Japanese water stones for sharpening knives

Japanese water stones differ from domestic and Western analogues. First of all, this refers to their softness. It is determined by the volume of ligaments and pores, as well as abrasive grains.

General information

Artificial hard abrasives from North America or Europe are most often oriented towards mechanical equipment and industrial production. They are used with continuous cooling or dry. High labor productivity is a consequence of the automation of grinding and grinding processes. This also applies to the average quality of the treated surface, as it is rife with burns and microcracks.

Manual tool sharpening: features

In this case, the hard abrasive is quickly clogged due to chips. Thus, its salting occurs. Because of this factor, this tool sharpening is performed at a sufficiently low speed. In accordance with European traditions, the elimination of defects occurs at the final stage by an electric method or by means of polishing layers.

Sharpening on Japanese water stones

These grinding bars are well adapted to manual work. They are used exclusively with water. The attachments are very soft and stitch faster. New grains of abrasive are gradually exposed. Simultaneously, a suspension forms on the surface of the bar. This occurs as a result of the interaction of the grains with the liquid. It is known that Japanese water stones wear out much faster. However, they are able to provide high stable performance. At the same time, high purity of surface treatment should be provided.

Main differences

When using small grain bars, a relatively fast finishing of the cutting edge is ensured until the excellent condition. Polished strata, felted circles, legal slings and other traditional Western accessories are not used. Water stones for sharpening knives are characterized by high productivity. However, it is inferior in speed to the removal of diamond elements. But they, in turn, differ by a more limited range of granularity. In addition, it is necessary to identify the final stages of sharpening. In this case it is very easy to overdo and excessively thin the blade.

Marking

It is based on the graininess that water stones have for sharpening knives. The marking characterizes the number of holes per square inch of screen where the fraction of grains subsided at a certain interval. The abrasive can be obtained by sieving. The average grain size is not less than 50 microns. Smaller abrasives are sieved using other methods. In this case, an air separation and hydraulic method is meant.

Determination of the number of grinding elements

It all depends on the task that is put before the grinder. Fine-grained Japanese water stones (# 6000) are suitable for straightening and finishing. For the light pointing, other elements will be required. The knife is pre-healed on a bar, which has a grain size of up to # 5000. For conventional sharpening, other parameters are characteristic - # 600-2000. The blade can be severely worn, have nicks or other damage. In this case, coarse-grained grinding stones are used to remove defects.

Maximum sharpness

It can also be called shaving. This requires the highest individual skills in the field of fine-tuning and sharpening. However, this acuity is not required on every blade and not always. Trying to bring her on a softish stainless steel is a useless undertaking. The fact is that in this case the effect is extremely short-lived. Soft knives, which are made of low-carbon steels, can be corrected with the help of moussat. It is worth noting that this will not be enough for a high-quality solid product. Thus, when you buy a good knife on the means of sharpening it is not economical to save.

Substitution of elements

This should be done more often. For confirmation, you can resort to a simple calculation. Thanks to this, the abrasive and time are saved. If the graininess is gradually and gradually reduced, then the traces from the previous, larger stone will be eliminated fairly quickly. Thus, a good surface cleanliness is provided, and the life of the bar and its life is also increased. The set, which includes 5 to 7 stones, will not be at all cheap. However, blades are rarely brought to such a state that a full arsenal is required to correct them. In order to maintain the products in good shape, as a rule, only 2-3 fine-grained bar are sufficient. Also, one polishing is required.

Household use

Currently, the most popular combined Japanese grindstone, which are sold at an affordable price. They consist of two halves of different granularity, fastened with waterproof glue.

Work principles

Each water stone for grinding should be pre-soaked. Use of deep plastic containers is recommended. It is better that they be transparent. It will be good, if for each type of stones will be provided a separate capacity. Due to this, the particles of a large abrasive will not fall on the fine. To determine the time of soaking, you need to pay attention to the air bubbles, which the stone grindstone gives out. Porous and large elements in the process of absorbing the liquid release them about 5 minutes. The fine, having an average grain size, requires more time to saturate - up to 15 minutes. Fine-grained dense Japanese water stones are soaked for the longest time. The time of their saturation can be up to 20 minutes. After that, you need to install the stone on the stand. The basic requirements for it are to ensure a stable position of the bar and to exclude its movement during operation. It is worth remembering that both hands will be needed for grinding. Fine-grained elements suggest the creation of a slurry layer just before editing. It is advisable to use the Nagura bar.

Machining a severely blunt and damaged blade

A coarse abrasive is required - # 80-400. First of all, you should start by removing the nicks. For this, the remnants of the blade are removed. The material should be removed along the entire length. Thus, the geometry of the blade will not be distorted. It is necessary to do so until the damage is completely eliminated. A straight line appears. Further, an estimate of the uniformity of its thickness is required. She can "swim". In this case, you need to restore the profile of the blade. Work is conducted with descents. It is necessary to remove excess material. After this work is completed, the width of the face must be constant along the entire length of the blade. The thickness is selected in accordance with the purpose of the knife. Next is the pre-sharpening stage. Thus, the places of descent will be identified, which still need an amendment.

Practical recommendations

The amount of suspension increases during polishing and grinding. Do not let it get too thick. Flushing is also not required. Japanese produce periodic moistening of the suspension. For this, the tips of the fingers are dipped into the water, and the latter is brushed off to a bar. You can also use a disposable syringe or a household spray gun. It is important, by chance, not to allow its complete rinsing. It is recommended to use the entire area of the bar. When working with coarse abrasive in the course of intensive removal of metal, it is necessary to closely monitor wear and tear. Most of the time, the middle part of the bar is at risk. Thus, the working plane is distorted, and the cutting edge collapses. With this phenomenon, you can cope in many ways. The Japanese make special stones for this. They are based on hard abrasive abrasive grades. Such stones have a number of parallel cuts. They are involved in the process of leveling the worn stone. Rehabilitation should be carried out with water. The abrasive must then be thoroughly rinsed. To do this, a brush is used, which is designed to remove stuck particles.

Storage

Bars should be kept in individual containers. It can be either cardboard or plastic. It is acceptable to store medium- and coarse-grained stones in water if they are used regularly - about once a week. Bars, which are used less often, must be thoroughly dried after work. Leave the cold bar in the cold. Frozen water can contribute to its destruction. Regular editing will benefit the bar. This process simplifies the care for it, and also reduces the uneven wear. Chipping the edges of the stone can be prevented. For this, periodically during operation (in accordance with wear), a narrow chamfer should be placed on its face. The required angle is 45 degrees. A thin stone grinding water is recommended to stick on a flat piece of wood or organic glass. This is done with waterproof glue. Thus, the lifetime of the bar will be extended.