shapton lapping plate and ceramic stones
I bought the Shapton lapping plate and 500, 1000, 6000 and 16000 grit ceramic stones. I have been sharpening with Norton water stones and lapping with a DMT diamond lapping plate. The main reason I bought the Shapton products was the time it took to sharpen on my previous system. The Norton stones are great, but wear quickly, and the DMT lapping plate lost most of its diamond coating after a couple of years of use. To be fair, I had used the lapping plate to do rough flattening on a few plane blades, which may have precipitated its early demise. At any rate, I ended up spending most of my time sharpening trying to flatten my stones on the worn plate. I finally decided to spend the money to get a good lapping plate and more durable, lower maintenance stones. The Shapton lapping plate cuts much faster than the DMT plate did, even when it was new. The ceramic stones wear less less quickly than the Norton stones; and even with a fair amount of re-flattening of chisels and plane blades, which necessitates using the edges of the stones, with subsequent asymmetric wear, the lapping plate quickly gets me back to a perfectly flat stone.
Free-hand sharpening has been a deceptively difficult skill to learn, and it is important, for me, to know that if I do not achieve a finish-quality edge, the fault is with me, not the equipment. So far, I have gotten outstanding, consistent results with my new Shapton gear, and I get to sharp much faster and reliably. It is not an exaggeration to say that working wood without properly sharpened tools isn't pleasant- or even possible. But, with a good edge, working a well-tuned tool is a sublime pleasure, even for a novice like me. These products are the best I have found so far to end up with the best results your skills will afford, and, moreover, to enjoy every stroke and cut along the way. Are they expensive? Yes. Are they worth it. Absolutely. I wish I had bought them 5 years ago.
Finally, the goods I got from Rob and family performed as advertised and have so far exceeded my expectations. I regret I missed Rob's personal call the same day I ordered my goods. I would say that's good service!
Thanks very much,
Gregg Colvin
Raleigh NC, USA
