Subject: Time: 9:01 AM OFFICE MEMO Sharpening Date: 8/1/95 Is the talk about touch resistance gettin' a little too "heavy" for ya'? How 'bout we talk 'bout sharpenin'? I had the occasion a few years ago to work with a great restoration technician from England, David Winston. Though very traditional in his approach to his work, he was a bit of a maverick in his procedure for tool sharpening. He used diamond-coated, steel, sharpening "stones" (flat, steel bars) along with traditional, water stones for polishing. What follows is a short article I wrote for our chapter newsletter that outlines my current procedure for sharpening: Let me confess first to being a former devotee of oil stone sharpening who has thrown tradition to the wind and adopted the use of cleaner, less toxic, water compatible sharpeners. In fact, I've gone one step farther and now incorporate into my sharpening regimen the use of a diamond-impregnated, "flat stone", also compatible with water. The advantage of using this "stone" (it really is a 1/4" x 3" x 6" piece of plate steel impregnated with industrial diamonds on one side) is that the abrasive material is very hard and -- because of its mounting to a flat and hard piece of steel -- provides a cutting surface that *stays* flat. In addition to this obviously important quality, its performance is really remarkable. I find it to remove material easily as fast as a coarse oil stone and yet it leaves a surface on the blade being cut with a polish similar to that left by a medium grit oil stone. I go from my diamond stone immediately to my 6000 grit polishing stone, obviously saving lots of time. The diamond stone I have I got from Bob Marinelli at Pianotek. He ordered it special for me from one of his suppliers. It is made by: EZE-LAP Diamond products Box 2229 Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 847-1555. They also make other diamond-impregnated sharpening tools. Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory
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