For whatever my opinion may be worth, I have a few comments.
I have been sharpening my chisels, plane irons, and turning tools for decades on a bench grinder with conventional grinding wheels and adjustable aluminum Veritas rests. The Veritas rests were a huge improvement over the stock rests, but I soon found that the anodized finish wore off in the grinding dust, causing considerable drag across the rests hindering smooth lateral movement of the tools.
Perhaps it goes without saying that the plane irons and chisels are ground only to establish the primary bevel, and the grinding is followed by work on either diamond plates, oil-stones, or water-stones. The tools are often then finished on a strop.
I recently purchased a set of
CBN wheels, and I can only say that it has
totally transformed my grinding... for the better! They cut
very rapidly, and the tools remain cool. There is rarely the need to dip the tool in water to cool it off. I am sure that I will never go back to aluminum oxide wheels, etc.
CBN wheels are a worthy investment, IMHO.
I also purchased the OneWay Wolverine rests and long grinding/skew grinding jigs. I did not purchase the Wolverine "Vari-Grind" jig.
I have a Wen slow speed wet grinder (a Tormek copy), so I am using the
Tormek SVD-186 R Gouge Jig on both the Wen and the bench grinder with the addition of the
Tormek OWC-1 Bench Grinder Adapter.
The advantage to the above set-up is only that of the ease of accurate
repeatability. This saves not only time, but also wear on your turning tools.
Being a pupil of the Richard Raffan school of wood-turning, I do hone my skews and gouges prior to use, but basically just to remove the burr. That procedure takes only seconds, and leaves a razor edge.
I can see the logic of the various opinions posted above, but old habits die hard...
I am pleased with the results I obtain, and as some have said, that may be the best measure of success.
