Sharpenning Stones

[rccolt45]

Hey guys I need to invest in some good stones to sharppen my semi round end punch and my bag punch.

what all do you suggest?

I can get a diamond type stone or are they only of knives?

[Gump]

Your cheapest alternative is wet/dry silicon paper. It can be had in grits from 100 to 400 in most hardware stores. I use it on a sheet of heavy tempered glass to keep the surface flat. It will polish your edge to a shine when used wet. You can also get crocus cloth in grits finer than 1000 for true mirror finish. Gump

[Leela Valley Leather]

Your cheapest alternative is wet/dry silicon paper. It can be had in grits from 100 to 400 in most hardware stores. I use it on a sheet of heavy tempered glass to keep the surface flat. It will polish your edge to a shine when used wet. You can also get crocus cloth in grits finer than 1000 for true mirror finish. Gump

This is an excellent starting point and you'll learn a lot of technique regarding angle, pressure and movement of the blade when sharpening.

If you decide to move into "stones" and you have the money, diamond lapping plates are great.

Norton Abrasives sell some good combination stones (up to 4K/8K grit IIRC), higher than this you're moving into Japanese water stone territory that REALLY cost $$$$. No matter what stone you move into (if you do) you will need some way to keep the stone flat, the plate of glass covered in some 600 grit emery cloth (add water to move the slurry) will flatten your stones without removing loads of material.

Note: hard stones will last longer but take much longer to sharpen a given tool when compared to a similar grit stone of softer composition.

[Northmount]

Hey guys I need to invest in some good stones to sharppen my semi round end punch and my bag punch.

what all do you suggest?

I can get a diamond type stone or are they only of knives?

Take a look at this thread. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=43081&st=0 There are some other threads here to with good information. Use search.

Tom