Pete W":3q8jj2y1 said:
I've also noticed (purely observation from many forum posts around the world) that very few people are happy with their sharpening setup for any length of time. *Everybody* seems to change at regular intervals. I've seen as many people move from benchstones to Tormeks as vice-versa.
Pete,
That is a very true observation. I think I am one of the folk that exemplify it. I confess to having spent more on sharpening aids than I would admit to LOML or most other folk apart from the members of this forum who understand about such things!
With everything a sharpener could need to hand, I have ended up using almost everything at times because it has been slightly easier or quicker than the next best thing. There is no doubt at all that I could do with 10 percent or less of the stuff I have however.
One observation I think has general applicability is that once ground to shape and sharpened properly for the first time, woodworking tools need only a little maintenance to keep them sharp - unless you drop them on a concrete floor or something like that. Certainly no expensive gear is needed.
I have formed a very hard opinion against the use of scary sharp and waterstones (except the very finest 8000 grit waterstone for polishing) on the grounds that they are very expensive, wasteful , messy and inefficient ways of sharpening. I am very much in favour of diamond stones because they stay flat and do a good maintenance job - but they are not good for primary shaping/sharpening in my view.
I have learnt to like good Arkansas stones - courtesy of my new carving interests but they vary enormously from stone to stone at any given price. Some are great, some are horrible.
I have relearnt that a cheap dry grinder with a good stone is all that most of us need for initial shaping and thereafter only maintenance is needed.
For flattening plane soles, scraping beats any other method I have tried.
For chisel backs the side of a Tormek is OK but an Viceroy Sharpedge is better
