Material, disadvantage, lubricated, reduces, expensive, water, provided, creating, diamond, stones, exposed, polishes, softer, easier, than, sharpening

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 397.

Sharpening is the process of 1)_____ or refining a sharp edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. The substance on the 2)_____ surface must be harder 3)_____ the material being sharpened; 4)_____ is extremely hard, making diamond dust very effective for sharpening, though 5)_____; less costly, but less hard, abrasives are available, such as synthetic and natural Japanese waterstones.

The Japanese traditionally used sharpening 6)_____ lubricated with water (using oil on a waterstone 7)_____ its effectiveness). They have been doing this for many hundreds of years, and the first stones were naturally occurring. The geology of Japan 8)_____ a type of stone which consists of fine silicate particles in a clay matrix. This is somewhat softer than Novaculite.

These 9)_____ Japanese stones have a few advantages over harder stones. First, because they are softer they do not become glazed or loaded with the 10)_____ they are sharpening. New particles are constantly 11)_____ as you work with them and thus they continue to cut consistently. Second, they can be 12)_____ effectively with water (rather than oil, which can ruin the stone) so nothing but 13)_____ is required. Finally, because they are soft, the worn material and the water form slurry that in conjunction with the stone sharpens and 14)_____ the blade.

A 15)_____ is that they become uneven faster than other types of sharpening stone, although at the same time this makes them 16)_____ to flatten.