Thread: digging out lines natural stone-filling?

I have a karasu stone that has 2 lines which
don't interfere with sharpening.

Still (for cosmetic reasons) I would like to dig out
these lines. The stone then would have 2 deep lines
which also wouldn't look nice.

I was wondering if one could fill those lines with
something(very fine abrasive powder?).

Maybe with powder from a small piece of the same
stone?

I know it's not necessary, but only for the stone to look
nicer.

Sharpman

I don't think I would mess with it.

If you fill them with anything other than particulate from the same stone, the color won't match and you'll still have lines.

I'm not much of a woodworker, but I can remember doing projects with my dad where he didn't have putty of the right color so mixed sawdust from the wood he was working with and glue to make a putty that would match. If you REALLY REALLY want to mess with it, you might be able to dry some slurry from your hone and mix it with a clear adhesive binder to fill the gaps, then lap it flat.

sharpman i really don't care how my stones look like as long as they perform how i like. that is all matter to me.

If it bothered me that much I would sell the stone before I would change the natural composition. IMO if you do change it the value, whatever it is, will be reduced substantially. Sell it and replace it with a Karasu that is cosmetically perfect.

I have coticules and other nats with an occlusion here and there that doesn't cause any honing problem and I have come to ignore them. If OTOH, it interfered with the honing I'd have to do something.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I don't think I would mess with it.

If you fill them with anything other than particulate from the same stone, the color won't match and you'll still have lines.

I'm not much of a woodworker, but I can remember doing projects with my dad where he didn't have putty of the right color so mixed sawdust from the wood he was working with and glue to make a putty that would match. If you REALLY REALLY want to mess with it, you might be able to dry some slurry from your hone and mix it with a clear adhesive binder to fill the gaps, then lap it flat.

I was thinking about something like what you describe.

Would the clear adhesive binder affect sharpening? I mean if I
would sharpen on the stone over time the particles of the adhesive
binder would come on the stone. I wonder what effect that has.

I know in synthetic waterstones they use binders, but I don't know anything more then that.

If the adhesive does not affect sharpening I will try it. Which glue would be suitable?

Sharpman

Originally Posted by SharpMan

I was thinking about something like what you describe.

Would the clear adhesive binder affect sharpening? I mean if I
would sharpen on the stone over time the particles of the adhesive
binder would come on the stone. I wonder what effect that has.

I know in synthetic waterstones they use binders, but I don't know anything more then that.

If the adhesive does not affect sharpening I will try it. Which glue would be suitable?

Sharpman

Go with the above advise to sell what you have and buy a stone you are happy with. Trying to change a natural stone into a homogeneous mass-production style piece is only going to wind up ruining an otherwise great hone.

I think I understand how the OP feels: I like my stones to work well AND look good. That said, in many years of working with naturals, I've heard of people picking out inclusions, but I've never heard of people filling in gaps. If you think about it, the stones were formed as the result of many tons of pressure over many years, something we can't really replicate with some super glue.

People do use shellac to waterproof the sides/bottoms of stones, and this doesn't affect their performance. You might want to think about filling in your gaps with stone powder and clear shellac. It's not a permanent solution, but it shouldn't hurt either.

Originally Posted by wsfarrell

I think I understand how the OP feels: I like my stones to work well AND look good. That said, in many years of working with naturals, I've heard of people picking out inclusions, but I've never heard of people filling in gaps. If you think about it, the stones were formed as the result of many tons of pressure over many years, something we can't really replicate with some super glue.

People do use shellac to waterproof the sides/bottoms of stones, and this doesn't affect their performance. You might want to think about filling in your gaps with stone powder and clear shellac. It's not a permanent solution, but it shouldn't hurt either.

Yes but you are not honing on the sides or the back that have clear shellac you would be where inclusions are/were if you are happy to hone on shellac or epoxy you might as well just pour some on a sheet and hone away on that as that will give the same effect on the edge as what you are proposing

I still wouldn't mess with it, but it's your stone...

You're far less likely to screw it up if you contact some adhesive companies and explain what you're trying to do. I don't know if 3M makes anything for this application, but their people have been fantastically helpful with other adhesive needs that I've had over the years.

If the stone feels good while honing, you will ruin that continuous sensation which would bother me way more than cosmetics. No matter how and what you use to fill in the inclusion it will never feel the same each time you pass over it.
On the other hand if the inclusion was a bad one you could live with getting rid of it to make the stone function better, but that does not sound like the situation as posted.