Multiple waterstone review, chisel from dinged to sharp

HeavyHanded

HeavyHanded

Joined
Jun 4, 2010
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25 minute look at some of my favorite workhorse stones for woodworking and utility sharpening.

Sharpening chisel and Vic utility knife using:
Zandstra Foss combination stone
800 and 2k Juuma
G8 Suehiro Rika

The Juumas are still listed on Dieter Schmid website although they are out of stock - wonderful stones and well worth ordering from Europe to the States.

Zandstra Foss is a beast, demo'd cleaning up a chisel front and back, as well as setting up a Victorinox utility kitchen knife. A bit of rambling but manage to stay on point for most of it :D

 
Great video, man. It was really nice to get some content on some uncommon stones. Too bad those Juuma's aren't in stock. Those are really quite interesting stones!
 
Beansandcarrots said:
Great video, man. It was really nice to get some content on some uncommon stones. Too bad those Juuma's aren't in stock. Those are really quite interesting stones!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hope they get in some more, maybe even expand the lineup. They still don't work well on high Vanadium stuff, but are very effective on just about everything else.

I did have to lap them down a good 1/32" before they came around, and although not recommended to store them in a bath it seems to work great. The 2k started to develop some spalling along one edge even though I was very careful not to let it dry out quickly. Since storing them submerged have had zero problems.
 
I’m inspired by this to try again my natural coarse stone I used to refinish my Cara Cara long time back, to reprofile XHP, no Vanadium carbide, so hopefully it works.
 
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I think I am going to start saving for that FOSS stone. Is the finish in your video from 30 grit lapping?
 
Head's up for anyone interested, Dieter Schmid / Fine Tools has the Juuma stones demo'd in the video back in stock. Still only the 800, 1200, 2k but price hasn't gone up.
 
HeavyHanded HeavyHanded Im glad I took you recommendation very fast cutting stone indeed.
tSIk5ba.jpg

For the history, Foss Slipeskivefabrikk was acquired by FLEXOVIT and closed down in 1992, so most probably the stone we have is produced by Saint-Gobain Abrasives.

Vintage Foss grinding wheel that has been laying around my fathers-in-law workshop perhaps for more than half a century :)
MrC3NjQ.jpg


HeavyHanded HeavyHanded I have some questioned if you don't mind.

Does the stone needs soaking and for how long?

Doe the surface needs to be refreshed/lapped out of the box?

Also you mention 30-60 grit loose silicone carbide for flattening/reconditioning. Do you use
30-60 grit for the fine side of the stone also?
 
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yannada said:
FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades Im glad I took you recommendation very fast cutting stone indeed.
tSIk5ba.jpg

For the history, Foss Slipeskivefabrikk was acquired by FLEXOVIT and closed down in 1992, so most probably the stone we have is produced by Saint-Gobain Abrasives.

Vintage Foss grinding wheel that has been laying around my fathers-in-law workshop perhaps for more than half a century :)
MrC3NjQ.jpg


FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades I have some questioned if you don't mind.

Does the stone needs soaking and for how long?

Doe the surface needs to be refreshed/lapped out of the box?

Also you mention 30-60 grit loose silicone carbide for flattening/reconditioning. Do you use
30-60 grit for the fine side of the stone also?
Click to expand...

I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I have no personal experience with the FOSS stone.
 
I got the Zandstra FOSS and gave it a try tonight. My first impressions are very positive.
  • It's a good size, much nicer to use than 8"x2" stones.
  • The coarse grit seems to be in the sweet spot between aggression and control.
  • The fine side seems about the same grit as my Cerax 320, but thankfully much firmer.
  • As finished from the factory the coarse side is grippy enough for thinning ...
  • yet it appears hard enough to handle mild tip work without gouging.
  • The fine side feels nice to work on; the coarse side feels effective.
The only negatives are that mine came without a box, and the fine side isn't perfectly flat, but that's not much to complain about.

Thanks HeavyHanded.
 
yannada said:
HeavyHanded HeavyHanded Im glad I took you recommendation very fast cutting stone indeed.
tSIk5ba.jpg

For the history, Foss Slipeskivefabrikk was acquired by FLEXOVIT and closed down in 1992, so most probably the stone we have is produced by Saint-Gobain Abrasives.

Vintage Foss grinding wheel that has been laying around my fathers-in-law workshop perhaps for more than half a century :)
MrC3NjQ.jpg


HeavyHanded HeavyHanded I have some questioned if you don't mind.

Does the stone needs soaking and for how long?

Doe the surface needs to be refreshed/lapped out of the box?

Also you mention 30-60 grit loose silicone carbide for flattening/reconditioning. Do you use
30-60 grit for the fine side of the stone also?
Click to expand...

- I leave mine soaking permanently. 15 minutes or so should be plenty if giving it a dunk.
- Mine didn't, although the fine side will load up a bit and a nagura stone or xxc diamond plate is a handy thing to have.The fine side will dish over time.
- unlike a lot of other vitreous stones, the fine side can be lapped with any suitable stone without it glazing. The coarse side needs the loose grit to recondition properly. In my case I was able to do a lot of work on some of my woodworking tools first. Flattening the bottom of a small jack plane was the final straw. The coarse side still worked but wasn't the beast it started out of the box.
 
HeavyHanded HeavyHanded By the way are you going to do a video review of the Manticore and Arctic Fox stones? I had been waiting to see if the Manticore would be offered in 10"x3" when I saw free shipping at Nordic Skater and moved on the Foss. I have no regrets but I am still curious about the Baryonyx stones.
 
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Mr.Wizard said:
HeavyHanded HeavyHanded By the way are you going to do a video review of the Manticore and Arctic Fox stones? I had been waiting to see if the Manticore would be offered in 10"x3" when I saw free shipping at Nordic Skater and moved the Foss. I have no regrets but I am still curious about the Baryonyx stones.
Click to expand...

My cut list of reviews has the Manticore and ArcticFox at top of list. The Arctic Fox is a great stone for the money and really a great stone at any price. I keep it in permanent bath ready to go. The Manticore isn't the best fit in my lineup but a respectable coarse stone for initial heavy work and good value for the $.

I also promised myself I'd do a review of the Suzuki Ya house brand stones, in my opinion the best collection available - a premium waterstone set. They aren't cheap but you definitely get what you pay for. They put my Shapton Pro stones to shame.

I'd also like to do one of the venerable Nortin waterstonesas I don't believe they get enough consideration on average. The 8k is a fantastic finishing stone, and while the 1 and 4k are somewhat soft, they do a tremendous job on budget stainless that many other stones tend to struggle with, and do a solid job on everything else. Being soft, they are the ideal stone for creating coarse working edges using a trailing pass.

Lastly I'd like to do a review of the Multitool belt grinder adapter, but I'm not sure how much of that I want to share anymore...probably will anyway but need to start at the top.
 
So my Zandstra Foss arrived today, thanks to Heavy and Mr. Wizard for the rec.

I have to say I’m really impressed with this stone. I reconditioned a 1inch chisel that had a huge dink in it from dropping it off my bench and it probably took about 10 minutes or so. I was leaning into the stone hard with a guide and I’m pretty sure there was zero grit released. It was noticeably glazed in places after this though and will need to be reconditioned (although even as it currently is will still cut fast but not as fast as out of the box)

The finer side I agree is around a 300-350 grit. Scratch pattern is very similar to my coarse DMT and feels lovely to sharpen on. This side is also very fast, with scratches from the coarse side removed in short order. I’ve needed a workhorse stone for a long time and this really ticks the box. Thanks again
 
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