Japanese water stones are different from domestic and Western counterparts. First of all, this refers to their softness. It is determined using the volumes of ligaments and pores, as well as abrasive grains.
General information
Artificial hard abrasives from North America or Europe are most often focused on mechanical equipment and industrial production. They are applied with continuous cooling or dry. High labor productivity is a consequence of the automation of grinding and sharpening processes. This also applies to the average quality of the processed surface, as it is replete with burns and microcracks.
Manual tool sharpening: features
In this case, the hard abrasive is quickly clogged by chips. Thus, it is s alted. Because of this factor, such tool sharpening is carried out at a fairly low speed. In accordance with European traditions, the elimination of defects takes place at the final stage by an electric method or with the help of polishing layers.
Sharpening on Japanese water stones
These grinding stones are goodadapted for manual work. They are used exclusively with water. The fixtures are very soft and grind faster. At the same time, new abrasive grains are gradually exposed. At the same time, a suspension is formed on the surface of the bar. This occurs as a result of the interaction of the spent grains with the liquid. It is known that Japanese water stones wear out much faster. However, they are able to provide high stable performance. In this case, there must be a high surface finish.
Main differences
When using small grit stones, a relatively fast finishing of the cutting edge to an excellent condition is ensured. Polished layers, felt wheels, dressing lines and other traditional Western accessories are not used. Water stones for sharpening knives are highly productive. However, it is inferior in removal rate to diamond elements. But they, in turn, differ in a more limited range of grit. In addition, the final stages of sharpening should be highlighted. In this case, it is very easy to overdo it and overthin the blade.
Marking
It is based on the grit that water stones have for sharpening knives. The marking characterizes the number of holes per square inch of the sieve, on which the grain fraction settled in accordance with a certain interval. The abrasive can be obtained by sieving. At the same time, the average grain size is notless than 50 microns. Finer abrasives are screened using other methods. In this case, we mean the air separation and hydraulic method.
Determination of the number of grinding elements
It all depends on the task assigned to the grinder. Fine-grained Japanese water stones (6000) are suitable for dressing and finishing. To carry out a light sharpening, other elements will be required. The knife is pre-refined on a bar that has a grit of up to 5000. For normal sharpening, other parameters are characteristic -600-2000. The blade may be heavily worn, nicked or otherwise damaged. In this case, coarse-grained sharpening stones are used to remove defects.
Maximum spiciness
It can also be called a razor. This requires the highest individual skills in finishing and sharpening. However, such sharpness is not required on every blade and not always. Trying to put it on soft stainless steel is a futile undertaking. The fact is that in this case the effect is extremely short-lived. Soft knives, which are made from low carbon steels, can be fixed with a knife. It should be noted that this will not be enough for a high-quality solid product. Thus, when buying a good knife, it is not advisable to save on sharpening tools.
Replacing elements
This needs to be done more often. To confirm, you can resort to a simple calculation. This saves abrasive and time. If you smoothly and gradually reduce the graininess, then traces ofthe previous, larger stone will be eliminated fairly quickly. Thus, a good surface finish is ensured, as well as the durability of the bar and its resource are increased. A set that includes from 5 to 7 stones will not be cheap at all. However, blades are rarely brought to the point where a full arsenal is required to fix them. In order to keep the products in good shape, as a rule, only 2-3 fine-grained bars are enough. You will also need one polisher.
Domestic use
Currently, the most popular combination of Japanese whetstones, which are sold at an affordable price. They consist of two halves of different grain sizes, held together with waterproof glue.
Working principles
Each water stone for sharpening must be pre-soaked. The use of deep plastic containers is recommended. Better if they are transparent. It will be good if a separate container is provided for each type of stone. Due to this, particles of large abrasive will not fall on the small one. To determine the soaking time, you need to pay attention to the air bubbles that the water whetstone emits. Porous and large elements in the process of absorbing liquid release them for about 5 minutes. Fine, medium-grained ones take longer to saturate - up to 15 minutes. Fine-grained dense Japanese water stones soak the longest. Their saturation time can be up to 20 minutes. Afterthis requires the installation of a stone on a stand. The main requirements for it are to ensure the stable position of the bar and the exclusion of its movement during operation. It is worth remembering that both hands are required for sharpening. Fine-grained elements involve the creation of a layer of suspension immediately before straightening. It is advisable to use a Nagura bar.
Treating a severely dull and damaged blade
Requires coarse abrasive - 80-400. First of all, you should start by removing the nicks. To do this, the remnants of the blade are removed. The material must be removed along the entire length. Thus, the geometry of the blade will not be distorted. You need to do this until the damage is completely eliminated. A straight edge appears. Next, an assessment of the uniformity of its thickness is required. She can swim. In this case, it is necessary to restore the profile of the blade. Work is carried out with descents. Excess material should be removed. After this work is completed, the width of the edge should be constant along the entire length of the blade. The thickness is selected in accordance with the purpose of the knife. Next comes the turn of pre-sharpening. In this way, descent points that still need to be corrected will be identified.
Practical recommendations
The amount of slurry increases during polishing and grinding. Don't let it get too thick. It also does not require rinsing. The Japanese produce periodic wetting of the suspension. To do this, the fingertips are dipped into the water, and the lastshakes off on a bar. You can also use a disposable syringe or household spray bottle. It is important to avoid accidentally washing it off completely.
It is recommended to use the entire area of the bar. When working with coarse-grained abrasive during intensive metal removal, wear must be carefully monitored. Basically, the middle part of the bar is most at risk. Thus, the working plane is distorted, and the cutting edge collapses. This phenomenon can be de alt with in a variety of ways. The Japanese make special stones for this. They are based on hard wear-resistant grades of abrasive. Such stones have a number of parallel cuts. They are involved in the process of leveling the worn stone. Restoration must be done with water. Then the abrasive must be thoroughly rinsed. For this, a brush is used, which is designed to remove stuck particles.
Storage
Bars should be kept in individual containers. It can be both cardboard and plastic. It is acceptable to store medium and coarse-grained stones in water if they are used regularly - about once a week. Bars that are used less often must be thoroughly dried after work. It is impossible to leave a wet bar in the cold. Frozen water can contribute to its destruction. Regular editing will benefit the bar. This process simplifies maintenance and also reduces uneven wear. Chipped edges of the stone can be prevented. To do this, periodically during operation (inaccording to wear) a narrow chamfer should be introduced on its edge. The required angle is 45 degrees. It is recommended to stick a thin water whetstone on a flat piece of wood or organic glass. This is done with waterproof glue. Thus, the service life of the bar will be extended.
