Flattening A Water Stone

For a lot of my routine sharpening I finish off with an 8000 grit water stone, and I recently had a stretch where I did not attend to the stone’s needs as conscientiously as I should have and it got wallowed out.  That it was my setup at my daughter’s house was no excuse, but in all honesty I am more attentive out in the barn shop.

Not having my marble slab for referencing the surface to flatten this one, I relied on one of the theorems (or was it a Postulate or Law?) from eighth grade Geometry class.  That is, “every circle defines a plane.”  Using a concrete block with a piece of mirror I had laying around and a sheet of sandpaper I was able to flatten the dried-out stone face-down on the abrasive by pressing and moving it in a roughly 1-to-2-inch circular motion.  Before long I had a super flat stone and got it back to work.

I’m glad that some lessons from 55 years ago took root, allowing me to minister to this stone in need of, well, ministrations.

The cost?  One sheet of 80-grit sandpaper, five minutes of my time, and a bit of elbow grease.

The result?  Priceless.