I cheat - the Veritas honing guide clamps to hold the blade at the right angle relative to a metal roller and you just roll it back and forth and it maintains the perfect angle. Only works for straight chisels and plane irons though.
What method do you use to sharpen your hand tools?
- Thread starter MikeH
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I cheat - the Veritas honing guide clamps to hold the blade at the right angle relative to a metal roller and you just roll it back and forth and it maintains the perfect angle. Only works for straight chisels and plane irons though.
Salem introduced me to this method and it works great except I went with dmt diamond plates. I got the extra extra course, extra fine, and extra extra fine stones and a diamond honing paste on scrap ply or whatever is handy at the time.
To prep a new to me tool I start with the extra fine. If it looks like it will need alot of work I drop back to the extra extra course. Diamond cuts extremely fast. Once a tool has been sharpened I only go back to extra extra fine and a honing paste before each use.
While researching various sharpening stones at first diamond seemed pretty expensive but it seemed like all the other stones needed to be flattened at some point and the best method to do so seemed to be with a diamond stone
so you actually need to buy an additional stone which negated the savings.
To prep a new to me tool I start with the extra fine. If it looks like it will need alot of work I drop back to the extra extra course. Diamond cuts extremely fast. Once a tool has been sharpened I only go back to extra extra fine and a honing paste before each use.
While researching various sharpening stones at first diamond seemed pretty expensive but it seemed like all the other stones needed to be flattened at some point and the best method to do so seemed to be with a diamond stone
so you actually need to buy an additional stone which negated the savings. 
There is no cheat in sharpening, there is only sharp and dull.
I bought mine from Woodcraft when they had one of their brown bag sales. I woulda saved a few bucks from Amazon but I try and buy from Brick and Mortar when I can.
That's true, but I wish I could get better at holding the proper angle without the guide. I sharpen some of my "not flat" bladed tools by clamping the handle and working the stone over the edge instead of the other way around because it is somehow easier for me to keep the angle right that way.
I'm late to the party, but I'll 2nd (or 3rd) Paul Seller's method. I'm transitioning to diamond stones as my waterstones wear out. I like the diamond because I don't have to flatten the stone or keep one flat for lapping the back.
EZ lap or DMT are pretty cost effective. I think the ratings I would get are a Coarse, Fine, Extra Fine. You kind of have to check what each manufacturer calls each grade. Like Mike Davis says, 220, 600, 1200
Amazon or elsewhere.
This place occasionally has good specials http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/T!D6.htm
Note: Paul says you don't need a flat stone for the bevel edge, but you do for flattening the back. That really only applies if you use non diamond. They will stay flat
EZ lap or DMT are pretty cost effective. I think the ratings I would get are a Coarse, Fine, Extra Fine. You kind of have to check what each manufacturer calls each grade. Like Mike Davis says, 220, 600, 1200
Amazon or elsewhere.
This place occasionally has good specials http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/T!D6.htm
Note: Paul says you don't need a flat stone for the bevel edge, but you do for flattening the back. That really only applies if you use non diamond. They will stay flat
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EZ Lap is not close to the quality of DMT. I have used both starting soon after they came on the market. EZ Lap wears out in a couple years with moderate use. DMT keeps cutting long after you think they are worn out.
+2
I use a slow speed grinder if needed that I got at a great Woodcraft sale + discount (never even thought about DQ
). The sandpaper is on a 1/4" glass plate. I use this for all my chisels and gouges. A small leather strop to top off.
Rich
plane irons and chisels -worksharp 3000 up to 800 or 1000 grit, then I switch to a honing guide (Veritas MK) and hone a series of microbevels on 15, 5, 0.5 micron sandpaper (lee valley -microfilm) glued to a glass plate using mineral oil as the cutting fluid. For a 25 degree primary bevel aka plane iron, I aim for a 28, 31, 33 degree microbevels. these take about a minute or 2 for the first, and about a minute a piece to establish and then touch up as needed.
I have the WS 3000 and one of those tools that the stone runs around in water, grinder, honing guide, diamond block and Mike Davis.
Here's the method I use most often. I wait till I have a good excuse to go by Mike's shop. Take a few tools that need sharpening, act really needy......and viola, tools get sharp. Thanks Mike.:wsmile:
Here's the method I use most often. I wait till I have a good excuse to go by Mike's shop. Take a few tools that need sharpening, act really needy......and viola, tools get sharp. Thanks Mike.:wsmile:
I only sharpen gouges and chisels for the most part. I have a soft grinding stone (pink) which I cannot remember the name of for regrinding. For sharpening I use a hard muslin wheel with two different grades of jewelers rouge. If I remember right both were bought through Woodcraft.
Might be abnormal but I use the sides of the wheels with the grinder rotating away from me. This helps me see the angle better and avoid the hollow grind which doesn't work for me on gouges. I can go from a broke tip to razor sharp in minutes most times.
Stave
Might be abnormal but I use the sides of the wheels with the grinder rotating away from me. This helps me see the angle better and avoid the hollow grind which doesn't work for me on gouges. I can go from a broke tip to razor sharp in minutes most times.
Stave
It's funny, but while that isn't the usual way people use "regular" grinders, that is exactly how the WorkSharp is used - you sharpen on the flat side of a spinning disk and use the part that is rotating away.
Hey, Mark. I didn't realize that the "pad" you were using was muslin. Is this the type you're referring to? http://www.woodcraft.com/Search2/Search.aspx?query=muslin
Watching you sharpen a gouge was an almost mystical experience. While I have success with the sandpaper plate, I'm always ready to try something easy and inexpensive. Is your grinder motor the slow speed (1725 rpm) as opposed to high speed (3450 rpm)?
And btw, if anyone is interested, Woodcraft has their slow speed grinder on sale through June 29 for only $99.99. This is a really nice grinder with a couple of good stones. (I was lucky enough to get mine with a special discount a couple of years back for $79.99. <gloat>)
http://www.woodcraft.com/Search2/Search.aspx?query=muslin
Rich
Rich,
Need to correct myself, the wheel I use is a hard felt wheel. I use a grey rouge on one side and a red rouge on the other. I found them on the Veritas website, looks like Woodcraft no longer sells them. The grinder I use is just an off the shelf model I got at Home Depot on sale. I think it is all in what you get used to. No matter what method you use it is all in the touch or feel when it comes to grinders and wheels. Even with my years of practice and a cup of water by the grinder I still overheat the edges on occasion...more often than I care to admit!
The muslin wheels always rounded my bevels to much and all that stuff flying off the wheel made to much of a mess not to mention breathing it.
Stave
Need to correct myself, the wheel I use is a hard felt wheel. I use a grey rouge on one side and a red rouge on the other. I found them on the Veritas website, looks like Woodcraft no longer sells them. The grinder I use is just an off the shelf model I got at Home Depot on sale. I think it is all in what you get used to. No matter what method you use it is all in the touch or feel when it comes to grinders and wheels. Even with my years of practice and a cup of water by the grinder I still overheat the edges on occasion...more often than I care to admit!
The muslin wheels always rounded my bevels to much and all that stuff flying off the wheel made to much of a mess not to mention breathing it.
Stave
Thanks, Stave. I was a little surprised by the "muslin", since that just didn't look like what I remembered. Although I have no experience with the muslin wheels, your assessment makes sense. I will look for the hard felt wheel -- I think it's an impressive tool for us. The jewelers rouge, I already have -- one of my other efforts to find a good method for sharpening gouges. Almost anything works well for flat chisels and plane blades.
As you say, "No matter what method you use it is all in the touch or feel when it comes to grinders and wheels." Or any of the other sharpening means. A good story is the one about the carver who was vacationing in Jamaica and was very impressed with the work and the wonderfully sharp tools used by a street carver. He asks how the guy sharpened his tools. The response? "Easy, Mon" as he reached over and stroked his gouge on the concrete sidewalk." To each his own.
Rich
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