Journals Projects Workshops Reviews

I need advise about I minimally need to sharpen my chisels and plane irons

2263 Views 22 Replies 12 Participants Last post by CharlesA, Aug 6, 2014

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · Jul 31, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

I am new to wood working and will be taking an intro class this fall and I want to get my sharpening skills honed ( started) in advance. So far I have done the scary sharp method on plate glass but it seems that I wear out the sand paper really quickly then I have to take it off scrape and clean the glass and put a new piece on. the grits I use are (400,500,800,100, 1200, 1500,2000, 2500) 4 on each side of the glass.
I recently got a 8" coarse DMT (blue) that I have been using to flatten the irons and chisels. Chisels are new (Woodcraft brand). I also have the MK II honing guide. I really did not like the instability of the cheap one I have. At a minimum what other DMT's would i need to get the chisels ready for use? I figured I could still to the scary method for polishing along with the bench strop I made.

TIA
Z

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Smitty_Cabinetshop

· #2 · Jul 31, 2014

I have the DMT duo-sharps that have four grits total, one on each side of the two plates. Those, in concert with a charged strop, is all I require for sharp edges.

The scary sharp method drove me crazy for the same reason identify above: went through paper too fast.

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 31, 2014

Thanks for the advise. Since I already have the one DMT Stone would the fine/extra fine do?

Smitty_Cabinetshop

· #4 · Jul 31, 2014

I don't think I'd recommend skipping a middle grit as the fine / extra fine wouldn't refine the edge as effectively… Is there a color chip on that DMT of yours (black or blue, for example)?

mantwi

· #5 · Jul 31, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

The grits you are using should give you excellent results, 2500 is plenty sharp enough for any wood working application. The scary sharp technique was my go to for quite a while and I hated scraping adhesive off of glass too. Then I started using soapy water as a lubricant for the wet dry sandpaper and found that wetting the back of the paper was enough to stick it in place via surface cohesion. Blue painters tape around the perimeter of the sheets works well too if you don't use water. I'm transitioning to water stones now but still like the scary sharp method. It allows me to sharpen 20"planer knives with a simple shop made jig and get them razor sharp with couple of sheets of sand paper butted together. You can get a lot of money tied up in various sharpening devices pretty fast so I'd advise you to pick the one that appeals to you and focus on perfecting the process. You'll find that they all yield great results when done right and that a lot of the hype about what's best is just that. Hype. Sharpening is like trout fishing. You have the purist who use custom rods and hand tied flies and turn their noses up at anything different than how they do it and then you have the guys who simply catch fish. What do you want to do collect stones or sharpen your tools? It's that simple.

See less See more

JayT

· #6 · Jul 31, 2014

I don t think I d recommend skipping a middle grit as the fine / extra fine wouldn t refine the edge as effectively… Is there a color chip on that DMT of yours (black or blue, for example)?

- Smitty_Cabinetshop

I would agree with this. I use coarse, medium & extra fine diamond plates, plus a strop and get good results. Coarse is used to redefine the bevel or straighten an edge. Medium is good for irons & chisels that have a worn edge, but are still shaped well. Extra fine and the strop for putting the final touch on the edges.

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 31, 2014

I don t think I d recommend skipping a middle grit as the fine / extra fine wouldn t refine the edge as effectively… Is there a color chip on that DMT of yours (black or blue, for example)?

- Smitty_Cabinetshop

Mine is the Blue one

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 31, 2014

so if I had to but one of the Duo sharps for now which would be the best route to go. I am also going to try the water on glass trick but I do want a more permanent solution

JayT

· #9 · Jul 31, 2014

I don t think I d recommend skipping a middle grit as the fine / extra fine wouldn t refine the edge as effectively… Is there a color chip on that DMT of yours (black or blue, for example)?

- Smitty_Cabinetshop

Mine is the Blue one

- zymurgist

I think the DMT blue is pretty similar to a Medium for some of the other manufacturers (like EZE Lap, which is what I have). You could probably skip the fine and go right to Extra-fine. To keep costs down, you could still use sandpaper for the very coarse work, because you won't need to use it as often. As budget allows, you might consider adding an extra coarse stone.

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 31, 2014

I have the coarse one of this model

http://www.dmtonlinestore.com/8-Diamond-Whetstone-Sharpener-with-Hardwood-Box-P1C22.aspx

JayT

· #11 · Jul 31, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

That's fine,, it's a good place to start. I was just pointing out that DMT labels their plates as Extra Coarse, Coarse, Fine and Extra Fine, they don't have a Medium, for some reason.

You could probably skip the red and get a green (extra-fine) and be OK. If using DMT's, I would probably want to end up with an Extra Coarse (black), Coarse (blue) and Extra Fine (green), plus a strop. I prefer the solid plates like the DiaSharp rather than the interrupted plates like you have or the DuoSharps, but whichever you feel more comfortable with is fine.

12strings

· #12 · Jul 31, 2014

I have been very happy with a simple dual sided water stone (1000/6000). Once I grind the proper angle initially on really rough sandpaper…I use the stone, and I'm done.

ksSlim

· #13 · Jul 31, 2014

I use 5 (five) DMTs from Xcoarse to XXfine plus a strop.
DMT don't wear out. Get the long boys, you won't be sorry.

donwilwol

· #14 · Aug 2, 2014

I hope I'm not muddying the water more, but I use an 8" grinder to hollow grind and go straight to a fine stone. In my opinion its quicker, easier and cheaper and does just as good of a job.

the other advantage is hollow grinding makes it easier to eliminate the need for the jig when you get confident enough.

JohnChung

· #15 · Aug 2, 2014

I use Shapton and very satisfied. But it is wetstone.

bandit571

· #16 · Aug 2, 2014

2

I use a mixture of things

Grinder for the new bevels ( some that show up here have a ~ look to the edge)
MK1 Honing guide running on a beltsander, IF needed after the grinder
A Double sided oil stone with 3in1 oil, and the MK1
A 12×12 floor tile, and a few strips of wet or dry sand paper. Goes up to 2500 grit. The MK1 stay put through all the above. Remeber to treat the back of the cutter, too.

Have an old belt, wornout as a nail pouch belt. Cut a strip of it, and load it with the Green Polishing stuff. A few hard pulls to strop, and call it done

Wood Ingredient Hardwood Table Flooring

At one time, that little block plane had trouble making splinters…

See less See more

diverlloyd

· #17 · Aug 4, 2014

Look up Paul sellers on YouTube he gives good explanations on things and it will give you a good visual to. Then practice practice and some more practice did I mention practice. The more you do it you will build muscle memory, I wouldn't skip any steps while you are learning once you are comfortable then you can skip steps. But starting out those step are extra practice(there it is again the p word). Any ways just my 2 cents and play around with different techniques till you find one that works for you. There are no right or wrong ways as long as you end up sharp.

zymurgist

Discussion Starter · #18 · Aug 5, 2014

I watch him all the time and have learned a lot from him. That is where I learned about scary sharpening. It is a good process and I know people like it. I do also but I think I am ready for a more permenant sharpening solution.

Look up Paul sellers on YouTube he gives good explanations on things and it will give you a good visual to. Then practice practice and some more practice did I mention practice. The more you do it you will build muscle memory, I wouldn t skip any steps while you are learning once you are comfortable then you can skip steps. But starting out those step are extra practice(there it is again the p word). Any ways just my 2 cents and play around with different techniques till you find one that works for you. There are no right or wrong ways as long as you end up sharp.

- diverlloyd

JohnChung

· #19 · Aug 5, 2014

Paul Sellers is a good teacher. But some of the items he suggested are questionable. For example the diamond plates.

Check this post and read Stu's comments:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?179739-Lapping-Plates-and-stones&p=1851547#post1851547

CharlesA

· #20 · Aug 5, 2014

Adopt a system and stick with it.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.