Yes he did.
I read several of his early posts somewhere. He does go on about it rather obsessively.
What's hatred got to do with it? Just because it's a cr ap idea doesn't mean I hate anybody.
It's not "another method". People have been stropping/polishing edges from the year dot. I do too.
What's ego got to do with it?
Jacob, I'm sure you're aware of my little piece,
A Lesson in Sharpening. It's been around for more than two decades and was written a bit tongue in cheek. In it, I suspect you'll recall, is the method I was taught to sharpen bench chisels and plane irons. It's pretty simple: a stone, some lubricant, freehand honing, and finally a bit of stropping on the palm of the hand. I haven't changed anything significantly in my honing methodology since that single longish afternoon lesson back in the mists of time. I suppose one change I incorporated maybe three decades ago was the addition of a finer bench stone in order to occasionally get a keener edge than my standard combination Norton oilstone would provide. Another change was to add a a block of wood with some leather mounted on it which I charged with polishing compound. I'd sometimes use this to finally strop instead of flipping the honed tool on the palm of my hand.
I also, at a time I don't recall precisely, switched to ceramic stones for most plane iron and bench chisel honing needs, primarily because I didn't like getting my hands oily when I had to go straight after sharpening to working on whatever I was working on. I didn't like the idea of oil contamination of the wood if I didn't wash my hands after honing. Having said that I do still sharpen with oilstones primarily with my 'on-site' kit where it's simple enough to carry a stone, some oil and a rag compared to the faff of ceramic stones, their ponds, plant sprayer, rag, etc.
Anyway, to the point about stuff that David Weaver talked about at great length, specifically the horribly named 'unicorning' using polishing compound on a hard polishing mop. I thought it was interesting and decided to have a go at final buffing by sticking a mop in a cordless drill and loading it with some compound, after which I did a quick five or ten second fizz on both sides of plane irons after honing on a stone. What I did find was this final buff did have a very positive effect on sharpness and even, I think, contributed to edge longevity.
All I'm saying is that it can sometimes be useful to listen to people who appear and promulgate a 'new idea', even if, in reality, it's an old trick that's been forgotten or somehow become, over time, ignored.
I like to think I know my way around woodworking techniques having been bashing wood around for a long time, but I'm always conscious of the fact that I'm sadly lacking in a lot of woodworking skills, knowledge and methods outside my primarily craft furniture specialism, and I do rather like to see, hear, discuss and/or read what other woodworkers might have to say. There's always the chance I'll learn something, but I think I'm experienced enough to generally be able to quickly spot the blowhards, the ignorant twonks and the chancers.
I'm trying to think when I last got involved in a sharpening thread, and this one seems to have evolved into such a discussion, and I can't recall when it might have been, but possibly years ago. I've entered this one and it's showing all the characteristics of sharpening threads that put me off the subject. I strongly suspect this post of mine in this thread will be my only contribution. Slainte.
in his dovetailing video, at the end, when he shows how he sharpens and then finishes on a buffer. If memory serves he even mentions the buffer making the edge last longer. That video was shot so long ago (relatively speaking) that it never made it from VHS to any other media. I still have the tape, but nothing to play it on.
