Planing a straight edge

[mtt.tr]

Yes this is very hard my boss showed me how to do it yesterday im just getting the hang off it he makes it look so easy getting it flat is easy getting it square isn't

 

[GazPal]

Yes this is very hard my boss showed me how to do it yesterday im just getting the hang off it he makes it look so easy getting it flat is easy getting it square isn't

It's all down to practise, but you'll soon get into the swing of it. Something I used to always tell my apprentices is, if in doubt shout out...... it's easier to teach the right way than try correcting potentially flawed technique/methods.

Let your boss/teacher be your guide and he/she'll keep you heading in the right direction and in one that's suited to his/her techniques and methods. :wink:

My and others methods aren't necessarily the ones used in the shop you're working in.

 

[mtt.tr]

Also i discovered that a blade which has no temper makes life very hard. My boss thought i was rounding off the edge when sharperning so he sharpened it i used it and in seconds it was bad again. Tap the blade with a screwdriver and folded over lol will be buying a ray isles thick blade they are rather good.

 

[Muina]

Also i discovered that a blade which has no temper makes life very hard. My boss thought i was rounding off the edge when sharperning so he sharpened it i used it and in seconds it was bad again. Tap the blade with a screwdriver and folded over lol will be buying a ray isles thick blade they are rather good.

Yea, I delved quite a lot into sharpening and temper a while ago as I became obsessed with having the sharpest blades I could possibly get on all my tools. It got so bad that now I won't stop sharpening a blade until it's sharp enough to shave my arm (obviously I don't test it on every single blade, I've already got bald arms!)

Anthony

 

[CroppyBoy1798]

It got so bad that now I won't stop sharpening a blade until it's sharp enough to shave my arm (obviously I don't test it on every single blade, I've already got bald arms!)

Not a good look is it, when you pull up the sleeves or have a t-shirt on, especially if you have hairy arms, haha, all the more noticeable, perfectly squared tracks of hairlessness :mrgreen:

 

[Muina]

Haha, my girlfriend really hates it but I've almost convinced her it's necessary

Anthony

 

[Alf]

Chaps, putting aside the ability to show tracks in your manly and hairy arms, has it occurred to you that you're not actually trying to plane hair? A nice piece of softwood end grain is possibly a more helpful test piece. Just a thought. (Not least because keeping the other half on side is very important for when it comes to the next significant tool purchase. Neglect these things at your peril.)

 

[CroppyBoy1798]

Its a way of identifying other nutcas.......sorry......dedicated woodworkers too, sort of like a badge! If you spot someone with said clean cut track marks on there arms then you know you're gonna get along and have many things to discuss, like sharpening technique for one!

Not that I've ever seen anyone about with there arms shaved in such a manner, but one never knows! :lol:

 

[Muina]

Well I figure that if a blade can cleanly shave hair off your arm then it's more than sharp enough to cut wood cleanly, also it's great fun

I saw someone with the shave marks all the way up his arm the other day and I just burst out laughing, safe to say I got a lot of funny looks as I was comparing the shave marks.

Anthony

 

[mtt.tr]

Yep i have a bald patch on my arm im pretty good at getting a razor edge on chisels and irons. Cant do knives though.

 

[Muina]

I recently bought the Mora 110 off Ray Mears' website, I've never felt anything so sharp! Seriously, straight out of the box it was shaving hairs even from my face! (Very bad idea I know, but I just had to try it)

I've not got it anywhere near as sharp since, even by honing on my super fine japanese water stone and stropping on a flat piece of newspaper.

This has gone quite off subject hasn't it

Anthony

 

[Paul Chapman]

I'm not sure how relevant shaving the hairs off your arms is in terms of honing plane blades :? I can get a good shave with a Wilkinson disposable razor but I doubt that it would be much good for planing oak........

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[jimi43]

I'm not sure how relevant shaving the hairs off your arms is in terms of honing plane blades :? I can get a good shave with a Wilkinson disposable razor but I doubt that it would be much good for planing oak........

Cheers :wink:

Paul

If Wilkinson made an iron 3mm thick and a few inches wide you could!

:wink:

Jim

 

[mtt.tr]

if it cuts arm hair with out pulling then its dung hot sharp which means it will cut the material fantasticly

 

[mtt.tr]

if it cuts arm hair with out pulling then its dung hot sharp which means it will cut the material fantasticly

 

[Muina]

Well you can shave your arm hairs with any angle blade within reason, so in theory you can actually get a good shave with something as steep angled as a sword. In fact there's a video on youtube where a guy does just this, he also shaves with a machete and a camping knife.

So I figure that if you can shave your arm hairs with a blade, be it ground at 15 or 35 degrees, it should (and I say should because of back bevels on chisels and cambered edges and things like that) be sharp enough for what you want taking into consideration you have the correct temper and bevel angle.

Of course I am going by limited experience so if this is wrong I guess I just haven't had an edge that's been blunt yet.

Anthony

 

[bugbear]

Well you can shave your arm hairs with any angle blade within reason, so in theory you can actually get a good shave with something as steep angled as a sword. In fact there's a video on youtube where a guy does just this, he also shaves with a machete and a camping knife.

The Guinness Books of Records (used to?) track a record for shaving with an axe, which is both silly and impressive.

BugBear

 

[Richard T]

It's certainly the only literal test for razor sharpness. I've been doing it so long now I wouldn't feel the blade was worthy to use if I didn't test it this way. Maybe we feel we have to sacrifice some hair to the god of cuttinggood, otherwise it might not. 8-[