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I also decided to get some kind of a sharpening system so that I can use any planes because no planes in Taiwan are ready to use out of the box... anyways I just got a very coarse combination stone for grinding but also a 1000 and 4000 grit stone, all from Japan. I can't find a 8000 stone because they are very expensive. Are 8000 stones mandatory or can I just lap to 4000 and strop?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

you can get a sheet of 8000 and 12000 grit micro mesh, glue them to a sheet of 3/8 thick glass and use that the same way you would use a stone (wet)and get the same results, (I've been doing it for years). These days I use my Tormek but it is an expensive option worth the money but expensive. Cheers Bob

Also, what is the correct way to use these stones? I tried to flatten it on the rougher stone then on the 300 grit diamond stone (which took forever) but whenever I used a stone the plane iron turned dull gray and there is no shiny metal anywhere. Is this supposed to be normal?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Micromesh grits are not equivalent to FEPA or CAMI, I am almost sure that 12000 Micromesh is coarser than a 8000 waterstone.
Taiwan is not the only place where chisels and planes are not ready to use out of the box, it's everywhere…

Do you mean you purchased Japanese waterstones?
You need to soak them in water before you use them, and sprinkle them regularly as you sharpen. They're designed to be used wet. 8000 is much finer than 4000 and will give you a noticeably sharper edge. A strop charged with compound should close the sharpening process, and be used to refresh an edge. A 320grit diamond stone is great to flatten waterstones, do this under tap water and clean and dry your diamond stone before putting it away. It goes pretty fast as the waterstones material is rather soft.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

does it have to be morton? they sell King waterstone here for about 30 dollars for the 8000 grit version.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I also forgot to add I already have a 325 grit DMT DiaSharp, its in 2x6" size. I use that for general leveling or grinding.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I wish there's an edit feature...

I just tried 1200 grit and 2000 grit sandpaper, both of which is available for 30 cents a sheet in Taiwan, and I am getting a better polish than even a 4000 stone... took a risk and lost, I should have stuck with scary sharp and a strop.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I use a King Gold 8000, good enough.

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Build log

For some reason, the water stones I have would have its abrasive grains come off and roll around, giving my tools a very sand-blasted finish. I don't know if this is because I did not use it properly or are water stones designed to work this way. I think I will just keep the coarse stones for grinding, the diamond stone for post-grind, and the 1000x King stone for polish then glass sheets with 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper for finishing. I have a 4000x stone made by the same company that makes King but it just doesn't give as good of a finish compared to a 1200 grit sandpaper even though the grain size is the same. Like I said the stone levels the plane blade really fast but it just gives a very sandblasted looking finish.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

It's tough to get accustomed to all the different grit designations, and sharpening in general can seem so daunting at first. I know the shapton 8000 stone is a finer grit than the Norton 8000 stone, I believe the Norton 8000 stone is 3 microns while the shapton is 2 or something around there, sorry I don't have the exact figures. You can definitely get a sharper edge than just using a Norton 8000 stone, but it will leave you with a nice edge none the less. I have one and I like to use a strop with polishing compound afterwards. I am thinking about getting a finer grit shapton stone so that I don't have to worry about stropping, but wow are they pricey. Regarding what Todd Stock said, I am by no means a pro at stropping, and I too find that I'll sometimes make an edge duller than when it was after the stone, but sometimes it works amazingly well...

Also, remember to use a diamond stone, or something like it, to flatten the Norton stones or japanese stones before they are first used. Mine did not come anywhere close to flat, and it took a few minutes with the 325 grit diamond stone to get it flat.

I still use sandpaper to re-establish a primary bevel, I like using the 80 grit and 120 grit 3M Gold adhesive backed sandpaper for really dull blades, or chipped blades. The 3M gold is not cheap but it is really good quality and it's easier than worrying about spraying glue onto a flat surface, no lumps and less glue clean up.