First Sharpening Equiptment

[jedmc571]

Hello All,

Now I'll be the first to admit that I know zip about sharpening, but I know it's an essential, what would you reccomend as the first bit of kit?

I want it to be as easy and quick as possible, I bought the Trend Fast Track kit, but it's very average.

Not sure if to get a small kit eg Kell / Veritas, but then I need stones as well? but I've not ruled out machines eg Tormek / Work Sharp

I think I require sharp tools, more than the need to learn the skills to hand sharpen, sorry if I'm offending any purists :wink: ( Mr Charlesworth would love that statement :lol: )

Cheers

Jed

 

[Smudger]

That was my thinking, and I bought a Tormek. Not as sharp as some methods, but dependable and versatile. Shallow learning curve.

 

[OPJ]

Well, I'm waiting for my WorkSharp 3000 to arrive... With all the other comments I've read, this could be your best solution! No mess, minimal sparks and, if it's used correctly, it shouldn't overheat your edges either. You can re-grind primary bevels with a coarse abrasive and even hone an edge with the finer greats. They're also supposed to be great at flattening the backs of chisels - I can't wait to try it out!

Though, I still plan to use it primarily as a grinder (I never had much patience with cheap high-speed ones). I have a range of Norton oil stones stones (plus an ultra fine Spydecro ceramic) that I like to use for honing.

There's nothing wrong with a good quality oil stone (like the Nortons) and I still think that, even with a grinder, you would benefit from owning one or two of the finer grade stones. There are bound to be situations where you can't always use your grinder or take it with you to a job.

 

[head clansman]

hi

well not wanting to start an other debate on sharpening , i 've tried them all over the yrs , but IMHO scary sharpening beats them all . hc

 

[kasandrich]

Hello All,

Now I'll be the first to admit that I know zip about sharpening, but I know it's an essential, what would you reccomend as the first bit of kit?

I want it to be as easy and quick as possible, I bought the Trend Fast Track kit, but it's very average.

Not sure if to get a small kit eg Kell / Veritas, but then I need stones as well? but I've not ruled out machines eg Tormek / Work Sharp

I think I require sharp tools, more than the need to learn the skills to hand sharpen, sorry if I'm offending any purists :wink: ( Mr Charlesworth would love that statement :lol: )

Cheers

Jed

I guess it depends what you want to sharpen?

The worksharp ws3000 above looks ok if you only want to sharpen chisels and planes. but it would be no good for fingernail profiling of turning gouges.

I think the best system I have seen is the Robert Sorby Proedge

It is slow and cool running, there are differing grit belts available, the belts are reasonably priced. It handles a huge range of angles, is solidly built and I particularly like the fact that its a flat surface.

Fingernail profile jig is available, so you really can sharpen ANYTHING on it.

It even has an optional polishing mop available for polishing the bevel.

 

[Alf]

What are you wanting to sharpen, Jed? If it's the basic chisels and planes and no fancy gouges/moulding profiles, then an Eclipse-type honing guide (for example), some abrasives and a flat surface (e.g. but just a bit of glass backed up by a bit of MDF and some Wet 'n' Dry will do just as well) is the cheapest place to start. Purists will stomp all over the Eclipse and tell you you need brass and fine machining, but you don't - you just need a wheel and clamp and it does just fine. And don't get in a knot about the grits and stuff - you want coarse, fine and eventually, when you get good enough to feel the lack of it, maybe something extra fine. They can be sheet abrasives, oil stones, water stones, diamonds, anything, just avoid mixing types that use water with types that use oil and you can mix and match to your heart's content.

Enjoy - and if you want I have about two dozen chisels you could practice on...? No? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Marcel]

I use the Scary Sharp (Tm) method, with a Richard Kell No.3 MKII honing guide.

I think that when one is not an professional with 45+ years experience, but more an "amateur" with only some experience ( like me) this is quite a good solution.

The honing guide not only helps you finding and keeping the right angle but it also holds the blade perpendicular on the abrasive.

On the downside, the Scary Sharp (Tm) is more expensive in daily use.

For a professional that would be a reason not to use it and prefer water stones, but for me as an occasional user it is just perfect.

Very nice razor sharp chisels and blades.

 

[eoinsgaff]

I've been looking to nail down an efficient, practical method of sharpening for the past year. I've bought a range of waterstones, jigs, granite slabs, sand paper, grinders etc and I've been continually frustrated with set up, flattening and repeatability.

This christmas I've finally cracked it - I think. A DMT duo sharp plate (1200/600 grit) brought it all together for me.

I use a Scheppach version of the Tormek to grind my chisels and planes. The diamond plate is then used free hand to apply the micro bevel and a 4000/8000 grit water stone to hone the edge - also freehand.

The joy of this is firstly not haveing to flatten water stones - the higher grit stones need only ocasional attendance and, conveniently enough, the diamond plate will do this with out having to set up my garite slab. The 'hollow' chisel edge makes freehand edging quite easy when care is taken and removes the need for jigs at this point.

The 'hollow' edge can be also achived with a regular bench grinder. This would be quicker but more care is required and the edge is likely to be rougher - a call needs to be made between the two options.

I'm sure this is not foolproof but I've been very satified with it once it was set in motion. The edge was as good as I ever got and re-edging took no more than a couple of minutes. It made a few days of wood working over the christmas very pleasant indeed.

Eoin

 

[eoinsgaff]

Incidently, as well as the DMT Duosharp diamond plate (1200/600 grit) I also got an Ezelap 400 grit plate. There was no comparison between the two. While I did not use the Ezelap much I was really not inclined to use it. If nothing else it looked like a very poor relation.

Further scientific analysis will be required to form a definitive view but for now, the DMT product is far supperior IMHO.

Eoin

 

[gidon]

Jed
You need something to grind and something to hone.
Grinding by hand can be done but it's quite slow. Coarse sandpaper stuck on glass or MDF (the grind isn't critical) and a honing guide - either Alf's suggestion or the Veritas MkII. My favoured method for grinding by hand is a DMT Extra Extra coarse stone - very quick.
Powered grinding solutions include a bench grinder, a Tormek (or equiv) and the WorksSharp type machines. Using a bench grinder even with a Norton stone does require some practice though.
Honing is much easier - a DMT Duo stone is a good place to start. I started out with a Extra Coarse / Fine stone and that still gets the most use. After the fine you can either go to a finer stone but you can also get good results (comparable Tormek) going straight to honing compound (eg Autosol etc) on some MDF. Have a look at my videos in my signature.
Of course you can also hone on a Tormek or equiv powered machines. But two reasons I rarely do this. Firstly it's a bit of a faff and secondly I can get a better edge using stones but then I've been messing around with this for a while!
You hear lots about grinding angles but if you're starting out - just grind at 25 degrees and hone at 30 degrees. Remember when you grind you're just reducing the amount of metal you need to remove when you hone.
Spend some time getting the back of your chisels and plane irons flat.
If only Festool made something to make it easier hey Jed !
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Karl]

Jed - you weren't paying attention at Brad's bash, were you !

When you come over to mine i'll show you my set-up; a Perform dry grinder, an Eclipse honing guide, a Trend double sided diamond stone and some honing compound.

Cheers

Karl

 

[wizer]

Karl, remind me which compounds you use?

 

[Karl]

These from Axinster. Green first then White, just rubbed onto a scrap of MDF. Razor edge in no time (as long as you've firstly honed the edge correctly on the Trend stone).

They seem quite expensive at £9 each, but i've had mine for about three years and haven't used 1/4 of each bar yet.

In fact I will post you a sample of each bar if you'd like so you can try them out?

Cheers

Karl

 

[Qwibble]

I also know zip about sharpening, so went for Scary Sharp. Even with a learner driver and a £2.50 honing guide it gets good results.

Santa was very kind this year and she got me a Veritas MKII. A very nice suprise. I'll give it a try as soon as it stops snowing (I've been wood working al fresco to date - hope set up a workshop soon).

 

[OPJ]

The worksharp ws3000 above looks ok if you only want to sharpen chisels and planes. but it would be no good for fingernail profiling of turning gouges.

You might be right but, if you're fairly competent at grinding such profiles freehand then you should be able to do it either on top of or below the disc (using the slotted disc, which allows clear visibility from above).

Sorry, it's just that mine arrived not long after I posted that message earlier and I've been playing with it all afternoon -so far, I am quite impressed.!

 

[kasandrich]

If you can do it freehand then any system will work for you, but Jed did say his need for sharp tools was greater than his urge to learn how to sharpen, so he was clearly looking for jigs to do what he wants to sharpen.

 

[woodbloke]

Kell III for me with some of Matthew's lovely self-sticky 3M papers and a big lump of his 10mm glass. I used to use an Eclipse clone guide as Alf has suggested but I found that over time, minute variations in finger pressure at the blade edge eventually caused it to become skewed...not a lot of use if you want to set up a fairly tight mouth on a plane.
The KIII isn't for everybody and I would hesitate to recommend to a beginner, but when you've tried everything else (including freehand) this is the best method by far...IMHO of course. I haven't yet found anything else that comes close for simplicity of use, once you get your system set up, which includes projection boards and suitable wedges for different applications - Rob