
If they're very fine, they're more likely 6000 and 8000 grit stones. 600-800 is pretty coarse.
What you can do is use one of the stones to polish a small, flat piece of steel on each stone, and then compare them. The finer stone will make the steel visibly shinier.
posted by jon1270 at 3:12 AM on July 9, 2012
What you can do is use one of the stones to polish a small, flat piece of steel on each stone, and then compare them. The finer stone will make the steel visibly shinier.
posted by jon1270 at 3:12 AM on July 9, 2012
Response by poster: Sorry, my bad. 6000, 8000 of course. 600 and 800 would make for a pretty useless plane iron. Thanks for the advice!
posted by crazylegs at 7:43 PM on July 9, 2012
posted by crazylegs at 7:43 PM on July 9, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
There's a chance you could discern a difference between the stones using a mineral hardness test kit. However, I'm not sure if this would be effective for testing artificial stones.
Otherwise, perhaps you could compare them to a set of sharpening stones with known grit ratings.
posted by BrandonW at 3:24 PM on July 8, 2012