Conical Japanese Water Stones - Set of 2

These conical Japanese water stones are designed for the accurate sharpening and honing of wood carving gouges and other tools with rounded blades. The stones feature both convex and concave radii profiles for in-cannel and out-cannel sharpening of tool blades. The tapered shape of the stones allows gouges of all sizes to be sharpened and honed with no risk of the shape of the profile changing.

These water stones are man-made from Corundum, a synthetic aluminium oxide abrasive, set in a resin bond. The finish that you achieve with a water stone is a combination of the particle size, durability of the abrasive and the resin bond strength. These water stones have a medium strength bond and wear relatively slowly, releasing fresh, sharp abrasive at a reduced rate in comparison to stones with weaker bonds that release abrasive at higher rates and wear down more quickly. The water stone formulation is excellent for sharpening O1 general tool steel, a steel commonly used to make knives, and is fast cutting when sharpening tough alloys such as A2 and M2 high speed steels which are used to manufacture chisels, plane irons, turning and carving tools.

To use the stones you simply immerse them in water and allow to soak for 3 to 5 minutes. It is important to ensure the waterstone retains moisture during the sharpening process. The fresh abrasive particles break down and dull during the sharpening process, creating progressively finer grits, allowing you to move seamlessly from a coarse 1000 grit stone to the fine 3000 grit stone for mirror finishing. After use leave the water stone to dry out naturally.

This set of 2 consists of 1000 and 3000 grit water stones. The stones measure 160mm in length and have a width that tapers from 60mm down to 20mm. ©