I must be doing something wrong. I have been using the same stones for a very lo
ng time now (probably 40 years), and I honestly can't tell you whether or not th
ey are less than flat. I really don't care because they sharpen my tools adequat
ely just as they are. I started with new stones, and have used them carefully. I
 suppose if you start with old worn stones they don't get better unless you flat
ten them. But why would you start out with old stones? 

All I want is sharp tools to do woodworking, and I truly doubt that a millimeter
 here and there is going to make any difference. As my daddy used to say, "We ai
n't building fine watches here."

I am very suspicious of people who have to have perfection in their tools. The s
kill is not in the tool. I have personally never seen an old plane or chisel whi
ch had a flat back when I found it. That says to me that this need for perfectio
n that we feel was not felt by the old timers. It is fairly new, and it tells me
 that people today have too much time and too much money, or they wouldn't even 
consider such things.

How's that for a "Bah! Humbug???"

On Nov 20, 2012, at 4:54 PM, Mark Fortune wrote:

> > I do appreciate the importance of flatness for lapping chisels & plane irons
, once properly prepared its easy to maintain the lapped face, trouble is I coll
ect old "sheffield" chisels and lap maybe one or two a week - most are rust pitt
ed wrecks - i start with sand paper stuck to a disk on my lathe & gradually get 
finer and finer then on to course/fine/superfine waterstones to mirror shine, (o
h how beautifully they will cut after that!)  I usually flatten each waterstone 
about 12 times in one session. Physically & mentally the whole process is punish
ment/abuse, but the worst part is all that horrible slurry from the waterstones,
 that's why I want to see them in "dry dock" and put some real stones into actio
n. 
> > I think I might go for a DMT dia flat lapping plate to prepare the bench sto
nes.
> If I don't spend the money - the wife will!!
> 
> Mark Fortune
> 
> 
> On 20 Nov 2012, at 23:03, Ken Shepard  wrote:
> 
>> >> Rob Cosman uses water stones and seems to spend as much time flattening th
em as he does in using them to sharpen.  This need for incessant flattening is t
he main reason I no longer use my water stones.  IMHO, this obsession with flatt
ening stones is akin to some of the other obsessions that seem to periodically g
rip woodworkers; obsessions that take time away from actually working wood.
>> 
>> Ken Shepard
>> 
>> On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 1:20 PM, Don Schwartz  wrote:
>> On 11/20/2012 10:37 AM, Alex Moseley wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Once you rehab a deeply dished oilstone, you might not want to do it again.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Quoting part of my own earlier post:
>> 
>> >> "it was great fun flattening stones, but I would prefer not to make a hobb
y of it. So I'm interested in any technique that purports to keep stones flat. T
his week I've read in two different sources of the need to flatten a stone AFTER
 EVERY USE.
>> 
>> >> 1. The Joyner and Cabinetmaker, refers to workmen being expected to flatte
n the communal 'rubbing stone' after using it, and being fined for failing to do
 so. Presumably that rubbing stone (as distinct from a hone) was a piece of sand
stone used in preference to a wheel thereof, so it would likely wear pretty quic
k, like some waterstones.
>> 
>> >> 2. David Charlesworth likewise says in A Guide to Hand Tools and Methods t
hat the hone should be flattened after each use.
>> 
>> >> So, two sources ... suggesting this be done. It sounds a little tedious, b
ut I expect it might be like putting tools away after use (or digging a garden) 
- easier done a little at a time....
>> 
>> >> Charlesworth also promotes a technique for flattening blades ... which he 
says gets the job done and reduces hollowing at the same time. Without going int
o detail, he has a very specific recipe for number and direction of strokes cros
swise of the stone, and the portion of stone to use, followed by equally detaile
d specifications for lengthwise strokes.
>> 
>> FWIW
>> Don
>> 
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
> aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage,
> value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
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> 
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