Good quality knives and tools need to be looked after & must be sharpened from time to time. When subjected to wear & tear, through contact with the object being cut or chiseled.
Even the best blade will lose it’s edge eventually. It’s never any fun or safe to use a blunt blade do yourself a favour & buy the best.
Stone sharpening is an art, although like all things in life practice & persistence is the key!
The fastest cutting oil stones are made of Silicon Carbide.
The silicon carbide stones made by Norton are called Crystolon stones.
These stones are also labelled fine, medium, and coarse, they are usually Grey in colour.
While these stones will not produce an edge as fine as the India stone, the fast cutting makes them ideal for initial coarse sharpening.
Because they sharpen quickly, it a common practice to use the Coarse Crystolon Stone and then progress to an India Stone.
BENEFITS:
Fast cutting stone for general sharpening of cutting tools/knives/shears
Fast stock removal for quick edge sharpening with minimal loading.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Silicon Carbide
Grit: Coarse 120 / Fine 320
Size: 230 X 80 X 30mm
Made in: Mexico
SILICONE CARBIDE (SC) OIL FILLED STONE V’S NON-OIL FILLED STONE
The oil filled stone is self-lubricating, however it is still recommended that oil is used when sharpening.
The non-oil filled stone requires a lot more lubrication and various other lubrications can be used for sharpening such as water for example.
SILICONE CARBIDE (SC) V’S ALLUMINIUM OXIDE (AO)
Silicon Carbide is preferred for faster stock removal if the knife is chipped or highly blunt whereas Aluminium Oxide is preferred to finish the edge being a slower cutting stone.