polishing stone

[Alf]

and I don't believe having sharper tools would increase the quality of my furniture.

Now, around here, them's fightin' words, stranger!

You haven't seen his furniture... :shock:

Cheers, Alf

Who now knows that, yes, she should be embarrased. :lol:

 

[Philly]

On a serious note, all that sharpening must take hours, flattening of the back of this, trying to create a slight curve on that.

Senior
To hone an iron or chisel on my favoured waterstone set-up takes only a minute or two (and I use 800, 4000, 6000, 10k) It really is no big deal-and I do like a keen edge! :wink:
To prepare a new blade takes a little longer and I use a coarse diamond stone to get it flat quickly before going to the waterstones. Once the back is flat and polished that's it-no more work to be done.
I believe the important thing is to have a system that you are familiar with (and gets the result you want) and keep it handy-if you have to dig the sharpening gear out of a cupboard and clear a space you will put it off. And that means blades that need much more work than a simple honing. Blunt edges don't give a finer result-and I know :lol:
regards
Philly

 

[Alf]

Concerning chisel backs, I extracted the following out of someone-who-will-remain-nameless in case he doesn't want the grief. I hesitated to post it here, 'cos I don't want the grief either, but for the scholarly chisel afficiando who can cope with something that isn't perceived wisdom without getting all upset:

Re 'slight knuckle'.....

Short version: A little bit of a hump in the blade back, a little ways up from the edge, like you find on a timber slick. Of the cranked pattern makers' gouges I bought, nearly all had some variety of this. I preferred dead straight backs, so have been lapping them down.

Longer version: Coupla folks that I believe are true experts in edgetools go against the grain on chisel lore, and use slight knuckles on most chisels, including mortise chisels, for control. 'Control' meaning to keep the chisel from diving. The knuckle lets you keep positive pressure on the blade edge, so you can pull the chisel out of a backwards dive, and keep it plumb as it cuts down or forward. Neither of these folks are interested in making converts, plus do not want to get grief on online forums. That may be why we only hear about 'chisel backs must be flat'. It may be that a number of practioners out there use knuckles on chisel backs for control, but just don't talk about it.

Well I thought it was interesting anyway. And a little sad that we do get so worked up if things don't agree with what we think is right that we scare off potential other ways of doing things. Must do better.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

I agree having a sharp edge is important on all our tools, I just think it can be taken to far.
This is just my opinion and I know I go over the top on other issues, so please take my comments with a pinch of salt.

 

[David C]

I heard from someone a while back that large timber framing chisels might have a minute back bevel to counter the diving effect in deep constructional mortices.

It could have been Mike Abbott, but my memory is not infallible.

These are interesting points.

David Charlesworth

 

[David C]

Do the chisel afficionados mentioned by ALF have any published views please?

David, who is always hoping to learn new stuff.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I find the 8000 King seems to have the nicest feel, and I cannot recommend it highly enough, to those who are interested.

David

I concur. My mainstay are the 800, 1200 and 8000 King waterstones. The 6000 is a nice stone too, but it is false economy to purchase one just because it is half the price of the 8000 - it is also less than half the size as well.

I also have a 4000 King which was originally to be a mid point between 1200 and 8000. Not only is it quite easy to go from 1200 to 8000 in one jump, but I find that the 4000 does not cut as easily at either the 6000 or 8000 (it just seems to glaze over each time, no matter what I try). Anyone who wants the 4000 can have it for free as long as it is collected in person!

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[MikeW]

...Anyone who wants the 4000 can have it for free as long as it is collected in person!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Now that is tempting, my friend! Not that I need another sharpening stone. But any excuse to make it to Perth would be good.

Take care, Mike

 

[bugbear]

I agree having a sharp edge is important on all our tools, I just think it can be taken to far.
This is just my opinion and I know I go over the top on other issues, so please take my comments with a pinch of salt.

Most of the work is done on the first abrasive, removing any "rounding" from the wear the tool has endured.

The remaining grits are only removing the scratches from the previous grits.

So the later stages (that give you the killer edge) are 3-7 strokes each, which takes almost no time.

If you're using a guide (which I recommend) there's no danger of dubbing the edge (the dreaded I'll just raise the handle a bit, just to make sure the fine grit gets right to the edge...).

So - you ask "why", I say "why not"

BugBear

 

[Philly]

Derek
I recently bought a 4000 stone-I find it to be great. The jump from 800 to 6000 always leaves (for me) too much wire edge remaining. Since putting the 4000 inbetween my edges are reproducably better.
Mind you, most of my blades are A2. I know different steels react in different ways.
Cheers
Philly