When I hone/polish the back of my tools on a 8000g waterstone the blade litterally gets stuck to the stone by some SERIOUS suction. the suction is so bad that I cannot move the blade. The stone is flat, I usually rub it against a 1200g stoen after I flatten it. I tried altering how much water I use (liberal/almost dry) and using a nagora stone for a slurry too no slurry. Any help is appreciated.
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Replies
I am assuming you put the whole blade down flat length wise on the stone. ?
If I don't use any nagura, while sharpening, and only run the lower 1/4 or 1/3 of the blade back, down the 8000 while the rest hangs off the stone as a handle and use a fair amount of water there is no problem.
From much trial and experimentation I have come to use the nagura to just clean the stone's pores after sharpening. Yes there is much suction with it.
I put the stone near the edge of a counter so it is easier to grip the blade. See pics. Side of counter shot shows a diamond stone but you get the idea.
PS: come to think of it I was thinking back to the original blade back flattening sessions. Now days most of the time there is way less than 1/4 of the blade on the stone because I have the blade in a sharpening jig for most tasks and so the jig limits how much of the blade back I can get on the stone. The exception is when I sharpen the Japanese blades free hand. They have the hollow back so just the perimeter of the blade is on the stone so less suction.
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 6/7/2009 12:45 am by roc
Edited 6/7/2009 1:17 am by roc
Edited 6/7/2009 1:20 am by roc
Barry,
That means that both the stone and the back of your blade are flat. It's called hydraulic lock. Flattening stones and lapping plates have deep grooves in them to minimize/prevent this. I wouldn't worry about it. If you only have the last inch or so of the edge on the stone, hydraulic lock shouldn't be a problem. I get it to a degree when lapping a plane blade on my Norton stones (about 4" of contact) and am able to slide the blade off, though I usually can't lift it off.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
and now www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Barry
Use more water, and to the water add a little liquid soap.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek
The soap works. I use plain old dish washing stuff. just a drop or two helps.
But then again, in my way of thinking, if you get hydraulic lock are you not just about perfect anyway? Why try further?
Thanks for the insight. I am under the impression the back should have a mirror polish. Is that true?
However, I'm good with the hydraulic lock indicating the back is flat. I'll try adding soap to my spray bottle.
You do want a mirror polish, but it only needs to be in the vicinity of the cutting edge. There is no need to polish the entire back. Typically, you would polish about 1" of the end of the blade.-Steve
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