undergroundhunter
Established Member
LFS19":3g1q4ydx said:
And that is the key, most people (me included) thought that it was the sharpening media and not me, once I realized it was easy going from there.
Matt
Sharpening stones?
- Thread starter LFS19
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And that is the key, most people (me included) thought that it was the sharpening media and not me, once I realized it was easy going from there.
Matt
bugbear
Established Member
Almost any abrasive will work - I current use oil lubricated natural stones for woodwork, waterstones for my kitchen knives, and a pair of DMT diafolds when visiting friends and sharpening their knives.
They all work.
BugBear
They all work.
BugBear
Yep, practice is key to good results when freehand sharpening. As a really excellent sharpener on YouTube puts it sharpening is about skill, not materials. If you know what you're doing you can hone on the unglazed rim of a coffee mug, plate or cistern lid and a scrap of cereal box :shock:LFS19":2i8pzd2z said:
Start with a flat back (not the whole back, you only need a narrow strip at the edge) and go from there. That flat back allows you to get a proper read of the progress of your work on the bevel. Once you've raised a burr along the whole edge you've done what you need to and can stop. This is how some pros can re-hone so quickly, they do as much as is necessary and no more, no faffing about. It can take just a few strokes on the finest stone to get that burr depending on how blunt you've allowed an edge to get in use.
If you use stropping as your final honing step and you do it frequently (little and often is the key) you can get a chisel that's no longer paring well and get it back to sharp enough to shave hairs in under a minute, including the time it took to get the strop out and put it away
bugbear
Established Member
ED65":2okgieem said:
It's also needed when using a jig, an oversight which may explain some beginner's confusion.
BugBear
Yes you're right BB, I've never used a jig so I tend to forget that they're not all created equal. Are you referring to Eclipse-style ones being a little prone to rocking side to side, or is there more to it than that?
Either way I suppose it must be emphasised that following the instructions to the full is important, e.g. removing the burr and not leaving it folded onto the back.
Either way I suppose it must be emphasised that following the instructions to the full is important, e.g. removing the burr and not leaving it folded onto the back.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Burr comes up quickly towards the edges where wear is least but it can take a long time to get it right across if the middle is worn, which it usually is. This is why many stop too soon, jig or no jig.ED65":2my37pmo said:
I know I used to - and it tempted me towards jigs, which was a big mistake I rectified later!
bugbear
Established Member
ED65":3a4fo6qr said:
I wasn't referring to "jig specific skills" (although these do exist).
I was referring to such skills as keeping a blade registered side to side, how to use pressure to put a 1/64" camber on a smoothing plane blade, of knowing how much pressure to apply, when to apply a little less pressure (or a little more), how to detect a burr, how big a burr is enough of a burr, what sequence of abrasives to use, knowing when a blade needs sharpening, know how sharp is sharp enough.
All of these apply to sharpening in general, jig or freehand.
Randomly pushing a tool backwards and forwards on a stone with no understanding or skill at what you're doing will not sharpen anything, jig or no jig!
BugBear
