What grindstone is good?

There are two kinds of grindstones that children often use: natural grindstones and artificial grindstones.

There are three common grindstones in the market: terrazzo, oilstone and diamond.

Terrazzo and oilstone belong to natural grindstones.

Diamond and ceramic grindstones belong to man-made grindstones.

As we all know, before sharpening a knife, the grindstone should be lubricated with water and oil.

As can be seen from the name, terrazzo and oilstone belong to this kind of grindstone that needs lubrication.

Some artificial grindstones can be used with or without lubrication, such as diamond and ceramic grindstones.

But artificial grindstones and natural sharpening have one thing in common.

That is, they all have different mesh numbers, which is what we usually call rough grinding and fine grinding.

However, it should be noted that different steels and hardness need different grindstones to polish, and sometimes even different grindstones are needed to polish.

Oilstone:

Oilstone is a traditional whetstone in the west. Although terrazzo is becoming more and more popular now, oilstone is still the most common whetstone on the market.

Why is it called whetstone?

Because this millstone needs a little oil before use.

The advantages of less oil are:

This will reduce friction.

It is also easier to move back and forth when grinding.

Metal chips in the grinding process will remain in the oil, which is more convenient to wipe off after grinding.

However, oilstone is the slowest grinding speed among these grindstones.

There are relatively expensive Arkansas oilstones and relatively cheap Indian oilstones.

Indian oilstone is rough, Arkansas oilstone is expensive, especially translucent Arkansas oilstone and hard black Arkansas oilstone are more expensive.

Terrazzo:

Terrazzo is also an increasingly popular millstone, but it is a relatively new millstone to the west.

One thing to note about terrazzo is that it must be soaked in water for a few minutes before use.

Just like oiling an oilstone, soaking a stone can act as a lubricant.

It helps to reduce the friction when sharpening a knife.

It is also easier to move back and forth when grinding.

Metal chips will stay in the water during grinding, which is more convenient to wipe off after grinding the knife.

Because many mines are closed now, the number of natural grindstones is not as much as before, and the price is getting higher and higher.

So now there are synthetic oilstones and terrazzo.

Synthetic grindstones are usually made of alumina.

Some synthetic grindstones need to be soaked before use, while others only need to drop two drops of water.

Advantages of synthetic terrazzo

The grinding speed is fast.

Using water as lubricant is more beneficial to cleaning than oil.

But artificial terrazzo also has a disadvantage, and the millstone will wear away faster.