Reply by jmos

Here’s another very similar thread going that should help http://lumberjocks.com/topics/37161

1 – out of box Norton stone are NOT flat. I’ve got 4, some single grit and some combo, none were close to flat out of the box. Flatten a lot. If you’re working to flatten a back on a new blade, you might need to re-flatten the stone every 30 strokes or so. Work with it for a little while and then try to flatten, if it takes a lot of effort to flatten, you probably waited too long and should do it more frequently. The opposite holds also. You don’t want to develop a dish or you will be transferring that to your blade.

2 – I rinse stones and store them together. I rinse by dunking in a bucket a few times to wash off, usually after flattening. I flatten with sandpaper on granite, and I do rinse the sandpaper between grits (use 220 for 4000 and lower grit and 440 for the 8000). I haven’t found contamination to be a big issue. I also tend to do mass sharpenings, never had an issue.

3 – I use a cheap side clamping guide; just wipe the wheel of with a rag when changing grits, but I often forget and haven’t noticed a problem.

4 – I flatten the back once when I get a new blade/chisel. When sharpening I hone the bevel, when I’m done I flip and polish the back using the ruler trick to get rid of the wire edge (see post in other thread for more.)

-- John