Sharpening for beginners

[Jacob]

You've obviously never planed a bit of interlocked grain. Or, puttering away on a piece of beech, doing well, only to have a neighbour pop in to have a bit of B&Q pine "just straightened out"...
I certainly, emphatically, would not use that same set up on mahogany as I would on box wood.

If necessary one can change the angle or set aside any particular planes or chisels if it's a regular thing.
Have done this but by and large sheer sharpness seems to be tops, helped by honing on leather, a little and often, and the magic touch of candle wax on the sole of a plane. Just a quick squiggle can transform performance - on hand saws too especially if doing a bit of hard work like ripping a thick piece down the grain.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

when I want a really fine edge I have a piece of grey slate that I use to finish with.... gives a nice polished edge
Ideal for those difficult woods where the grain can be all over the place
Years ago I used some iroko , that I had to keep a keen edge on the tools,

 

[Amplidyne]

when I want a really fine edge I have a piece of grey slate that I use to finish with.... gives a nice polished edge
Ideal for those difficult woods where the grain can be all over the place
Years ago I used some iroko , that I had to keep a keen edge on the tools,

I've got a proper slate razor hone here amongst my various stones. It did still have the remains of the box at one time. Must be more than a century old. As you say, it gives a nice polished edge, but I'm not that keen (ha!). It's a bit slow.

 

[AJBaker]

Not much I can add, I'll just mention that in addition to Paul Sellers' videos, I found Rex Krueger has some good tutorials as well. He explains how to sharpen with a guide, and also how to sharpen freehand. He explains rather well what a burr is, and why a rounded bevel works just fine.

Here's what works for me:
- A Sharpall double sided diamond stone.
- A leather strop with a block of green compound (that fit inside the housing of the Sharpall stone, so quick and easy to transport).
- A spray bottle with car window cleaner.
- An Eclipse style honing guide.
- A belt of sandpaper from a beltsander, that conveniently fits around the Sharpall stone and its plastic housing. I add a small wedge to strech the sandpaper over the stone and that gives me an extra rough surface for lapping or grinding out a chip on the edge.

I use both freehand and the guide. I find that both work fine, though the guide is more consistent.

Looking back, a good sharpening stone is the most useful tool I own.

 

[MikeB1972]

Go on then, my tuppence.

I freehand sharpen on, well, diamond or oil stones depending on how long it was since I sharpened them last time.

For someone who hasn't sharpened before I'd recommend using a guide (Cheap one is fine), simply because it's easier to get a consistent edge each time, took me a stupidly long time for me, as a hobbyist, to get a good edge on each sharpen. It's a hobby though, so I had the time.

If you had to sharpen every day I'd recommend freehand, but for hybrid woodworkers or someone who doesn't get that many hours in a week a guide makes a lot of sense, you can always drop it later (or freehand every other sharpen etc). But, unless you really like sharpening, it simplifies things so you can get to the actual woodwork.

Strop after sharpening though (or strop often instead of using stones to touch up chisels and carving tools)

 

[Peter907]

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to @Doug B who came to my house today and sorted out my sharpening problems. I didn't know Doug previously, but he only lives a mile away and very kindly offered to help me out. I understand a lot more about sharpening now, and realise that my chisels were in quite a state, and first needed a thorough fettling with Doug's superb Tormec grinder before moving on to my diamond plates. I have gained the confidence that I can maintain a good edge on my chisels from now on with little effort, and have Amazon delivering a canvas roll bag tomorrow so I don't end up just chucking them around in a tool box and damaging the edges again. After Doug's visit, the advice in the above posts make a lot more sense to me. The YouTube sharpening videos are great, but if like me, you don't have a clue, or even a sound starting point to work from, they are not going give you "the edge".
So thanks again to Doug B and everyone else who replied to my thread.
This forum has some very knowledgeable and helpful members .
No doubt you'll find me starting another thread and asking more newbie questions soon enough .

 

[Fred48]

What a very kind and very generous thing to do @Doug B
Fred

 

[richarddownunder]

I've just bought a sharpening kit and some lapping fluid. The kit has a 400 grit diamond plate, a 1000 grit diamond plate and an 8000 grit ceramic plate. I've watched numerous YouTube videos about sharpening, and the principles explained seem perfectly straightforward, but after several hours of practice with 4 different sized chisels (30mm to 6mm) working both with and without a honing guide, I have yet to achieve the stage where I can sharpen a chisel or my penknife to a sharpness where I can shave hairs from my arm or cut a sheet of printer paper without it leaving a jagged torn edge. Any advice or thoughts would be helpful.

There are some helpful options above. To me, you have all the abrasives in your kit that you will ever need, and unless there is something wrong with them, they should provide perfectly good results. I wouldn't go buying anything else just yet. Maybe try each grit individually to begin with starting with the 400. Honing at 30 degrees using 400 grit should result in a fairly sharp tool. Wood maybe be a better test subject than hairs .

As a very part-time hobby woodworker, I usually have a flurry of making, then leave it alone for a period before the next project. Probably because of this, I have found that I get my best results using an (eclipse-type) honing guide and that is what I will stick with as it suits me and I'm never in a huge hurry. I use a fine DMT stone which is about 1200 grit and that hones to a pretty good edge in a few strokes. Then I use a 4000 grit waterstone if I want to get a good finish or I'm planing thin boards e.g. on a guitar or cutting dovetails etc.

It looks like you are trying the various option so you will get there in the end and find the best process for you. IMHO a simple honing guide doesn't add much time to the process - few seconds - and gives a reproducible result, especially if you are not in the workshop every day and is a good place to start as it'll provide a reference for the angle you are aiming for. A 30mm chisel (or a plane iron) sounds like a good tool to practice with as it'll be more stable than, say, a 6mm chisel and you will be able to see the result more easily. In the end, sharp enough is sharp enough and depends on what you are trying to achieve with wood.

Oh, just realised that all of your questions have been answered, oh well LOL.