Trend Fast Track Roughing Stone 100 Grit

A water stone wears unevenly and becomes dished in the middle over time. That makes it hard to get a straight edge, so the stone needs flattening regularly, ideally every time you have sharpened for a while.

The easiest way is to rub the surface of the stone against a coarse diamond stone under running water until it is flat. Draw a pencil grid on the stone first, so you can see when it has all been removed. You can also use the diamond stone to sharpen tools when you need a coarser grit than 300.

There are several good ways to sharpen chisels and plane irons: water stones, diamond stones, oil stones and sharpening machines such as Tormek. All give sharp edges, but they differ in speed, maintenance and price.

A honing guide makes it easier to keep the same angle every time. The most important thing is to find a method you enjoy and use often. The guide helps you choose.

Read the guide here

Which water stone you need depends on how dull your edges are and how fine a finish you want. A common setup is a coarse stone around 1000 grit to shape the edge and a fine stone around 5000–8000 grit to polish it. For chipped edges you need a coarser stone too.

Water stones wear unevenly and need flattening regularly. The guide explains grits, brands and flattening.

Read the guide here