Scary sharp, not for the clumsy.

[cadders75]

Evening all.

Due to my boss being in an unusually good mood today, i finished work at 12. Great i thought time to go and have a play with the Stanley 4 1/2 and 6 i picked up at a car boot on sunday ( £ 8 for the 4 1/2 and £15 for the 6), both of which were almost spotless but with very badly sharpened blades.

Thanks to a nice man from Sia abrasives who came in to see me on Monday bearing many samples, i have an abundance of silicon carbide paper ranging from 180 to 2000 grit, which has mysteriously made its way into my work shop. :twisted:

Sooo i retrieved my sheet of glass, grabbed the spray glue and set to sharpening my new plane blades, the result of which was...........

4 stiches in my thumb when i slipped when wiping the newly sharpened blade on the 4 1/2.

The nurse kept asking what i was smiling about as i got the stiches

This place is dangerous as well as infectoius

Richie.

 

[DaveL]

Hi Richie,

Its not suppose to be dangerous, but as you have found even hand tools can bite. :x

I hope the cut heals quickly and does not stop your decent down The Slope TM

Nice car boot gloat, I hope the planes fettle up OK. =D>

 

[Philly]

Ouch! Get well soon, Ritchie.
That's one way to test for sharpness :wink:
Philly

 

[bugbear]

Thanks to a nice man from Sia abrasives who came in to see me on Monday bearing many samples, i have an abundance of silicon carbide paper ranging from 180 to 2000 grit, which has mysteriously made its way into my work shop. Twisted Evil

As an aside, I recommend the use of a honing guide, certainly in the finer grits. It's REALLY easy to cut the paper as the blade becomes sharp.

BugBear

 

[gidon]

As an aside, I recommend the use of a honing guide, certainly in the finer grits. It's REALLY easy to cut the paper as the blade becomes sharp.

Even then I find you're better off only sharpening as you pull the blade towards you. Saves all that [albeit free ] paper ...

Cheers

Gidon

 

[cadders75]

The bleedings stoped now.

Bugbear,i've got a couple of honing guides, the first one was a stanley from B&Q and its absolutely useless, it doesn't keep the blade straight,imo they are a waste of money. The Spear and Jackson i've got now is much better, unfortunately i cant use it on my Mortice chisels as it wont grip them properly.

One thing that stood out while i was dismembering my self was the difference in quality of the two blades. The older stanley blade on the 4 1/2 was a sod to sharpen, it took about 3 hrs to get it to the point where it will slice flesh with ease.

The newer stanley which was by far the more badly sharpened blade, took about 30 min to get to the same level of sharpness. I think ill be ordering a new one for the No 6 from Ray Iles ASAP.

All i've got to do now is to persuade my boss that we should sell Tormeks and that we need a free sample for the customers to try.

Cheers.

Richie.

 

[Evergreen]

Richie

Your experience reminds me of the old Chinese proverb "Wise woodworker always lives close to hospital!

As a final sharpening polish for a plane iron or chisel blade, I like to use a couple of dobs of Autosol chrome cleaner on a piece of cardboard and for some reason, the inside surface of a cereal packet is the best kind of cardboard. A lot cheaper than leather honing strops and special polishing compounds. Of course, you only pull the blade towards you or it digs in.

Regards.

 

[dedee]

I find masking tape works very well as an emergency plaster.

Andy

 

[bugbear]

The older stanley blade on the 4 1/2 was a sod to sharpen, it took about 3 hrs to get it to the point where it will slice flesh with ease.
Richie.

Hell - that's a long time; I can normally do a Bailey blade in around 40 mins, including full length mirror on the back. Actually it's around 30 mins for a flat mirror back, and 7 minutes (MAX) for a mirror bevel.

aside on non Bailey blades:
I once encounted an I. Sorby blade in a (G++) Griffiths smoother that I simply couldn't flatten - it was tempered too hard (I sent it to Steve Knight).

The secret of time effective grinding/sharpening is knowing just when to change to the next stage.

I will admit to now owning a grinder (hand powered, natch)

BTW, NICE PRICE on the #6.

BugBear

 

[frank]

richie thats why its called scary did you clean the blood of the blade :wink:

frank

 

[Mcluma]

I find masking tape works very well as an emergency plaster.

Indeed Masking Tape and Superglue :wink: that is my first aid kit in the shop

 

[mr]

Id gladly swap some red stuff and stitches for a sharp edge. So far I've spent approaching 6 hours on an old record blade. Its gone from rusty to useable and the gouges, I would say nicks but they weren't, in the leading edge are sorted. But the bevel is now slightly convex and the 600 waterstone has a hollow to match. Just spent an hour getting that flat again. It took about 4 hours to get the bevel back on the blade with the waterstone. So I'm roughly in a position to start looking for sharp though I imagine it'll be a few hours more yet :/

 

[OPJ]

...i've got a couple of honing guides, the first one was a stanley from B&Q and its absolutely useless, it doesn't keep the blade straight,imo they are a waste of money.

Hi, I've got the very same Stanley honing guide and I know exactly what you mean...

How much did the Spear and Jackson one cost you?

I reminds me of the cheap spokeshaves sold by Screwfix and co.; align one side, tighten the other and it's all moved again!

I can get it to work on smaller blades though it just requires a little more patience and a tight grip on the blade while adjusting.

 

[mr]

Ive got that same stanley and have no problem with it at all. Its obviously cheap but it does the job as far as I can tell.

 

[Alf]

...i've got a couple of honing guides, the first one was a stanley from B&Q and its absolutely useless, it doesn't keep the blade straight,imo they are a waste of money.

Hi, I've got the very same Stanley honing guide and I know exactly what you mean...

Is that this one? First honing guide I bought too; largely unused now, but it does have a real advantage on short blades because the clamp and roller are so close to each other.

How much did the Spear and Jackson one cost you?

Ooo look, it's the Eclipse again. Loads of folks sell versions of that one; shouldn't cost much.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Jarviser]

...i've got a couple of honing guides, the first one was a stanley from B&Q and its absolutely useless, it doesn't keep the blade straight,imo they are a waste of money.

That Stanley guide really needs to be tightened with pliers to stop it moving IMO. If it had a single narrow wheel it would not matter so much if it skewed a bit.
For Bailey type blades I use this vintage Stanley guide which fits in the blade slot and has just 2 settings, 25 and 30. It has a single wheel so you use the actual edge of the blade to hold it level, which means you dont need to fiddle with the skew angle to get an even edge. Takes only seconds to set up. I believe they are no longer made.

 

[cadders75]

if i was given a choice i'd buy one of these

http://fine-tools.com/G303540.htm

Ahh well it's my birthday soon.

The eclipse was a tenner from B+Q, it's ok but not a lot of use for mortice chisels. Going back to the stanley guide i've found that its very useful for sharpening skewed plane blades because you can adjust the angle across the bed of the guide.

Had my stiches out today.

Cheers

Richie