From scary sharp to eyewatering sharp

[dunbarhamlin]

Damascus is now officially near Ashford, Kent.

Having used jigs and scary sharp since dot to achieve a razor sharp edge, I have now been shown the light and will only use a jig for reshaping. (Though of course, this is a shady corner that I expect will ultimately be bathed in the same light)

Spent 10 days with Mr Luckhurst, using medium India stone, fine water stone and french chalk on a strop (fur side up) - no jigs allowed - my chisels can no longer be restrained by a leather tool roll and touch up takes less time than putting the tool in the guide (yep, 2 weeks ago I always thought that statement was hyperbole too.)

Cheers
Steve

 

[woodbloke]

Steve - I too thought that a leather strop gave the ultimate edge, untill I went round to Newt's the other day and used his 10000g stone to make a micro bevel. Have a look at this thread to see what I mean - Rob

 

[ByronBlack]

Steve. I went on the very same course a couple of years ago, Bruce is a great guy and I really learnt a lot from his teaching, but personally, I went back to a honing guide over the last couple of months - I actually find the sharpness stays longer than if I do it the Luckhurst free-hand method, but then thats most probably down to my technique.

Does he still have the workshop cat?

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Oo - looks tempting (just as I was trying to slow to a fast hurtle down the slope for the rest of the month, too)

Cheers
Steve

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Having sharpened an inordinate number of blades over the last weekend (as part of a review of a new honing guide), both with the guide and freehand, I must sing the praises of the Shapton 12000 Professional stone. There is definitely a positive difference over the 8000 Shapton. The 12000 cuts quickly - I feel (but have not tried) that I could jump the 8000.

As good as it is, I can get an even better edge if I finish on a leather strop. Two strops - one with green rouge (.5 micron) and the other plain leather - will produce the required magic after a 6000 stone.

One might assume that it is possible to forgo the high end (and expensive) stones. However the problem with a strop is that I would not recommended one if you are honing microbevels. Stropping is (for me) a freehand process. So you need both systems.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[dunbarhamlin]

No, no cat, just greedy cartoon ponies.

Have been using a single bezel on plough blades anyway, so its just an extension of that to other things, along with relying on myself instead of on the ingenuity of Messrs Lee and Kell.

 

[TheTiddles]

Ok, I believe you guys that you can sharped by hand without lots of jigs, however...

Can I do this without a week's training?

Is there any point doing this on sub Lie Nielsen tools? My chisels are Marples, for example

I have a medium diamond stone which I use for everything, and two old oil stones that are knackered. How many 100's do I need to spend before I can make a mess of my edges by hand?

Aidan

 

[ByronBlack]

Aiden, I would recommend the 'Ice bear' waterstone kit from axminster - about £40 - thats all you need. The technique is quite easy really, you offer the chisel to the stone at the angle you want, lock your arms and elbows and rock backwards and forwards on your heels, whilest moving the chisel in a figure of eight across the stone until you feel a wire edge, then move on to the next stone and repeat, and finally finish up on a strop.

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Aiden
Yes, every point - we practiced on and then used old Stanley and Record plane blades and a motley assortment of old chisels. So long as the steel is good, the price tag doesn't matter.
Cheers
Steve