180mm Japanese Combination Water Stone – 1000/4000
These Japanese combination water stones are man-made from Corundum, a synthetic aluminium oxide abrasive, set in a resin bond. Combination stones consist of two stones of different grits which are machine-fused together to create a permanent joint, allowing you to rotate the stones to select the most appropriate grit. The finish that you achieve with a water stone is an amalgamation of the particle size, durability of the abrasive and the resin bond strength. These water stones have a medium strength bond and wear relatively slowly, releasing fresh, sharp abrasive at a reduced rate in comparison to stones with weaker bonds that release abrasive at higher rates and wear down more quickly.
The water stone formulation is excellent for sharpening O1 general tool steel, a steel commonly used to make knives, and are fast cutting when sharpening tough alloys such as A2 and M2 high speed steels which are used to manufacture chisels, plane irons, turning and carving tools. You simply immerse the stones in water and allow to soak for 3 to 5 minutes, at which point they are ready for use. It is important to ensure the water stone retains moisture during the sharpening process. The fresh abrasive particles break down and dull during the sharpening process, creating progressively finer grits, allowing you to move seamlessly from a coarse grit stone, to a medium grit stone to a fine grit stone. After use leave the water stone to dry out naturally, before using a diamond flattening stone to re-level the face of the water stone. The combination stones sit in a polymer base which has two large no-mar rubber feet to prevent the stone from wandering during the sharpening process whilst protecting the work surface from scratching.
This combination water stone is 1000 grit and 4000 grit. The 1000 grit stone is the fastest cutting stone and is used to remove nicks before sharpening and to shape and establish a basic edge and the 4000 grit water stone is for removing burrs, polishing and honing. The combination stone measures 180mm in length with a width of 60mm and a depth of 29mm. ©
