Thread: Natural vs Synthetic Stones & Grit Size

Just read something interesting at Japan Tool...

Using natural stones will enable you to plane thinner (more sheen on the surface of the wood) and at the same time it will make the edge last longer. This has a good reason. The sharpening particles of the synthetic stones are even in their sizes, whereas the natural one's are not. Therefore blade sharpened by synthetic stone will have even height of serrated teeth, so once those teeth gets dull it stops cutting altogether, but... when the height is different... I think you see my point. It's like the shark's teeth. They don't break all at once.

Very interesting! Opinions... nonsense or true?

I think that lapping a synthetic hone, which we do periodically and may do before every honing session depending on the hone would refresh those teeth. Also they are speaking of tools which have much heavier bevels and are honed with more pressure than what we are doing. So our razors aren't going to wear the hone at anything like the rate that the plane blade or chisel will.

Finally the binder of a synthetic hone will wear along with the abrasive and expose more of both as it wears. All of the above is what I think, not necessarily what I know and I welcome anyone to set me straight if I am mistaken.

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

The sharpening particles of the synthetic stones are even in their sizes, whereas the natural one's are not. Therefore blade sharpened by synthetic stone will have even height of serrated teeth, so once those teeth gets dull it stops cutting altogether, but... when the height is different... I think you see my point. It's like the shark's teeth. They don't break all at once.

Very interesting! Opinions... nonsense or true?

I might be reading this wrong but IMHO uneven teeth would not be a good feature for straight razors????? maybe we are not referring to straight razors here at all???