The stone thread – discussion

[Josh]

I have noticed that there have been several questions and issues with both diamond stones and choseras among others. So I figured I would start this thread so ppl can post their issues and questions.

I will start… Although I have taken care of these the recommended way (no soaking, dry out of direct sunlight, etc) my choseras continue to start curling up at the ends and crack. I have had one set replaced (thanks to Bob Nash’s excellent customer service) but I will never buy choseras again. I will either be sticking with shaptons or lapping film.

– Josh

[Daniel maloon]

That’s interesting Josh. Do you think the warped stones are curling because of the stone thickness? Are those mounted on aluminum? Your shaptons are perfectly fine? I’ve these issues with the ceramics but didn’t think I would be a problem with the waterstones

[Josh]

Dan,

I really am at a loss as to why they are curling. Yes, they are mounted on some type of aluminum blank underneath, so that may be the issue somehow. I don’t have shaptons at this point, but if I ever go w/ waterstones again then it will probably be shaptons. I will be working with Tom Meyer in the near future trying to find the perfect lapping film for my glass paddles. this may be the way to go – never need lapping, no cracking issues, no water issues, etc.

[SHVentus]

I’m guessing different expansion/contraction coefficients and change of temperature and humidity, wet stones, then drying out.

[Mark76]

Josh, how long do you usually soak your Choseras? More and more I read messages that we shouldn’t soak Choseras at all and instead use them as splash-and-go stones. That said, I still usually soak them for about 5 minutes before using them.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Josh]

Josh, how long do you usually soak your Choseras? More and more I read messages that we shouldn’t soak Choseras at all and instead use them as splash-and-go stones. That said, I still usually soak them for about 5 minutes before using them.

I never soak them… ever since about a year ago when I got them replaced by Bob Nash and we discussed that. Needless to say it wasn’t a soaking problem… they still cracked

[Mark76]

Then it sucks. One of my 1200/1600 stones has also cracked some time ago and I cannot work out why. Luckily it’s at the top/bottom of the stone where it doesn’t affect sharpening.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Jende Industries]

Hey Josh,

Can you PM me and we can set up a time to talk on the phone? This has been a rare thing from about 3 years ago, and I thought we took care of it…

Thanks!

[Josh]

Hey Josh,

Can you PM me and we can set up a time to talk on the phone? This has been a rare thing from about 3 years ago, and I thought we took care of it…

Thanks!

Oh hey Tom! Didn’t expect to see you here… it’s been a minute lol. PM sent. Thanks

[Jende Industries]

Hey Josh I tried PM ing you back… that time is fine with me, unless you are awake now and want to call 🙂

[Jende Industries]

BTW, If anyone else is experiencing this problem, please let Clay (or wicked edge), Bob, or me know. FWIW, we addressed this issue behind the scenes about 2 years ago, and there have been no new major developments since that I was aware of until this thread.

Just for the record, I will be probing Josh for information on how and why this is happening (along with the usual sharpening banter) during our phone call . I know Josh knows what he is doing, so this is an opportunity to catch up and to get critical and useful information from a well seasoned user so we can get to the bottom of this quicker.

[Josh]

Well I wanted to give an update… I had a very pleasant conversation w/ Tom and we worked on trying to figure out what the root cause was. We are thinking it is an adhesion related issue, although I have to take some measurements on straightness as well. It may just be a fluke. It does seem that the abrasives are causing the glue that had been used on my batch to be eaten away over time from under the ends of the stones, which can in turn cause cracking, but we’re not sure at this point.

Anyway, I have some new stones on the way, along with some lapping film (that Tom was so very kind to include!!)I will be experimenting and seeing if the problem duplicates.

On a side note:

So with all this talk about maintaining the Choseras and checking flatness I decided to check out my diamond plates.

How should I fix this? the plates seem dished.

I checked my 800/1k stones that I have sharpened about 300-400 knives on and mine are perfectly flat. I could not replicate your issue, so I would do like Clay suggested =)

[Zamfir]

Yessir. I have some new ones on the way. I should have them by the weekend so I can start to break them in. I have a couple crappy kitchen knives that need a lot of work from some friends that will serve perfectly for this task!

Great thing is when these types of replacements happen, they not only send you your new stones first, but the also include a prepaid return slip! That is the way it should be done and I applaud them for that kind of service!

[Victor]

I too experiencing the same warpage on two set of my diamonds, both 800 and 600 side. My diamonds are not new, sharpen 5 knives on them.

Implied by Zamfir that the base was aluminum, therefor, can easily bend. On the contrary, base plate are plated carbon steel.

There are no indication of separation between base plastic handle piece and diamond coated plate on mine. It can reasonably deduct that plastic base is not flat and when glued, thin metal plate conformed to the plastic base.

I don’t know how many people with WEP that comes to the forum. But without reading Zamfir’s post, I would not have checked mine!

[Josh]

I too experiencing the same warpage on two set of my diamonds, both 800 and 600 side. My diamonds are not new, sharpen 5 knives on them.

Implied by Zamfir that the base was aluminum, therefor, can easily bend. On the contrary, base plate are plated carbon steel.

There are no indication of separation between base plastic handle piece and diamond coated plate on mine. It can reasonably deduct that plastic base is not flat and when glued, thin metal plate conformed to the plastic base.

I don’t know how many people with WEP that comes to the forum. But without reading Zamfir’s post, I would not have checked mine!

To quote Clay:

You should give us a call so we can replace them: 877-616-9911

[Author]

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