Recent content by essexalan

I would rather subscribe to the the Kingshott, one of the old boys, school of sharpening, flatten and polish the back of a chisel. You only have to do it once and it works for me. I really don't like convex chisels which you will end up with if you continually just paying attention to the tip...

I always use one along with a square edge guide for grinding plane irons and bench chisels. Width of the belt is not a problem as you can slide the tool across the belt. Final sharpening is on oil or waterstones so no idea if you can get a usable sharp edge from the ProEdge alone but trying to...

Yes 5/32" sides. Difficult getting a clear measurement on my plane because of the stuffing and the extensive clean up. The stain on the side is just that with no sign of any warping or breakage, I did take a look with a loupe but can see nothing untoward. Probably disappear if I polished it. I...

Pictures of my No 1, sole is 4.8 mm and sides are 3.4 mm. Kingshott recommends 3/16" soles and 5/16" sides but he does mention that 1/8" sides would do. I would guess that the lever cap is gunmetal. The chopping board is end grain English cherry planed flat with this very plane and my...

Mine is a No 1 14 1/2 inches and the bun looks lower and somehow neater than that particular No 13. Is that a post war Norris? There is also about a 1/2 inch overlap of the sole at toe and heel. The lower part of the bun meets the first upward curve from the toe, I will try and sort a pic out...

Norris style for me but the bun on that plane in the photo above just looks wrong. Rosewood if you can get it.

Same problem mentioned in one of David Charlesworth's books. Different lever cap or chipbreaker, manufacturing problem at the factory. His fix was to go for the flat type chipbreaker that personally I am not fond of. Machining the underside of the lever cap so that it is parallel to the iron...

A cutler would have had to take whatever he was sharpening straight off the sandstone grinder to his finishing stone. So I would guess a overly slow cutting stone would not have made him very productive. Then again high quality finishes for razors, knives, swords etc would have been in big...

I got my copy from here Books but they no longer list it. You can view it or get a copy from here Natural 19th & early 20th century sharpening stones and hones / Brian Read and Doug Morgan | National Library of Australia Llyn Melynllyn or Yellow Lake was primarily a slate quarry but there was...

I think the origin of the Turkish stone can now be safely stated as Crete. The better hones sourced in the UK were probably worn wafer thin a century or more ago, Charley Forest hones do not have to be thin, and with the arrival of the various US stones in quantity it was no longer financially...

Have heard of "pickling" them in milk but never tried it, that might get a bit cheesy. I think the Cretans are more porous than Washita but would have to slice mine down the middle to see how far the oil treatment has penetrated. LH stone is untouched Cretan Grey, middle stone is the brick...

The white Cretan was a bit like a soft white Arkansas in character. The grey Cretan changed colour completely to a dark olive green with the inclusions showing up lighter. Fine and slow cutting after treatment. The stones appear to be quite porous as a lot of bubbling went on during the oil soak...

I bought some Cretan stones directly from the shop some years ago and I asked for something roughly 8"x3"x1". A large brick turned up with several other sizes included. Types available were white, grey and black but they had no black stones in stock. Cost was very low at the time. The large...

Make sure the sole is flat that is my primary reference point, a few minor concave points here and there will do no harm as long as the mouth area is flat. Good straight edge is your best friend here. Move the frog as Jacob recommended. Don't over tighten the frog screws. Chipbreaker should fit...

The knife in your a original post looks much like a Honesuki, boning and jointing knife. Often have to clean up the area on the back of the blade on shop bought knives, my forefinger ends up there on both kitchen and wood carving knives. Favourite knife of mine is a Takamura in R-2 steel, only...