Anyone Ever Use Japanese Waterstones?

[jabe]

I know this is an old thread but, just needed to share. I used Japanese water stones for 35+ years works great. I use a deep sump paint roller tray fill with enough water to cover the stones after it soaks for a few minutes, I put the stone on the slope of the tray and sharpen the blade, splashing water on the stone surface to keep it wet/clean, the water will drain back into the sump of the tray. To prevent the stone from moving around on the tray, I use a router pad cut to the size of the stone, place it under the stone to hold it in place on the tray. I still use oil stones and my Worksharp sharpener too. Once my tools are properly shaped &semi sharpen I finish sharpen/polish it with the Japanese waterstones.

[leehljp]

AS I get older, convenience becomes more desirable. The sharpest tools I have ever seen were done by a Japanese art teacher at a university in Osaka. His hobby was woodworking. the first time I went to his house, we went into the basement and he had ribbons and ribbons of shavings off of a board he was hand planing down. The ribbons were so thin, you could lay them over a newspaper and read the paper. And the Japanese planes don't have adjustments like ours do. You "tap" the sides or ends to move the blade in or out or cant to one side or the other.

Anyway, he had all kinds of water stones at this shop. But for touch up sharpening, he used a soft block of wood about the size of a large water stone and rubbed polishing sticks on it. Once he did this, he would take his blades and fine tune sharpening them on that block. (This is somewhat like the "scary sharp" system that uses PSA super fine sandpaper on a plate glass.)

He gave me a block and a stick of green polish (like these) to sharpen my tools. I found that a couple of weeks ago. I am going to give it a try soon. I used the scary sharp system next to my lathe for quick touch ups. It just takes too much effort to set up and use water stones. If I were fully retired and had about 600 - 800 sq ft of shop space.

[capncarl]

If you were fully retired and had 600-800 sf of shop space you would have it packed full of stuff and materials for future projects you couldn't find your sharpening stones. I know.