woodbrains
Established Member
Hello Jacob,
Like I said, I've nothing against freehand sharpening, only about people who fool themselves into thinking they are actually getting the same level of sharpness as those who use guides because that is what gets them the sharpness they require. Let us face it, I happen to remember from previous threads that some actually think they are getting ultimate sharpness by honing on a Norton Fine India stone and then tell others who might want to use a honing jig that they are wasting their time and money. These people are not arguing the same debate, because they are NOT sharpening. If they want to comment on a thread entitled 'how to make your tools dull, and just acceptable enough to cut at a push' then they can sing away till their hearts content, but cannot comment when people who genuinely want to better their skills and tools and find out how to truly sharpen. Even stropping after a fine India won't do it because the jump in grit size between the stone and the stopping paste is too big a leap. You will just polish the scratches. A stone that removes noticable amounts of steel is not fine enough for sharpening.
Yes there is such a thing as a tangent, but why not just hone the tangent and not the arc. You will remove less metal 'cause a curve is longer than the tangent between the two points. Or is that because you actually find it hard to hone a flat freehand? Try a guide, they work wonders! Not even the gravity of your argument is strong enough to cause a curve to become the shortest distance between two points--a bit of Einsteinium physics for you there.
Chippendale went bankrupt at least twice and died relatively poor, if history serves. As good as his furniture was, let us not confuse what is collectable and financially lucrative now a days with arguments as to what is the best work and therefore the way we should do things. Fine furniture these days is made to much closer tolerances than Chippendale was used to of could even hope to acheive and out of less compliant materials. We are not comparing apples to apples and should not try. Lie Nielsen technicians use scary sharp to sharpen their blades and finish off with a Japanese waterstone And use a Veritas honing guide. David Charlesworth uses waterstones and guides. The late Jim Kingshott actually designed and marketed honing guides for a while and certainly recommended them. These are peple who make fine tools, teach the best work and make reproduction Chippendale etc. furniture. They have a point.
Mike.
Like I said, I've nothing against freehand sharpening, only about people who fool themselves into thinking they are actually getting the same level of sharpness as those who use guides because that is what gets them the sharpness they require. Let us face it, I happen to remember from previous threads that some actually think they are getting ultimate sharpness by honing on a Norton Fine India stone and then tell others who might want to use a honing jig that they are wasting their time and money. These people are not arguing the same debate, because they are NOT sharpening. If they want to comment on a thread entitled 'how to make your tools dull, and just acceptable enough to cut at a push' then they can sing away till their hearts content, but cannot comment when people who genuinely want to better their skills and tools and find out how to truly sharpen. Even stropping after a fine India won't do it because the jump in grit size between the stone and the stopping paste is too big a leap. You will just polish the scratches. A stone that removes noticable amounts of steel is not fine enough for sharpening.
Yes there is such a thing as a tangent, but why not just hone the tangent and not the arc. You will remove less metal 'cause a curve is longer than the tangent between the two points. Or is that because you actually find it hard to hone a flat freehand? Try a guide, they work wonders! Not even the gravity of your argument is strong enough to cause a curve to become the shortest distance between two points--a bit of Einsteinium physics for you there.
Chippendale went bankrupt at least twice and died relatively poor, if history serves. As good as his furniture was, let us not confuse what is collectable and financially lucrative now a days with arguments as to what is the best work and therefore the way we should do things. Fine furniture these days is made to much closer tolerances than Chippendale was used to of could even hope to acheive and out of less compliant materials. We are not comparing apples to apples and should not try. Lie Nielsen technicians use scary sharp to sharpen their blades and finish off with a Japanese waterstone And use a Veritas honing guide. David Charlesworth uses waterstones and guides. The late Jim Kingshott actually designed and marketed honing guides for a while and certainly recommended them. These are peple who make fine tools, teach the best work and make reproduction Chippendale etc. furniture. They have a point.
Mike.
