I thought those fancy Japanese water stones were just for show

For years I sharpened my blades on a basic oil stone from the hardware store. It worked fine, I thought. Then a guy at a meetup in Knoxville let me try his Shapton 1000 grit stone on my favorite forging hammer. The difference was crazy, like night and day. The edge came up so much cleaner and faster, with way less effort on my part. I was convinced it was just him being good at it, so I bought one myself a month ago. After using it on three different projects, my draw knife and chisels have never been sharper. I feel dumb for being so stubborn about it. Has anyone else made the switch from oil stones and noticed a big jump in quality?

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the_andrew5mo ago

My old Norton oil stone is in a drawer now. I got a King 1200 grit stone last year for my kitchen knives. The sharpening speed is what got me, it takes half the time. You don't realize how much the oil drags you down until you try water. The edge just feels more crisp and solid too.

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andrewanderson5mo ago

Oh man, same here. I used a cheap oil stone for ages and just dealt with the messy slurry. Grabbed a Naniwa 800 grit on a whim and my plane irons went from tearing out grain to leaving glassy surfaces in one pass. The feedback is just totally different, it's not even close.

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