On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 07:35:41 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:

Same grit will give you the same scratch size, which is what sharpening is
about. Waterstones might get you there faster, powered waterstones faster
still. Speed counts more as an end to a sharpening cycle than as a hone
between cycles.

Unfortunately, waterstone grits do not compare directly to sandpaper
grits. Sandpaper can even be graded with different scales.

From
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=shop&file=articles_244.shtml:

"There is little disagreement that one should sharpen to at least P800
(for comparison, a 1000 grit Japanese water stone equals FEPA P800 and
CAMI 500 in abrasive sheets). Not everyone agrees how much beyond P800
is necessary. As a point of comparison, a 6000 grit Japanese water
stone is equivalent to CAMI 1500 abrasive paper which is a third the
particle size of FEPA P2000 paper. Some people recommend continuing to
P2000 in abrasive paper and then stropping, while others stop at grits
coarser than P2000 and then strop."

Somewhere out there are comparison charts between the stone grades,
American sandpaper grades, and European sandpaper grades. I don't
have time to track it down right now.

Barry