The Cerax range has been JTA's staple waterstone option for many years, and it's always a kick when even experienced sharpeners try it for the first time.

These are kiln-fired stones with ceramic binders. They are a soaking stone that need to be given time to absorb water before use. If you live in a humid area and use them regularly, a couple of minutes will do.

Ours have been on display in a sunny window in our workshop, which is not at all best practice and dries them out a lot, but 10 minutes in the sink has them fully charged and ready to go. Cerax stones can be left in water for a day or two without any issues, but we recommend storing them out of water for the greatest possible lifespan.

The Cerax stones generally, with one notable exception, take what could be called a pugnacious approach to the compromise between hardness and aggression. They prioritise aggression and cutting speed, which means they will give excellent results quickly, but require regular flattening throughout the grit range.

An interesting by-product of the Cerax's enthusiasm to yield their grit is that the slurry itself can break down into a paste a couple of steps finer than it's original grade.

This means that the surface of the finer stones can be worked dry to polish up a bevel where a mirror finish is required.

We also use the slurry from the #1000 on profiled timber to sharpen our curved carving tools, and the slurry of the #3000 on a hardwood strop to tune up larger tools between sharpens.

All Cerax stones come with a sturdy rubber-footed base that minimises slipping on the bench. We offer the Cerax stones in two sizes.

All of our single-grit Cerax stones measure a full-sized 205mm by 70mm of sharpening surface and are 20mm thick. These are large enough for a full-sized Western plane blade from a 4 1/2, 5 1/2 or number 7 stanley pattern plane to fit across, which is a great plus if you use and sharpen these tools. The larger surface of the single-grit stones makes it easier to spread wear across the stone's surface, giving you more time between flattening the stone.

However, if you don't sharpen many big plane blades, the smaller combination stones are a great way to acquire a range of waterstone grits quickly and on a more manageable budget. They measure 187mm by 63mm, with each stone about 13 to 15mm thick. Even at this slightly reduced size, expect many years of use from these stones.

All the single grit stones pack down into their own base, and so can be stored and transported with very little risk of damage. The combination stones carry their own hard plastic lid, which does the same job.

So with this general advice in mind, let's have a look at each stone in the full-sized Cerax range.

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