Pumice stone to finish off sharpening???

[zp4ja]

Only tested this on one knife so far.

The CASE SSP line from the ~early 70s' used a pumice buffing wheel as a finishing polish after initial edge was put on, as I understand it. Hence SSP equals Stainless Steel Polished.

Ever seen those pumice stones they sell in the household cleaner department at the store? They are a porous (large pores) stone block like a normal sharpening stone. They are great at removing hard water deposits, etc on sinks and tubs that chemicals have no effect on.

I have a CASE SSP Stockman from 1973' that I sharpened the other day on a normal stone. Grabbed that pumice brick and ran it across the edge pulling direction toward blade spine.

Surprised at how that extra step made her even more sharp.

Anyone else tried this?

Try at your own risk, only tested this on one knife as I said.

Jerry

[313 Mike]

...interesting Jerry. Nope, I have never tried it myself...but might give it a shot on an old user and see how it works.

[Colonel26]

Very interesting. I don't see why it wouldn't work. It'd be interesting to know what the grit size of the pumice particles is.

[zp4ja]

Thanks for the reponses Mike and Wade.

Mike, use gently as I cautioned as I tested limitedly. An old user would be a fine canidate. Since the stone is so porous, I drew the blade away from me, spine first, as if not chunks would probably come off or edge would dig into the pumice block.

Wade, I can tell that it is very porous as I said and will leave dust on the floor when you are done. When using on sinks, etc, the stone does disappear slowly as you use it. Not brittle in my opinion as it removes stains like nothing else but it.

Not sure on particle/grit size but I imagine in the low range. Below 200 grit. Don't know, not an expert on that. Hard to tell based on porous nature and the block characteristics itself.

Regards Gents, Jerry

[Colonel26]

Using it as you did, and with that large of estimated grit size, I can see how it would work. It would probably work well to remove the burr after sharpening. And it would also probably add some "toothiness" to it as well which is also a very good thing as I believe you can get an edge too polished to cut well.

[jerryd6818]

RAINBOW PUMICE STONE is an abrasive which is
most commonly used for finishing and refinishing
furniture and for removing scratches, blemishes or
any surface dents on wood. It is also used to clean
and polish metal and to clean, polish and buff glass.
It serves as an excellent paint additive to add a nonskid
or textured finish. PUMICE STONE can also be
used as an additive for powdered hand soap or for
polishing natural teeth and dentures. It is also
commonly used as a filtration media. It is available in
4 grades: #57 (course), FF (regular), FFF (fine) and
FFFF (very fine).

Directions:
Saturate rubbing felt or plain soft cloth with light oil.
Dip it in PUMICE STONE and shake off the excess.
Apply, using uniform pressure over a small area,
using approximately 6-8 strokes, always rubbing with
the grain of the wood. Wipe off the excess PUMICE
STONE with a clean oil saturated cloth. Remove oil
with a plain, dry cloth. This will give a satiny finish.
If a gloss finish is desired, use water in place of oil.
The oil rubdown is slower than water, but both
processes are very effective. PUMICE STONE can
also be used in the same manner as described above
to remove scratches from other materials and spots
on oil, varnish or lacquer finishes. If it should leave a
dull spot, polish it with RAINBOW ROTTEN STONE
and light oil.

TECHNICAL DATA:
Particle size:
#57 Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 mesh
FF Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 mesh
FFF Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 mesh
FFFF Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 mesh

[junebug]

never heard of it used for sharpening...........interestin

HAVE heard of it used to scuff up a RAZOR STROP

[zp4ja]

Thanks for the info JerryD.

Might try it on another knife to test it out. Pretty sure Steve's book dicusses CASE use a pumice wheel as a final edge on the SSP line. Don't have the book handy but that is my recollection.

[AngD77]

I was quite glad to see this posting the replies as my Google question was "is it bad to sharpen an axe with with pumice stone?" ... naturally, because I had already done it (I lose things and the whetstone is my latest vanishing casualty). Wow, is thwt blade sharp now! Much appreciation for the peace of mind that I didn't set my axe up for certain failure before i got the new whetstone.

[bigshot]

I see above that they have four grades of abrasiveness. I use Japanese water stones because those are carefully graded, so you can put together a set of three or more that can do everything- reshaping, rough sharpening and fine sharpening. There are youtube videos by experts in Japanese chef's knives that have really good tips. Knife sharpening is knife sharpening and Japanese knives are made with high quality steel.

[Quick Steel]

ANGD77, Welcome aboard, I hope you will stick around and don't hesitate to submit photos. Most everyone appreciates them.