Portland Stone etc.

Quoted text begins.Concerning silicon carbide for hand sharpening chisels - do you use water
while sharpening? I want to avoid oil because I fear it will stain the
piece of stone I will be working on.
End of quote.

I agree that oil is to be avoided, along with just about
any kind of chemical if possible (who knows what kind of
reaction with the stone will happen over time). Water is
useful to rinse off particles while hand sharpening. You
could just as well blow it off with air or just ignore
it especially if you sharpen frequently because there
won't be much debris. With a grinding wheel it isn't
necessary usually because the particles get blown off
from the wind created by the spinning wheel. However,
hand sharpening is much safer to avoid untempering the
steel.

You asked about the stone I carve. Since I live on the
so-called pacific "rim of fire," that extensive volcanic
area along the pacific coast, I have lots of igneous
stone available. So I have been working alot with
granite and basalt and their derivatives. Also, there is
a fair amount of really hard marble available. So,
anyway, I have ended up specializing in carving hard
stone. The advantage is that the stone is good for
outdoor sculpture, the disadvantage is that it is very
slow to work and thus harder to just play around.

Regards,
Bill