I do have one of those at home and it is a constant bone of contention…
Sharpening conspiracy!
- Thread starter Jacob
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Eshmiel
Established Member
One hopes that you've read, absorbed, understood and agreed with every word, despite the many contentions, contradictions and opposing methods, especially Jacob's. No one can call their sen a woodworker unless they're an avid member of a Sharpening Church!
I like them best as have had a sharpening epiphany and acquired the fervour of the converted. Best rants and sermons are to be had from such folk - although they're sometimes looking for heretics to burn the ears off. I'm quite catholic about it, having tried every gubbins and method going and ranted about each one in their turn, one way then another (later on, after joining another church).
Wot is your own procedure?
Luckily for me I am generally persuaded of the “Jacobean” or “Jacobite” approach, having wasted money on ridiculous gizmos before realising that edges have been sharpened since time immemorial by rubbing metal on stones, and the most exquisite woodworking ever done back then using these very simple techniques, plus understanding why.One hopes that you've read, absorbed, understood and agreed with every word, despite the many contentions, contradictions and opposing methods, especially Jacob's. No one can call their sen a woodworker unless they're an avid member of a Sharpening Church!
I like them best as have had a sharpening epiphany and acquired the fervour of the converted. Best rants and sermons are to be had from such folk - although they're sometimes looking for heretics to burn the ears off. I'm quite catholic about it, having tried every gubbins and method going and ranted about each one in their turn, one way then another (later on, after joining another church).
Wot is your own procedure?
Imagine if I had a Veritas Mk2 honing guide!
Eshmiel
Established Member
There may be an old cathedral step lump somewhere at the back of the shed, from a previous sharpening fashionable-fad period in the history of my sharpening-methods experiences. I would have sent it to Jacob but he's gone modern with a Norton stone, probably being excommunicated by The True Sharpening Church elders as a result. And shunned.
As I recall, a worn stone step - the older and more worn the better - is regarded as an essential part of the sharpening rite of passage wherein one must resolve the apparently irresolvable matter of getting a straight chisel edge from a footworn concavity of variable curve and grit. I could never achieve the necessary mental state, myself, so fell into purgatory with Veritas jiggery, including its various add-on pokeries.
I'm still waiting for Jacob to do his sharpening video, preferably whilst dressed in an exciting fashion. Mind, I'd want to see the microscopic images to back up his claims, as well as at least ten photos showing the sequence from rough plank to a French-polished finish rivalling anything in The Louvre, made entirely with a Jacob-sharpened plane blade and nowt else. If he convinces me, I will also buy two of his T-shirts!
Blackswanwood
Still Learning
A feature of your posts seems to be to just goad Jacob. Not sure why but imo it’s a bit unedifying.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Use to be to hold a pack of cigarettes. No idea what the point is nowadays.T-shirts now there is an issue, why do most US guys roll up the sleeves of a short sleeved T-shirt?
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Maybe https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/oscar_wilde_128481 Anyway more people seem to be cottoning on to normal sharpening, and it never went away!
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
You obviously haven't been listening. That might do for gouges or cambered blades but for straight edges must be from flattish to convex
Eshmiel
Established Member
You seem rather more sensitive to my exchanges with Jacob than Jacob himself. Cannot you read the benign intent of these exchanges? I quite admire Jacob as he's persistent and manages to keep quite calm despite being had-at by posts far more aggressive than mine, even from a moderator!
But just to make it clear - I like Jacob and recognise his worth here. My posts to him often contain a tease of sark but I feel that Jacob recognises that there is no ill-will in any of them. And Jacob is more than capable of dealing with the likes of me.
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Eshmiel
Established Member
Deafness, both actual and selective, has been an Eshmiel feature for years and years.
I do listen .... even understand ..... and occasionally agree! But you will post them no-alternative opinions that invite a tease. You didn't really think I was accusing you of having a bit of cathedral step now, did you.
Look at this way - I keep looking at them Norton stones and all because of you.
I do think the question of flatness is interesting historically speaking. A blade will only produce a perfect surface if the “back” (front) of the blade is flat.
Getting a flat surface is easier said than done.
Of course, liquids easily produce flat surfaces but aren’t much good at cutting metal. Some types of stones have strata that can be very flat.
I suppose molten metal can be used to create a flat surface that an abrasive can be used with.
Then of course there’s Joseph Whitworth’s method of rubbing 3 surfaces together to create an engineered flat surface to incredible tolerances.
It would be interesting to know what method was used to create flat surfaces for flattening the back of planes irons in, say the 1600s.
Getting a flat surface is easier said than done.
Of course, liquids easily produce flat surfaces but aren’t much good at cutting metal. Some types of stones have strata that can be very flat.
I suppose molten metal can be used to create a flat surface that an abrasive can be used with.
Then of course there’s Joseph Whitworth’s method of rubbing 3 surfaces together to create an engineered flat surface to incredible tolerances.
It would be interesting to know what method was used to create flat surfaces for flattening the back of planes irons in, say the 1600s.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Do you mean the "face"? Bevel on back, flat on face, though usage varies.
They've been flattening metal since the Bronze Age, and stone before that!
A plane just needs to flattish on the face behind the bevel, especially if it's a double iron i.e. with cap iron a close fit to the surface. Surely the usual methods apply - grindstones of one sort or another, static or a wheel?
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