First (and last) sharpening system

[Vikash]

I have an el cheapo #4 plane and a few chisels, which I will be expanding on. I also want to sharpen domestic knives. I also have hundreads of hss drill and mill bits, but sharpening these is not the main goal.

The cost although important is second to convenience, repeatability and effort I want to put it. I'd rather it lasted a lifetime or close to.

So for a complete newbie to sharpening, what would you suggest? I like the idea of a rotary water stone i.e Tormek (which model?, what additional things will I need?)

 

[woodbloke]

V - the flood gates are about to open but here's what I would do. The Tormek is an excellent bit of kit (I've had mine now for over 10 years) and is mainly used for grinding the primary bevel. I've tried waterstones but I simply can't get on with them...end of story. Diamond stones are far easier to use and for all practical purposes can be considered as 'dead flat'. I use the green Extra Fine DMT stone but there's now an even finer Extra Extra Fine one from Axminster (used as a polishing stone for the final bevel)
Paul C may well be along who'll be able to advise you on at least 10 :^o different honing guides, but the one I use is an Eclipse clone (about £5) as it's easy and repeatable, 'specially if used with some simple distance projection boards. I also use a strop in conjunction with the DMT stone.
This is the kit that I use but there are umpteen variations, all of which are equally good and all of which will produce the desired result...hairless arms - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

I difficult question because so much comes down to personal preference and how you like to work. I hardly ever use a grinder on my blades, so I wouldn't put a grinder at the top of my list. I use three DMT stones in coarse, fine and extra fine (and, yes, I have a few honing guides :lol: )

I use them with oil (3-in1 or WD40), and finish on a leather strop with jewellers rouge and Vaseline

You might need a few home made gadgets to deal with special blades. For example, for beading cutters from combination planes, I hone the shaped part on home-made MDF wheels with honing compound

I think with honing you have to find your own way of doing things - but, above all, understand what sharp really means :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[FogggyTown]

My system of choice is the Trend

http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/en/UK/pro ... +kit+.html

It handles chisels and planer blades almost (I said almost) to the point of scary-sharp. Would be useless for drill bits or router cutters.

 

[Night Train]

OK, time to come clean.

I can teach students to use the waterstones and the leather strop in the college workshop but I have never managed to be consistent with them myself.

I have a Tormek, the cheaper blue one with a lower duty cycle but I do all my sharpening on it, including domestic knives. I wil , one day, get a range of accessories to sharpen other things but for the time being I cope quite well.

It is down to choice, and whether you want a large investment now or spread the cost over time by using the scary sharp method of disposable abrasive sheets.

 

[Pekka Huhta]

I have used Tormek for years. Final sharpening after Tormek and the usual maintenance is done with oilstones. I've got four oilstones, medium carborondum, medium-fine sandstone, translucent Arkansas and an epoxy-aluminium oxide stone which my friend made for me (equivalent to about 16 000 grit Shapton). After which I strop the edge with leather strop block (first side sprinkled with 0,9 μm aluminium oxide and the second just natural).

For rough jobs I just strop the edge with Tormek's leather strop and that's it.

In addition to my own woodworking I also trade old antique tools on a very small scale. For that reason I have sharpened hundreds, probably a few thousand plane irons, chisels, knives etc. with that method over the years. I know that oilstones are accused of being slow, but it helps if you are quick yourself :wink: After the Tormek it takes me roughly 30-50 seconds for all the four stones and stropping, just a few passes with each stone. Can shave my beard with each of my plane irons. It's so easy that I don't have to stop to think "is this really necessary"

Probably it isn't the best possible sharpening method, but you can go far with old antique oilstones, spiced up with a good finishing stone.


A side note on sharpening: I have about 6-7 planes on the most active use. Whenever I decide that the plane is dull (or I get an occasional nick to the iron) I flip the lever cap lever up as a sign for "Sharpen me!". The same for chisels: they are put in the rack facing the bevel side down when they're considered to be dull. Whenever I get a few of these up, I stop to sharpen all the tools I've put aside for sharpening. Makes it very easy to know which ones need sharpening without having to check every one of them when starting a sharpening session.

Also, if I stop for sharpening often enough, I don't have to use the Tormek that much at all.

Pekka

 

[neilyweely]

Vikash

PM sent.

Neil

 

[OPJ]

There's nothing wrong with Norton oil stones, if you're new to sharpening and want to get a 'feel' for it before investing further. Do not look at any of the cheaper oil stones though; Norton are good quality. They need lubricating with oil and aren't as wear-resistant as a well-looked after diamond stone but, the initial outlay is cheaper.

You could invest in a cheap grinder for regrinding primary bevels and removing those 'teeth marks' that often appear on old chisels... These grinders don't need to be anything special but, as they run at high-speed, burning can be an issue and you may soon be looking to upgrade to a ceramic stone - which would cost another £40 or so without the dressing tool... :? You could make your own tool rest from scraps of timber as well, instead of spending more moolah on a Veritas jig or similar.

No-one has yet mentioned the Scary Sharpening system from Workshop Heaven, which may also be worth considering.

I'm a big fan of the Veritas MkII honing guide. :wink:

 

[Chems]

I was in a similar position and got a Tormek T3, anyone can use it to get an edge sharp enough to take hairs of your hand.

 

[frugal]

V - the flood gates are about to open but here's what I would do. The Tormek is an excellent bit of kit (I've had mine now for over 10 years) and is mainly used for grinding the primary bevel.

Rob,

Do you know what the difference is between the T3 and T7? The T7 seems to come with about £60 of accessories as standard that the T3 does not and has a slightly larger stone, but costs twice the price?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Do you know what the difference is between the T3 and T7? The T7 seems to come with about £60 of accessories as standard that the T3 does not and has a slightly larger stone, but costs twice the price?

I think the motors are different. The big one is designed to run all day if necessary, whereas the smaller one isn't.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[gidon]

I use the green Extra Fine DMT stone but there's now an even finer Extra Extra Fine one from Axminster (used as a polishing stone for the final bevel)

Rob - just a comment on the 8000 grit DMT. I wouldn't really call it a polishing stone (I wish it was). It's pretty tricky to completely remove the burr with this stone since it still cuts very fast. But it does refine the scratch pattern significantly and a quick strop is all you'll need.

Cheers

Gidon

 

[woodbloke]

I use the green Extra Fine DMT stone but there's now an even finer Extra Extra Fine one from Axminster (used as a polishing stone for the final bevel)

Rob - just a comment on the 8000 grit DMT. I wouldn't really call it a polishing stone (I wish it was). It's pretty tricky to completely remove the burr with this stone since it still cuts very fast. But it does refine the scratch pattern significantly and a quick strop is all you'll need.

Cheers

Gidon

G- thanks for that...I've not used it but assumed it was a much finer cut than the 'normal' Extra Fine that I use. As you know, I also use the 10000g Spyderco ceramic which is a true polishing stone, but I hesitated to mention it in this thread a V is after some initial 'set-up' gear - Rob

 

[gidon]

Rob
Ashamedly I also have that ceramic stone - but think you're right both stones are overkill for a starting out kit (in fact both stones are overkill false stop!!)
Vikesh - if cost is really not so important and you want to also sharpen your knives I'd probably go with a Tormek - the T7 if you can stretch for it. It can be used as a complete sharpening system and may be all you need. See how you go. There are cheaper versions of the Tormek made by Scheppach (2500) and some people have had good results with this too.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[cutting42]

So for a complete newbie to sharpening, what would you suggest? I like the idea of a rotary water stone i.e Tormek (which model?, what additional things will I need?)

Can I throw a different choice in. I am very similar to you and very new to hand tools and sharpening and have just taken advantage of a great deal at Rutlands for the Worksharp 3000 system. Great videos Here.

See what you think.