Worksharp method for wide blades

[Aled Dafis]

Even though I hardly ever use my Worksharp (and thus it's in the For Sale section) I thought that I'd share with you my method for honing wide blades on it.

The main drawback of the Worksharp 3000 is that it's "chisel and plane iron port" only accepts tools up to 2" wide, therefore I was forced to find another way of honing wider irons. Yes, a "wide blade attachment" is available, but at £60 I thought that a tad expensive.

My method is to use a cheap "Eclipse" type jig, to support the iron at the correct projection against the tool rest to grind your primary bevel (the jig does nothing more than clamp the blade at the appropriate projection, so any clamping mechanism would do, I had an "eclipse" jig, so I used it). Once you find the appropriate projection (dependant on toolrest height and grind/honing angle) I suggest that you make up a small "projection board" to make your settings repeatable.

... and then insert a thin piece of wood between the toolrest and "Eclipse" jig to hone your secondary bevel.

There you have it, Easy Peasy, and it should save you £60.

Cheers

Aled

 

[barkwindjammer]

I'm guessing here, being a newbie
your selling it cos its pish ?

 

[Aled Dafis]

Not at all, I honestly believe that it's the best powered honing machine out there. I just prefer to hone by hand, as I find it quicker and more suited to my working style.

I've gone through many iterations in my sharpening regieme, waterstones, diamond stone and jig, Tormek, Scary Sharp, Worksharp etc. and have recently settled on the relatively low tech approach of grinding a hollow bevel on the dry grinder (fitted with a Norton 3X wheel) followed by a couple of swipes on the Trend Diamond stone to raise a small burr and then onto a leather strop. I can achieve an edge that easily shaves hairs from my arm and be back making shavings in about two to three minutes.

If you search the forum, you'll find it hard to find a negative review on the Worksharp 3000, it really is excellent, but a bit too expensive to be sitting in the corner of my workshop not earning it's keep.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Argus]

.


I prefer hand sharpening, too.......


Take your point, Aled, but as the blade is presented at an oblique angle, there is going to be more metal removal (and heat) on the R H side than the other due to the higher peripheral speed of the abrasive wheel......


.

 

[MickCheese]

I'm guessing here, being a newbie
your selling it cos its pish ?

I have one of these and have tried all sorts of ways to sharpen things but I have to say the WorkSharp is fantastic. Given more time and more effort from me I am sure I could sharpen freehand but the WorkSharp is just so darn easy.

Mick

 

[Aled Dafis]

.
Take your point, Aled, but as the blade is presented at an oblique angle, there is going to be more metal removal (and heat) on the R H side than the other due to the higher peripheral speed of the abrasive wheel......

To be honest I haven't found that the difference in peripheral speed is a problem at all, the tiny amount of metal removed means that the chance of grinding a skew is very small indeed. In fact, I quite easily manage a cambered edge just by concentrating finger pressure on either side of the blade.

Cheers

Aled

 

[brandy20]

A couple of years ago I was talking by telephone to a friend who sells the worksharp. He almost convinced me to buy it since I was not so happy with my water stones. Then I discovered the micro abrasive sheets by 3M and since then I've always used them, getting great results. I think that they are cheap and with better performances than water or oil stones. Just my opinion.

 

[OPJ]

It's good that you managed to save yourself £60, Aled (though, I'm sure they were only £25 when the WS3000 first came out...? :roll. I agree that a simple projection board (as used with Eclipse-style honing guides) could be beneficial.

I ended up buying the Wide Blade Attachment during one of Rutlands' 10% sales, earlier this year... I almost wish I'd kept the money, as I already have a decent honing guide and I honestly reckon you could build a height-adjustable platform to sit alongside the disc. It is important that you can adjust the height of it though, as various brands of abrasive discs/sheets seem to vary in thickness. The advantage of having a level platform (as opposed to your solution of resting the jig on the toolrest) is that you can use the setting jig supplied with your honing guide as you would do normally.

Their honing guide isn't bad at all; it's just an unnecessarily expensive purchase if you're already previously splashed out £35-40 on a Veritas MkII (for example). I don't see why they can't just supply the supporting platform on its own. Looking at its design, I'd suggest the team behind this may have future jig-development plans for the 3000 model...

All round though, it's an excellent piece of kit to have in your workshop and very reasonably priced when compared to many other set-ups. Just think of what it would cost to buy a high-speed grinder (£40-50), a replacement wheel to prevent burning the steel (£40) plus the dressing tool (£25?) and yet, the WorkSharp will flatten backs, hone and polish as well as re-grind and you can even sharpen gouges on it.

Every workshop should have one!