When to sharpen

[matt]

LOL - This is like trying to have a useful and serious conversation with bickering going on in the background. "Did", "Didn't", "Did", "Didn't"... Please make it stop :lol:

I'm feeling inspired to try sharpening without a jig again. I stuck with the Eclipse thinking it was me but feel reassured that it is flawed for some - I too end up with a skew!

Thanks to whoever got me to this place - I kinda lost who said what and when somewhere along the line.

 

[big soft moose]

If you lot have quite finished with the handbags :roll: back on topic is there a way in which you can actually tell when sharpening time is approaching, (beyond the grim squeakers original tip)

like with a chainsaw when you know its getting blunt because the dust to chip ratio changes , is there a similar indicator to watch out for with planes ?

( and yeah yeah i realise that if its not cutting worth a toss its time to sharpen, but i meant before it gets to that stage - do shavings start getting smaller, bigger, shorterm, longer or owt

 

[Racers]

Hi,

The plane gets harder to push or you have to set the cut deeper, is what I find usually.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

Hi,

The plane gets harder to push or you have to set the cut deeper, is what I find usually.

Pete

Yeah - or to put it another way - if there's something wrong, it's most likely a blunt blade.

BugBear

 

[matt]

It's needs sharpening when the effort of using the plane outweighs the effort (and inconvenience) of stopping what you're doing, dismantling the plane, setting up all the sharpening gear, sharpening, reassembling, setting, etc...

I also find that temperature plays a part too. My tools stay a lot sharper for longer in the winter :lol:

 

[big soft moose]

I also find that temperature plays a part too. My tools stay a lot sharper for longer in the winter :lol:

yeah - lol , its amazing how long you can carry on cutting with a chainsaw that is making only dust when the weather is nasty and its miles back to the van

 

[mr grimsdale]

It's needs sharpening when the effort of using the plane outweighs the effort (and inconvenience) of stopping what you're doing, dismantling the plane, setting up all the sharpening gear, sharpening, reassembling, setting, ....

The point of my first post is that esp for a beginner it is often difficult to judge if you have reached that point - so you might as well stop and do it.
setting up all the sharpening gear wot, taking the lid off an oil stone? :lol:
Actually I've got three on a little tray with a batten like a bench hook, which I put wherever is convenient.
Unfortunately three stones takes three times as long to take off the lids i.e. 1 1/2 seconds instead of 1/2, which is really tedious.

 

[Jake]

Unfortunately three stones takes three times as long to take off the lids i.e. 1 1/2 seconds instead of 1/2, which is really tedious.

Diamond stones don't need lids. Having said that, the price difference makes for a long payback at 1.5 seconds a time.

 

[mr grimsdale]

PS praps the thing to do would be to have an out-and-out hand sharpening thread for all those that do it, or want to do it. No need to mention jigs at all and could be completely ignored by the massed ranks of jig-fiddlers.

Could call it "Extreme Sharpening" like free climbing - doing it in the nude with no aids in crap weather. Make seem daring and scary, not just an old **** sharpening f******g chisels in a shed.

PS why is **** alright but not f*****g?

 

[oddsocks]

I think I've only recently recognised the best 'when' to sharpen having had to plane plenty of oak. As early posters have said, the shavings become dustier and it's harder to push. I have a spare plane blade so at that point it's a quick task to swap and continue.

As for the how, once both blades need sharpening it takes less than 2 mins to sharpen both of them... At the moment I only have the tormek and the little trend credit card double sided diamond sharpener (having dropped and broken my waterstone). I use the tormek new 'TNT' guide (designed for woodturning) but have a depth line marked on it (from memory 38mm as it's too late to go and check) that when using the 'B' setting of the jig gives me the angle I need for the plane blade. 5 seconds on the tormek, wipe the back on the fine side of the trend card, back to the tormek for 2-3 secs with no pressure and a final wipe on the card and it's ready for use again. I have a leather strop but for the plane have found that I only need to use it if really in a hurry to get an improved edge (and it never feels as good as the above process).

I know that with a completely hand sharpening process it would be even quicker but the tormek and trend card are fast enough for me.....unless I realise I need to fill the water tray then its back to an old cheap diamond plate and hand angles!

Dave