Need advice on chisel sharpening

[Jacob]

Good point - Jimi has made enthusiastic noises about his Coticules in the past.

Europe is a large and geologically diverse continent with a very long history of edge tool use. There must be many sources of stone suitable for sharpening.

**** sapiens itself has a very long history of edge tool use - 3.5 million years back to the Olduvai gorge. Also in use with other species of ape probably even further back. Luckily stone and/or sand for grinding is available just about everywhere except on the surfaces of the oceans and the ice caps.
Some think sharpening didn't really kick off until the invention of the Veritas Mark II jig but they are probably wrong.

 

[bugbear]

Good point - Jimi has made enthusiastic noises about his Coticules in the past.

Europe is a large and geologically diverse continent with a very long history of edge tool use. There must be many sources of stone suitable for sharpening.

In Holland, a land without notable rock of any kind, they developed the use of loose abrasive particles, including coarse ones, to a high
degree.

BugBear

 

[n0legs]

Thanks for the answers guys, cured my curiosity.
So with these answers in mind, why do ....................................................................
I won't ask the next question, we all know where that will take us :lol:

 

[Corneel]

Good point - Jimi has made enthusiastic noises about his Coticules in the past.

Europe is a large and geologically diverse continent with a very long history of edge tool use. There must be many sources of stone suitable for sharpening.

In Holland, a land without notable rock of any kind, they developed the use of loose abrasive particles, including coarse ones, to a high
degree.

BugBear

Oh I didn't know. Please tell?

This Dutchman just uses foreign pieces of rock.

 

[Jacob]

The earliest man-made stones are also prehistoric - made from fired clay and commonly known as bricks. tiles etc.
It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

 

[woodbrains]

The earliest man-made stones are also prehistoric - made from fired clay and commonly known as bricks. tiles etc.
It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

Hello,

The first bricks predated The Bronze Age by about 4500 years, so I don't think there was anything to sharpen in the sense we mean. Stone Age tools were chipped against bigger rocks, so again, not sharpened, but broken into shards. It is true than man made abrasives have done wondered for getting steel sharp, but I don't think there is any point harking back to the past for a president any more than it would be to compare digital radio with something prehistoric. All this has happened within a recent blink of an eye and it is all better than before. Even beloved India oilstones are newfangled modern man made composites, no less than synthetic Japanese waterstones, or scary sharp, ceramic stones or whatever. Why some are looked on as modern fads over others baffles me, we are all using them in one form or another. I've tried them all and can get them all to work, along with many natural stones. Trust me, the man made is better, so if scary sharp is the way you want to go, then go for it, it is no more faddish than any other way and can give exceptional results.

Mike

 

[bugbear]

It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

Is that a guess/opinion, or do have evidence you could point to - e.g. an ancient brick hollowed by sharpening,
like grandma's doorstep...

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

Is that a guess/opinion, or do have evidence you could point to - e.g. an ancient brick hollowed by sharpening,
like grandma's doorstep...

BugBear

It's a guess. But there is evidence: edge tools can be sharpened on a wide variety of surfaces. So unless there was some sort of taboo it is highly probable that bricks etc would have been used, as and when.
Similarly there is no evidence that early men blew their noses, but we can assume they did, unless there is very positive counter evidence.

 

[bugbear]

It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

Is that a guess/opinion, or do have evidence you could point to - e.g. an ancient brick hollowed by sharpening,
like grandma's doorstep...

BugBear

It's a guess. But there is evidence: edge tools can be sharpened on a wide variety of surfaces. So unless there was some sort of taboo it is highly probable that bricks etc would have been used, as and when.

Your reasoning supports the guess that they could have used bricks for sharpening, not that they did.

Unless their bricks were actually superior for the purpose of sharpening, they would continue to use whatever sharpening solution they'd used
for the previous (literally) millenia.

We could use brick today, but we don't, and there's no "taboo" that I'm aware of.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

.......
Is that a guess/opinion, or do have evidence you could point to - e.g. an ancient brick hollowed by sharpening,
like grandma's doorstep...

BugBear

It's a guess. But there is evidence: edge tools can be sharpened on a wide variety of surfaces. So unless there was some sort of taboo it is highly probable that bricks etc would have been used, as and when.

Your reasoning supports the guess that they could have used bricks for sharpening, not that they did.

Unless their bricks were actually superior for the purpose of sharpening, they would continue to use whatever sharpening solution they'd used
for the previous (literally) millenia.

We could use brick today, but we don't, and there's no "taboo" that I'm aware of.

BugBear

We use brick like objects. Probability says that if a brick was the best thing available (then and now) then that's what would be used. It's hardly a controversial idea.
The point is that man-made "stones" were known 1000s of years ago.

 

[iNewbie]

"Brick like objects"?

My Vanilla Ice-cream brick has developed a hollow...

 

[bugbear]

We use brick like objects.

The properties are determined by the material, not a coincidence of rectilinear shape.

Mankind (as you point out) has used abrasive rocks for abrading and sharpening
for millenia, but a little research (e.g. Grimes Graves)
will tell you that even stone age man knew his materials well,
and would invest resources to get the BEST material.

Perhaps you should try sharpening on a brick before continuing to assert your guess.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

You are talking nonsense BB.

 

[RobinBHM]

Are we advising the OP he should be investing in a prehistoric brick for sharpening his chisels :shock:

 

[Jacob]

No we are pointing out that sharpening is very ancient and would quite probably involve man made materials too, on occasions, as necessary.

 

[bugbear]

You are talking nonsense BB.

I'm just clarifying and making explicit the random old tosh you're spouting.

I couldn't make up rubbish like sharpening on bricks - you did that.

Evidence still awaited, without much expectation.

BubBear

 

[Jacob]

You are talking nonsense BB.

I'm just clarifying and making explicit the random old tosh you're spouting.

I couldn't make up rubbish like sharpening on bricks - you did that.

Evidence still awaited, without much expectation.

BubBear

Imagination still awaited, without much expectation.

 

[bridger]

What would the old masters have used ?

1 sandstone grinding wheel

2 whatever the fine stone available to them (slate, charnley, turkey stone)

3 strop

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Neil!... Neil!... How many bags of popcorn now?

 

[Jacob]

The earliest man-made stones are also prehistoric - made from fired clay and commonly known as bricks. tiles etc.
It would be inevitable that an earlier sharpener would have a go with an early brick at some point.

The first bricks predated The Bronze Age by about 4500 years, so I don't think there was anything to sharpen in the sense we mean. Stone Age tools were chipped against bigger rocks, so again, not sharpened, but broken into shards. It is true than man made abrasives have done wondered for getting steel sharp, but I don't think there is any point harking back to the past for a president any more than it would be to compare digital radio with something prehistoric. All this has happened within a recent blink of an eye and it is all better than before. .........

Polished stone tools date back to the neolithic and probably earlier 10000+ years ago. Polishing means abrasives.
It's comical that people think sharpening processes are somehow new!