Cheshirechappie
Established Member
I think manual dexterity is actually quite a complicated thing.
A good proportion of my childhood and young adolescence was spent making things. Models, mostly, especially model railways. Some of the models were frankly not up to much, but some were quite presentable, and (though I maybe flatter myself) would stand comparison with the work of much more established modellers. I was good at school woodwork, too - and enjoyed it.
Later, in my twenties, and the owner of my first house, I came back to woodwork, partly out of necessity. Nothing fancy, but I've always wanted something a bit better than bog standard chipboard. So projects ranged from shelves in the cupboard under the stairs to new bannisters, newels and handrails for the stairs and landing (wonder if they're still there?). A bench and toolchest followed - they taught me how not to build a bench and toolchest - together with the usual boxes and similar bits and bats. A miniature Windsor chair still graces my mum's wall unit, together with the little teddy bear she bought for it. I became heavily involved in the preserved railway scene, mainly on the mechanical side, but the wood skills came in very handy there on a few occasions.
That all meant that sharpening was a necessity. In the very early days I bought a double-sided Norton India and an Emir box, and an Eclipse jig. For some reason, I just didn't get on with the jig, and in frustration, freehanded. The results were OK, so I just carried on. I used to sharpen tools for my mates at work, too, and never had any complaints; did get a few pints out of it, so results can't have been too shabby.
Reading the magazines of the day led me to try waterstones, and they taught me what 'sharp' really was. I can still remember the revelation of first using the bevel-edged chisel I'd just honed on the brand new 6000 grit stone - wow! The mess of waterstones led me to try Spyderco ceramics, and I used them for years, just lately coming back to the India and trying a Welsh slate for polishing. All those were used freehand.
Thing is, I took to freehanding very easily. Maybe the early years of model-making built up a sort of manual dexterity, or maybe I'm just blessed that way. I don't know. I do know that I'm utterly useless at sports - tennis, cricket, squash, even football - tried 'em all, and no matter how I try, I miss the ball more often than I hit it. I'm not that good at snooker or pool, either. But I do seem to be reasonably adept with tools; I very rarely cut myself with kitchen knives, for example (tempting fate, there!).
Maybe there are different sorts of manual dexterity. Maybe it's something you have to learn when you're young, or find it takes longer to pick up that dexterity the older you get. I don't know. As with so many aspects of life, different people, different ways.
Maybe if you're a 14-year old apprentice, you can afford a year or two to develop dexterity. Maybe if you're a middle-aged chap looking for a bit of peaceful respite from a stressful job for a couple of hours a week, you can't, or you wouldn't get anything else done.
So if you don't happen to have the particular type of manual dexterity that freehand sharpening demands, and you don't have the time to develop it, use the available solutions to the problem. If you do happen to have that particular dexterity, then great - carry on.
(PS - That little Eclipse jig and it's clones are pretty simple, straightforward inexpensive and versatile. It's as good a starting point for the non-freehander as any.)
A good proportion of my childhood and young adolescence was spent making things. Models, mostly, especially model railways. Some of the models were frankly not up to much, but some were quite presentable, and (though I maybe flatter myself) would stand comparison with the work of much more established modellers. I was good at school woodwork, too - and enjoyed it.
Later, in my twenties, and the owner of my first house, I came back to woodwork, partly out of necessity. Nothing fancy, but I've always wanted something a bit better than bog standard chipboard. So projects ranged from shelves in the cupboard under the stairs to new bannisters, newels and handrails for the stairs and landing (wonder if they're still there?). A bench and toolchest followed - they taught me how not to build a bench and toolchest - together with the usual boxes and similar bits and bats. A miniature Windsor chair still graces my mum's wall unit, together with the little teddy bear she bought for it. I became heavily involved in the preserved railway scene, mainly on the mechanical side, but the wood skills came in very handy there on a few occasions.
That all meant that sharpening was a necessity. In the very early days I bought a double-sided Norton India and an Emir box, and an Eclipse jig. For some reason, I just didn't get on with the jig, and in frustration, freehanded. The results were OK, so I just carried on. I used to sharpen tools for my mates at work, too, and never had any complaints; did get a few pints out of it, so results can't have been too shabby.
Reading the magazines of the day led me to try waterstones, and they taught me what 'sharp' really was. I can still remember the revelation of first using the bevel-edged chisel I'd just honed on the brand new 6000 grit stone - wow! The mess of waterstones led me to try Spyderco ceramics, and I used them for years, just lately coming back to the India and trying a Welsh slate for polishing. All those were used freehand.
Thing is, I took to freehanding very easily. Maybe the early years of model-making built up a sort of manual dexterity, or maybe I'm just blessed that way. I don't know. I do know that I'm utterly useless at sports - tennis, cricket, squash, even football - tried 'em all, and no matter how I try, I miss the ball more often than I hit it. I'm not that good at snooker or pool, either. But I do seem to be reasonably adept with tools; I very rarely cut myself with kitchen knives, for example (tempting fate, there!).
Maybe there are different sorts of manual dexterity. Maybe it's something you have to learn when you're young, or find it takes longer to pick up that dexterity the older you get. I don't know. As with so many aspects of life, different people, different ways.
Maybe if you're a 14-year old apprentice, you can afford a year or two to develop dexterity. Maybe if you're a middle-aged chap looking for a bit of peaceful respite from a stressful job for a couple of hours a week, you can't, or you wouldn't get anything else done.
So if you don't happen to have the particular type of manual dexterity that freehand sharpening demands, and you don't have the time to develop it, use the available solutions to the problem. If you do happen to have that particular dexterity, then great - carry on.
(PS - That little Eclipse jig and it's clones are pretty simple, straightforward inexpensive and versatile. It's as good a starting point for the non-freehander as any.)
