Another raw beginner in spite of his advanced age….

I’m trying to learn to care for and sharpen planes and chisels. I recently purchased a glass-and-sandpaper sharpeneing system. I’ve read a few articles and usually end up confused byt hte different grits referred to. The one I read most recently spoke of stones of different grit andthen switched over to sandpaper with grits of different orders of magnitude.

How do the grits of sharpening stones compare to sandpaper grits? Since I’ve bought the sandpaper system, I guess I should just focus on which grits to use in which phase of the sharpening/honing process.  If I can get clear guidance on that, I’ll just not worry about Japanese, Arkansas, diamond, oil, etc stones.

Also, do I need to use oil, water, or neither with the sandpaper?