How to Flatten a Whetstone - Easiest/ Cheapest Method

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Check out my BRAND NEW website at www.kylenoseworthy.com ! :-D

[@XBANGARANGX]

I have a question can you use the same Stone shavings and make your own Polishing Compound

[@qualix7]

Didn’t realize you could do this with sandpaper. I was thinking every little thing I do I have to buy at least two or three more tools. I got some decent little chisels, only to be met with the frustration of an uneven Whetstone. You probably just saved me about $30-$50! Thank you!

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Wonderful! Glad I could help, friend!

[@stephenthibadeau8074]

That’s so true. I always have to buy other tools/ jigs to use the one tool I need lol

[@johanna_na]

My boyfriend has been complaining about dull blades all autumn when cutting moose that he has hunted. So I decided to buy him a proper japanese kitchen knife as a christmas present and I also bought a whetstone to properly maintain the expensive knife. I was pondering about whether to buy a lapping stone to maintain the whetstone, but your video made up my mind. Sandpaper it is! 😊

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Hey Heidi, a good flat surface and sandpaper will be great! I have been sharpening for years, with many stones, and I still only use sandpaper :-)

[@williwyte]

Thanks so much for this, I thought I had to buy a flattening stone. The pandemic has me on a budget like never before...

[@frostedcupcakes2670]

Yea man, get ready for the big 1,400 check... I’m not holding my breath though

[@neilallenlopez3221]

Same lol

[@joebruno8785]

@@frostedcupcakes2670 Ha! The check's in the mail, and that's been compromised... Not holding my breath for sure!

[@mr.lambfries3236]

THANK YOU!!!! I realized I would spend as much for a flattening stone as I did for 2 sharpening stones!!

[@dennisumeno3180]

Great tips. After watching your video I found an old oil stone that was laying around with some tools. Long story short, it’s over 40 yrs old and dished..I decided it needed to be flattened after watching your video but didn’t have any waterproof sand paper handy or a flat surface..I found a cut piece of 12 inch ceramic tile (leftover from bathroom remodel). I thought that should be harder than my stone so I flipped it over and ran my oil stone on the unglazed side for about 15 minutes. Wow, what a difference! Started out exactly like your naniwa. The result was a flatter stone but very clogged with residue. Unlike water stones, the stuff was just caked on..I just happened to have a can of WD40 near by with straw..well first squirt and I had a clean spot..end result was a cleaner surface and my stone felt like new..I didn’t make it totally flat and it works great.. I’ve been using water stones for my knives but now only use them for my Japanese knives. I just ordered a new set of oil stones because it is easier and faster( no soaking)..I still love my water stones but oils are a great addition to my collection. Oh, add a strop and you will have a great polished edge.

[@graveline12]

As soon as I heard the newfoundlander accent I knew this was going to be exactly what I was looking for. Great video! Cheers from the mainland!

[@willk5413]

I did this a few weeks ago, except I used a ceramic tile for a flat surface. It took about 1 hour to flatten all my stones lol. That’ll teach me to not wait so long next time.

[@garydiggins1836]

Great, thank you. Ive got a nice old stone I've had for fifty years that is very uneven so stopped using it. I can't wait to fix it.

[@larryjackson6350]

I was looking into getting a $25 - $30 flattening stone thinking flat is a must. This makes a lot of sense.

[@robertl6440]

i wanted to know an effective easy cheap way to service my sharpening stone and your video demonstrated it, so now i can safely with confidance do it, thank you!

[@kyle_noseworthy]

haha thanks Robert!

[@romaion4024]

Thanks! Just saved me from shelling out money on a flattening stone.

[@RamonMarais-k2k]

Every body seems to go buy sandpaper for flattening stones. I make furniture and carve wood for a living with mostly hand tools, so I need to flatten my stones two or three times a year. Been using the following method for a long time. Got a offcut of granite from a headstone maker which had been flattened and polished on both sides. It is about 12 x 14 inches long and wide, 6 inches thick. I take fine river sand, but plastering sand should also do, and sieve that through a fine kitchen sieve. Sprinkle the sieved sand on the granite, sprits with water and start applying elbow grease to your sharpening stone, working in a figure 8. The sand works down to a fine sludge, that I keep as stropping compound for the carving knives. Ad sand and water as the old lot gets worked down. Doesnt take very long and it realy is free. I use granite because it is a very hard stone and it is easy to get hold of. When your granite gets out of flat, take it to your friendly stone workers, ask nice and they will flatten it again at a small fee.

[@BastHoen]

Hey Kyle! Tried your method with a P100 sandpaper. Flattening worked perfect, very useful tips. Love your work! Bas, Netherlands

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Excellent Bas! Glad it worked for you :-)

[@DANVIIL]

Bas Rutten, is that you?

[@johnnoodles2155]

Nice, informative video - I'm gonna try this out! Sidenote: When I saw 1:19 I chuckled - mine looks more like a snowboarding half-pipe...!

[@gautambarua8260]

This was just what I was looking for, easy and inexpensive and available system. Thanks a ton.

[@AfricanSouthernCross]

Made a lot of sense particularly saying stones don’t need to be perfectly flat for knives

[@dragan3290]

Thanks heaps for the tutorial! I'm at a point my sharpening stone is out of whack! Cheers from Australia 🙂👍👍👍. Subbed and liked!

[@ryansevern8828]

Great tutorial video! Answered all my stone restoration questions. Great job Kyle!

[@djl9010]

Lol when he's talking about sharp edges on waterstones, "Your edges will be catching". Yeah try 3 stitches in your finger from the edge of a waterstone. I'm not kidding, blood went everywhere it was crazy I actually didn't know what had happened at first lol.

[@lindboknifeandtool]

Damn dude! Never had anything like that happen, save the belt grinder.

[@mfreeman313]

No stitches involved but I nicked the underside of a knuckle on both hands before I learned to be careful wiping off the swarf. Never felt a thing and then noticed blood on the stone and thought "That's weird."

[@haise8810]

Damn that sounds scary never happened to me, but my finger slipped one time and it rubbed against the stone and it felt like a carpet burn then is started to bleed. It shaved alot of skin off lol

[@justme2296]

I sanded my fingerprint of my finger against the weatstone without even noticing, after a while I was wondering why was it itching so bad 😂

[@spinny2010]

Thanks for the tips. I can't believe how close the Newfoundland accent is to a Cornish/west country accent.

[@ghidfg]

Man I was trying to figure out what his accent was. Thought it was a receding Irish or Scottish accent or something.

[@Dreyno]

Some Newfies sound freakishly Irish. Watch Jhawk23 on KZbin. Cecil. I would fully believe he’s Irish. And I’m Irish. Bizarre.

[@IvanDoherty1]

@@Dreyno Part Irish, Part US, Part UK West country (Devon/ Cornwall),

[@johnnyshardstyle8042]

Well done! I save my money by this video

[@darringalloway]

Need to level guitar frets. Realized I can do that with a good flat whetstone. I found one my dad gave me years ago and it looks almost perfect but I want to make sure it's perfectly flat. Your video is a big help!

[@5graney5]

Good tip breaking the edges Thx for the vid

[@caseykittel]

saved me from wasting money on a cheap, possibly warped, cracked etc., flattening stone on amazon. I have lots of cut-offs from stone countertops - super flat. I recommend raiding a dumpster behind a counter top place like I did.

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Fantastic!

[@lindboknifeandtool]

Ask for permission first!!!! I’ve gotten some granite off cuts by just asking for some.

[@ChadMorgan709]

Lots of good advice there, things I wouldn't even think about when teaching someone else, but I guess that's where the teacher side steps in. Cheers till the next one bud.

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Thanks Chad! I try my best!

[@alexanderbesliu-surkic135]

I would recomand to always use sandpaper with aprox half the grit that your stone has! For example 500 grit paper for your 1000 grit stone! It makes a lot of a dif. to not change the grit on your stone. Nice demonstration of how it s done! thx

[@zhanchi90]

That's nonsense. You can use lower grit sandpaper without any problem. It shouldn't be too rough tough. 180 works fine for JIS 1000 - >6000. It doesn't change the grit of your stone, and the marks from flattening vanish after some strokes.

[@alexanderbesliu-surkic135]

@@zhanchi90 yes, the marks vanish on the next blade you put on the stone! :))) I just shared my experience. you can use whatever grit you like!

[@luispinedasimons9551]

muy buen consejo, en caso de no tener una piedra de granito. se puede usar un vidrio grueso y es mas barato

[@OsmanAli-wr8kg]

For fine grit stones after #1000 i use sandpaper but for my coarse ones (#150;400;600) i use a SiC powder for sandblasting on a glass. i soak the stones, pour the powder and with small amout of water i start lapping/flatening the stone using circular motion. Once every minute i change directions or flip the stone. I was sick of buying sandpaper and how slow it was. I tried using tiles, concrete blocks and i was considering buying a DMT diamond laping plate, but where i live it cost 200 euros. I found in a knifemaking forum how someone used sand to flaten a sharpening stone. i gave it a try, sort of worked, but the grain size was uneven and it was hard geting consistent finish. i found at a hardware store a small container of SiC for sandblasting for 3 euros. its been 2 years and i havent used even half of it! SiC is cheap, fast and leaves a good finish

[@pavelgeorgiev918]

What type of sandpaper do. You use?

[@OsmanAli-wr8kg]

@@pavelgeorgiev918 depends on how hard the stone is.For soft stones i use waterproof sandpaper 80-100grit. For the harder stones i use 60-80 grit SiC mesh net because it removes material faster.

[@vernetobierre6987]

Good job! I was thinking of using a belt sanded because my sharpening stone is in very bad shape.

[@ssent1]

👍I inherited two whetstones deep hollows from my dad. I started with your technique, then realized that the hollow in the stone was too deep. So, I flattened it out on a smooth-ish area of our sidewalk. Then, I used your technique for a fine finish. It worked great on the older stone, which I think was natural stone. It did not work with the newer stone which feels like a synthetic. Attempting to flatten it on a rough area of the sidewalk had little or no effect. Any ideas?

[@Lone_Star_Outdoors]

I think that a very coarse paper would work for the synthetic stone, the grit on the surface of sandpaper is really hard so it would have a lot better chance than concrete. I hope you can get your dad's whetstones flattened, this vid inspired me to do the same to my dad's, which he got from my grandpa. It has two sides and the coarse one has a hollow worse than any I've seen. The finer side is about as bad as the worst one in this video 😬

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

EXACTLY! Concrete sidewalk perfect hahaa. it sounds horrible but its abrasive. depending on the blend of concrete obviously. but its essentially the same as sandpaper but free.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool, thanks- best to buy the in the roll type of sandpaper (has more durable paper) one buys by the meter. Best to switch angles like lapping CPU lid. Anyway the powder leftover can be used for something productive (strengthen an epoxy like as an aggregate?).

[@StuartBaldock]

How much better is this method rather than buying yet another "special" stone for flattening. Thank you,

[@tompearce6312]

Great video, just what I was looking for!

[@boris_olsh]

Thank you very much! Hope you have a great day!

[@sheshaveswithjill4838]

Will a 320 and a 400 sandpaper work ok on my Shapton 8K and 12K stones for sharpening razors. I've just recently gotten into using a straight razor and wanted to know.

[@carlosalbertoandradesilva9442]

high quality video, thanks a lot!

[@brainspots5913]

My floors uneven cause i live in Philadelphia 😂😂😂 so i used a bar stool (i dont drink alcohol). I had to tip the stool so the seat was hitting my cabinets and hold my knee on the other end put the sand paper down 150 and went to town. It worked to. I still have a long way to go. Sharpening is a skill set on its own

[@eozen81]

Amazing easy and cheapest mehtod, thank you for your share pal.

[@jaysilverheals4445]

just a heads up to everyone that use a good quality sidewalk to rough the stone out before proceeding to the procedure shown I assure you it works you will be astonished--in about a minute. Be sure to keep scrubbing on the concrete till its all roughed out because you will tend to stop too soon and there will be an invisible dish in the exact center. The side of my carbide stone for doing the initial roughing of damaged knives was VERY dished worse than what he showed--I scrubbed it down like I said about 90 seconds and brought it in for the various other stages and when I checked it real quick on my surface plate to see how close it was I AM TELLING YOU THAT THING WAS FLAT--that being said I still proceeded with the other steps. I will do a video since tomorrow I will do the other side which is flatter..the finishing fine side

[@samnelson2343]

it's very effective. my father showed me this when I showed him the (glass plate in my case) marble & sandpaper technique.

[@generalchicken3385]

I recently noticed that my whetstones (Naniwa professional) have started to have the same problem as the stone you showed (although, not nearly as bad). This video is just what I was looking for, thank you! Been using a small flattening stone before, but it's almost impossible to get it perfect, since it's smaller then my whetstones.. My only question is if I should use different sandpaper grits on different whetstones to finish it. Like what grit should I use to finish off the flattening of a 400 stone, 1000 stone and 3000 stone?

[@dimmacommunication]

I bought a long time ago ( 5 years ) some cheap chinese diamond plates , works a charm.

[@gigel99324]

@@dimmacommunication are they still flat?

[@dimmacommunication]

@@gigel99324 they still work you mean ? yeah :)

[@gigel99324]

@@dimmacommunication of course they work, but are they still flat is what i'm asking

[@dimmacommunication]

@@gigel99324 a diamond plate is flat, it's not a " stone "

[@rahager2u]

you can collect that dust and with a small amount of oil make a slurry with some, it makes a great polish for a blade

[@Ikdulo]

That easy? Cool! Thanks for the help.

[@MichaelRushMusic]

Cheers from Vancouver!

[@yvesn58]

Thanks Kyle for the video! 1- Why is it necessary to put the stone in water prior ? 2- Does the sandpaper grit should relate to the stone grit ?

[@rinsim]

I was wondering the same about stone and paper grit. Did you find an answer to this?

[@yvesn58]

@@rinsim Hi, from my experience now, a lubricant appropriate to the stone is recommended. He is using water since it is a whetstone. I'm using wd-40 for oil stones, which is not a lubricant per se but aids to clean the stone. Sand paper grit has to be coarser than the stone but not too much like Kyle mentions. For oil stones, I need to use 50-60 grit for 300-400 coarse stones, otherwise it isn't enough. Whetstones are way much softer than oil stones; that is why he recommends not too coarse sandpaper. I don't think he mentioned it but emery cloth is required if you don't want to rip off the sandpaper in the first minute ;)

[@rinsim]

Thank you for your reply, is emery cloth needed also for water stones? Which paper grits do you recommend for water stones?

[@yvesn58]

@@rinsim emery cloth grit half your stone if it is very uneven.

[@philclennell]

i use a roll of 120 grit paper stretched over my table saw used dry - far less mess and perfectly flat in minutes. Water just adds to the mess. Scratches in the stone make no difference to the edge - on plane irons at least.

[@cb7pwn]

I use a Cheap mirror as a base, there's nothing flatter than a mirror 😉 works great

[@olivermilutinovic749]

Thanks for the tips, what grit paper would you use for something like a Shapton glass 220 ?

[@poorolddogs23]

Great video! Is it ok to use sandpaper on fiber stones like a 12000 that you are using to finish a straight razor? Or would it wreck the grain of the stone? Thanks!

[@bobbarker5884]

I would start with a higher grit in your case and finish even higher. Something like 1000 grit unless it's fairly dished then maybe lower. Then from 1000 go to 5000 if you can find it in big enough sheets. They do sell rolls of 1k & 5k that you can cut to fit your base (glass tile ect.)

[@Mike-ul1xn]

1' x 1' sheet of glass works pretty good too

[@JohnnyDov]

Nice video ! I am interested to restore my whetstones i have 3 of them (400 , 1000 , 3000 grit) can u suggest in general what sandpaper grit is appropriate for every stone . Thank you !

[@bobbarker5884]

Could points here brother. Your the best!

[@leepaulin8587]

Thanks, wasn’t sure how correct my stones.

[@AxellTh]

Have a couple of old stone that lookes like slate. Very fine and darkgray. Think they are oil stones. Water doesnt want to soak into them easely. They feel waxy and not flat. Can your method be used for these stones?

[@fragglepuppies]

Last time I saw a hollow like that was down copperhead road.

[@flyback_driver]

I had to make a glass lense once and the process is similar here but it reminded me of an annoying bit very important step when polishing glass. Between grits you wash everything like twenty times to make absolutely sure there's not a 2000 grit size abrasive when moving to 3k or higher. How this applies here is you probably do not want to use 60 grit on a 400 grit stone if the quality of polish on you bevel is important. It does effect sharpness but hardly. However, if you embed an abrasive material into another it's nearly impossible to remove it without damaging the stone. Also, everytime you hit that spot you'll see a scratch mark significantly larger than the rest. Mostly cosmetic but I wanted to throw it out there.

[@ImpostorModanica]

That's true and if you talk to people who are in the polishing industry, they mention that too. The grits should match

[@bobbarker5884]

I think that makes alot of sense. At least it's probably best to regularly flatten your stones with the same grit paper to prevent dishing in the first place, but we are all guilty of at least 1 fairly dished out stone every once in a while

[@KingJL25]

Great video as always :) would you advise wearing a dustmask if I was flattening lets say 10 wetstones dry?

[@kyle_noseworthy]

The particle in these stones is very heavy, so it doesn't pollute the air. It just sits :-)

[@mr_scolopendra8902]

​@@kyle_noseworthyidk man near the end you can see a couple of clouds when he dusted the whetstone off

[@MrCoalmin]

newfies have such a great accent - i wish i had an accent...

[@johnbarwood5658]

Thanks. That looks simple enough.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool, I wish good whetstones weren't so expensive (I can only buy one for now and it's about basic but thankfully it's Naniwa which I found by accident). There are a lot of abrasive in our house, is there a way our tableware and house bulding (bricks, concrete, garden stones, pots, etc without using sandpaper coz' one might go through a lot of those for just one sharpen which would be expensive.) already has all the grits we need for repairing, shaping, sharpening, honing, & polishing any blade including scissor? Maybe there should be a series to find the grits in everyday household object, including the house itself (even the roof, maybe there some 9000 grit up there so there no need for leather _ compound stropping? :-) The Flintstone/Caveman professional mult-grit sharpening in short. God bless.

[@Guitars-KiD]

Hi Kyle!How i clean my self waterstones,its very dearty from sharpening?

[@johnbirk6634]

Thanks a lot man! Like a stupid idiot I've been trying to find my first set with a flattening stone included! :)

[@Greek-f1.]

After the fine finish will the stone be the same grit as before?

[@davidace7]

I was wondering, what grit should you use for flattening? Would using a low grit on a fine whetstone cause the whetstone to have a coarser finish?

[@alanmoore1126]

Thanks for the video. Now all I need is a very flat surface to work with. Is a piece of glass a good choice?

[@Lone_Star_Outdoors]

Alan, I'm sure you've already proceeded in the two weeks before I saw this but I wanted to let you know that a glass pane will work perfectly fine

[@alanmoore1126]

@@Lone_Star_Outdoors Thanks. I have a very flat table made in the mid 1960's. It's not wood. And it works great!

[@Lone_Star_Outdoors]

@@alanmoore1126 I'm glad you found a way to get yours flattened! Have you noticed much difference when sharpening? I haven't had the chance to work on the one I use yet

[@mustang774]

Thanks for the tips.....Take care, Bluefin.

[@amajuoyigodswill3805]

Please I have same problem but does this work for stone major used to hone clipper blades? If possible, show me how it is done

[@Laszlomtl]

Cool explanation...

[@rinsim]

What's the grit of the stone? Is it fine to sharpen a stone with sand paper which is coarser? Doesn't the stone "lose" its grit?

[@atlakh]

Thank you ☺️ 👍🏼

[@woodandwheelz]

Will this work if your stone has a glaze on it? It's an older oil stone that has sat for a while. It seems like it would but I just want to make sure.

[@krisshh1587]

Will it not change the grit of the stone? Thanks!

[@tylernagle-perkins4668]

Would using an electric palm sander destroy my stone? Or would it just be difficult to achieve perfect flatness?

[@_wormlet]

Will this work for Shapton Glass 1K?

[@magnoliamike]

What about straight razors? Should you last them every time?

[@willieboy3011]

Thanks. I began using a whetstone of 8000 grit, and I managed to make a small cut on an edge. I was wondering how to round off the edges.

[@nicholashelms2395]

I never push the blade against the stone when sharpening I dont like risking it at all I sharpen on my stones like its leather but with a little pressure

[@wemcal]

Great video and information

[@harleywildhogs7059]

could you tell which sand paper you use Because my whetstone has a lot of nicks, after the whetstone is sharpened, do I need to do anything to protect it?

[@Yevhe_N]

Thanks, man. Its work well👍

[@hdrsmit]

yes you can sharpen on a dry stone but using the wet slurry and NOt continually rinsing ot off is WAY better and a bit faster......imo of course :-) but i live in japan and all the good master carpenters i know do it that way

[@marcbonnier4723]

thanks, simple and efficients

[@artstoop8387]

Next time i start with the 80 grid. Took too many 120.but it worked and my chisels thank me for it. Ever heard about nooitgedagt?

[@Stormcloakvictory]

I have held a couple of nooitgedagt chisels. Idk if you're Dutch but it means "neverthoughtof" btw 😋

[@codyboudreau2838]

There's a type of silica sand you can use.

[@gregoryblackwell1356]

Does the 150 grit effect the grit of the stones?

[@boydrose8539]

Do you have a different process for your finer stones?

[@kyle_noseworthy]

Nope! Same thing. Maybe a finer grit paper

[@rosetodaro5081]

My first attempt at using a wet stone yielding some undesirable results. My wife can no longer look me in the eyes and when she does it cuts deeper than the knives I tried to sharpen. I can’t wait to try this method to repair my sharpening stone and my marriage.

[@nehmotneimras5976]

I use a cheap carborundum sharpening stone. They said I should use it dry or with machine oil. Something was starting to build up inside my sharpening stone, how do I remove it?

[@thediydaddy2649]

Wait, what Grit sandpaper should be used?

[@astreusastresus198]

skibidi

[@OLDx666]

use the highspots for fixing the tip of knife

[@randallkleiserccarillo6458]

question, for my 1000 grit whetstone, what grit sandpaper should i use? i recently bought 150 grit sandpapers and it was ineffective, it started to grind the sandpaper instead.

[@luciusirving5926]

You could just use sand over a flat surface and see if that works.

[@kehindearowolo5943]

How can I get a sharping stone please

[@peterbush4569]

Spot on thanks

[@LEO-y4v9n]

Thank you, very helpfull

[@ladyjane8531]

Thank you

[@glacialimpala]

I keep buying sandpaper for wet use and after the first stroke or two there isn't any grit left on it. I can't figure out why, maybe the material used for the grit is something not as tough as whetstone?

[@JimmyThree-Balls]

Is the sandpaper wetting sanding compatible? One way to tell is the back, is it paper or waxy?

[@glacialimpala]

@@JimmyThree-Balls Thank you for trying to help! It is for wet automotive use, officially, not waxy in any way. But I switched to "diamond" whetstone and it did a great job as whetstone planer. Aliexpress sells them for under $15

[@convict240]

how long did you submerge the stone in water for before you started re-leveling it?

[@morgan5941]

for a thorough soaking, 15 mins is enough

[@pauldiaz4273]

Awesome video thank you!

[@brooklynproduction]

Use water ) it's easy ) Good luck!

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

Heres the way An old bloke in china taught me. Flat concrete slab. rub the stone on the concrete. add water once flattened and smooth it out lol