Sharpening for beginners

[Bingy man]

Crazy , insane , madness - how many ways are there to cut a piece of wood at 90deg ??? Handsaws - western snd Japanese, table saw , bandsaw , mitre saw , radial arm saw , track saw , router, circular saw, jig saw etc etc , they will all achieve the end goal of making that cut . Given the type of wood and dimensions however we might prefer one tool over the others and again we might have our own preference and reasons for our choice . As competent wood workers we make our own choices . When a newcomer asks the question “ what tool for this job ?? “. we all reply to the question with the tool or machine that we would use because that’s how we do it . That’s how we all learn and we then pass that method onto anyone else who asks the szme question. Now a lot of methods and techniques have been passed down from previous generations sometimes over hundreds/ or even thousands of years . Trouble is nobody taught me the correct technique to sharpen blades so my freehand method was dog and as such I have no clue or confidence in this method. So I CHOSE to use a jig as I have neither the time or the inclination to learn another method when everyone has their own way of doing it - I get razor sharp edges on all my tools , I sharpen a chisel as soon as I can after I’ve used it , occasionally I might end up with several that need doing so I’m happy to do this . My set up is simple , efficient and more importantly consistent. I don’t have a tormek but I keep my chisels and blade irons in good condition so never have to put them to the grinder unless I hit a nail or hard knot . Think I’ll start a thread on what car or van do you drive and why — actually on 2nd thoughts. …..

 

[thetyreman]

I mostly do it freehand, but with narrow chisels, cabinet scraper blades and spokeshaves I use a honing guide, I think the key to it is actually learning to enjoy the process and if you don't get it just right don't sweat it, just try again, eventually you will get it right, I like to use end grain to test things on because it requires very sharp blades, only a truly razor sharp edge will easily cut end grain and give you ultra thin shavings, you also need to get used to knowing and feeling when the tools need re-sharpening, this is something that cannot be taught easily, it's an intuition thing based on experience.