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So why not just use wet or dry on a piece of modern glass or mirror, have used this technique to make well worn knives sharp again as I didn't have a stone available. So would it make an easier sharpening with out worrying about stones going concave. Or am I missing something?
lynx-
very uniform grits and faster cutting in the stones mean you get an even finish quickly, and the watery goop + swarf that comes off helps to cut quicker. Plus for very hard knives/tools you'd be through the wet dry paper in no time at all, especially on the higher grits. At least for waterstones this is.
I use my dad's 30yr old norton indiastone dry to do all my families' kitchenn knives and it hasn't concaved at all, but they're softer steel. I imagine wet or dry paper would work at a pinch in those cases.
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You can use this approach, and some people swear by it for sharpening the blades of hand tools. You need to make sure the paper is stuck down well, and of course you need to replace the paper quite often as it wears out. Diamond stones are a abetter bet if you don't want the faff, but they're nowhere near as nice to use as waterstones, and they don't go down to super fine polishing grits.
jupiz
Sharkstar
A water stone will dish whatever technique you use. I flatten mine on a granite worktop with a sheet of wet&dry every couple of uses. They get out of flat pretty quickly.