Customer Reviews:
 Water stones June 14, 2008
I bought the Shapton Pro series in 1000, 5000, and 8000 grit for woodworking tools. Mainly chisels and plane blades. They far exceeded my expectations. They cut very rapidly and the 8000 grit leaves a mirror finish. After shaping the primary bevels and putting the micro-bevels on the blades, resharpening the micro-bevels takes less than a minute on the 8000 grit. These are by far the best sharpening equipment I own.
Lives up to Expectations April 8, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'll be the first to admit that I'm a power tool guy. Since I didn't have the tools to properly sharpen hand tools, I stayed away from hand tools as much as possible. After attending a class taught by David Marks and seeing his techniques on sharpening, I decided to give it a try. Based on David's reccomendation, I purchased the #5000 Shapton stone and the #1000 Shapton Stone from Japan Woodworker along with a sharpening jig at the local Woodcraft.
I did own a few other cheaper waterstones and did not like them since I had to soak them in water before using them and they were quite messey. With the Shapton's, you simply spray a little water onto the stone and proceed with the sharpening, which substantially reduces the mess.
The #5000 stone put a nice, mirror finish on all my hand tools and did a great job adding a micro-bevel to my hand planes. The final results now make working with hand tools enjoyable.
Keep in mind that the stone alone won't make you a great sharpener, but the combination of the stone, along with coarser grits and a jig will make you a much better one.
If you buy these stones from Japan Woodworker, all the literature is in Japanese, but if you are looking at a Shapton Stone, you probably already understand how they work, so this isn't a big deal.
While the Shapton Stones are pricey, they live up to the hype and are a worthwhile investment if you use hand tools on a regular basis.
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