When I first started I got the Veritas guide. It was pricey, but I got it as a gift. However, now I freehand everything. It takes a little practice, but it's not that hard. And it's like 20 times faster. Plus, eventually you acquire lots of tools with blades that will not fit in any jig and you will have to be able to freehand those or they simply will not be sharpened at all.

You will notice a trend: People who use jigs really dislike sharpening and try to avoid it until the blade just doesn't like to cut at all. People who freehand don't find sharpening a burden at all and sharpen frequently so their edges are always razor sharp. Food for thought.

 

You will notice a trend: People who use jigs really dislike sharpening and try to avoid it until the blade just doesn t like to cut at all. People who freehand don t find sharpening a burden at all and sharpen frequently so their edges are always razor sharp. Food for thought.

- chriscarter

Then there's a third type of person-me-who doesn't freehand and regularly keeps his tools razor sharp and ready. If you're serious about woodworking, sharpening is a regular part of your routine no matter how you do it.

Be careful with generalizations. They rarely work. That one sure didn't.

 

I use the Veritas Mark II guide with the accessories for every type of blade I own. I also own the Veritas grinder guide for resetting edges. I like the accuracy and repeatability of the Veritas guides.

 

A little off topic if I may. Is anyone using magnification as a sharpening aid? Visors, special glasses, even a microscope? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I also have the Veritas Mark II

 

I would think ( and it's just my opinion) that at some point you would want to take the training wheels off.

 

I always find it interesting that sharpening threads always devolve to name calling. One wood think if their opinion has validity it wooden't take insults to make it. Six posts in and it's game on! (Edits aside)

 

I just use one of the cheap side-clamp honing guides. Sometimes, if I'm in the middle of something, I'll quickly tune up a chisel or plane free hand, but I like to regularly use the guides to make sure the bevel angle doesn't get too far away from my goal.

How much of the free hand vs guide debate is people talking past each other? I get the impression that a lot of the free hand only people also use a grinder to re-set the bevel angle every so often. Then the hollow grind makes it easier to just polish the very edge of the tool. I don't use a grinder, so if I let the bevel get too steep I have a lot of work on a coarse stone to fix it. Do most of the free-hand only people also use grinders to re-set their bevel angles? Do most of the people who use guides not use grinders?

I've been meaning to make jig to speed up setting the clamp at the right extension, but I find it pretty quick to set it up with a ruler.

 

I always find it interesting that sharpening threads always devolve to name calling. One wood think if their opinion has validity it wooden t take insults to make it. Six posts in and it s game on! (Edits aside)

- Eric

I don't see any name calling in this thread. What did you take as name calling?

 

I always find it interesting that sharpening threads always devolve to name calling. One wood think if their opinion has validity it wooden t take insults to make it. Six posts in and it s game on! (Edits aside)

- Eric

I don t see any name calling in this thread. What did you take as name calling?

- Don W

That had me scratching my head as well, Don.

 

And..
.

 

yes to the visor. Unfortunately my up close sight has deteriorated to that point. A real bummer when I try to sharpen saws. : ( . I use the visor quite often when sharpening plane irons, chisels, drill bits and saws. I even use a low power boom zoom microscope for setting saw teeth.

A little off topic if I may. Is anyone using magnification as a sharpening aid? Visors, special glasses, even a microscope? Thanks for your thoughts.

- laterthanuthink

 

yes to the visor. Unfortunately my up close sight has deteriorated to that point. A real bummer when I try to sharpen saws. : ( . I use the visor quite often when sharpening plane irons, chisels, drill bits and saws. I even use a low power boom zoom microscope for setting saw teeth.
- BlasterStumps

Thanks Blaster. I see a lot of options out there. Do you have links to the visor and microscope that you find useful?

 

I will vote for training wheels. Mine are from Veitas and I like them a lot.The narrow chisel option is especially helpful. I buy and use mostly old chisels, regrinding the edges in most cases, so sharpening aids work for me.

To be honest, I don't think much about freehand sharpening, I'm t skilled enough to go that route but I really don't mind at all.

 

I use the Veritas MK1 guide for sharpening on diamond plates. I have, over the past couple of years gone to using the Work Sharp 3000 for most of my plane iron and chisels. I use the Work Sharp honing guide for plane blades and the built in port for chisels. I also free hand chisels quite often on a fine oil stone and/or leather strop when in use. Try as I may, I just can't get it right freehanding plane irons though.

 

A little off topic if I may. Is anyone using magnification as a sharpening aid? Visors, special glasses, even a microscope? Thanks for your thoughts.

- laterthanuthink

I have a couple of little USB microscopes that plug into a computer. They are fairly low-res (better ones are available) but less than $40. It helps me confirm the condition of the edge. I had planned to make a dedicated digital microscope rig for my (mythical) sharpening station, but I haven't gotten it done yet. It would have something like a 21" screen and a Raspberry PI with the camera option. I still have to find a lens for that setup.

The photo below (from a few years ago) shows an iron that came to me with an 18.5 degree bevel, that I was (partially) deepening to 30+ degrees. The upper part is the old shallow bevel and the lower part to the edge at the steeper bevel. This was after 320 grit on sandpaper just before going to the next grit. It looks like the back still needed to be flattened at this point.

 

I have used this one for many years and it works well. One advantage of it is that the guide wheels roll on the table rather than the stone. So, you can work more easily on a small stone. This can also be a disadvantage because if the stones you are using are of different thicknesses, it will require re-adjusting the angle for each one or shim the stone to the same level. I've found this to be only a slight inconvenience.

 

My scope is about 10 years old and I don't know that it is even available today. Lots of them out there though My wife bought my scope from The Microscope Store. My visor is an Edroy Products Co Magni-Focuser head band style.

 

I use this guide when I need to change the bevel angle on my Japanese chisels. It helps to train one to side sharpening.
On my plane blades that are A2 I hollow grind. Side sharpening I think is a better edge then the plow technique.
I have no scientific data to prove my claim.
I mostly rely on my experience.

Good Luck

 

i use the vertias but i'm interested to see what Andy Klein is cooking up

 

I recently had to hand plan some 1 1/4" red oak to straighten the edges. I also have a WorkSharp WS2000 (not the newer 3000). I have a MDF disk on it with green color polishing compound. I found when the plan started to drag a bit, I would take the blade to the WS and free hand polish the bevel. A couple of seconds was all it needed. One advantage of the polishing compound, you can remove much material.

For bevels that are in really poor shape, I use the bevel port of the WS and a 1200 grit diamond plate.

 

You will notice a trend: People who use jigs really dislike sharpening and try to avoid it until the blade just doesn t like to cut at all. People who freehand don t find sharpening a burden at all and sharpen frequently so their edges are always razor sharp. Food for thought.

- chriscarter

Then there s a third type of person-me-who doesn t freehand and regularly keeps his tools razor sharp and ready. If you re serious about woodworking, sharpening is a regular part of your routine no matter how you do it.

Be careful with generalizations. They rarely work. That one sure didn t.

- Rich

That's why I said "trend."

 

You will notice a trend: People who use jigs really dislike sharpening and try to avoid it until the blade just doesn t like to cut at all. People who freehand don t find sharpening a burden at all and sharpen frequently so their edges are always razor sharp. Food for thought.

- chriscarter

Then there s a third type of person-me-who doesn t freehand and regularly keeps his tools razor sharp and ready. If you re serious about woodworking, sharpening is a regular part of your routine no matter how you do it.

Be careful with generalizations. They rarely work. That one sure didn t.

- Rich

That s why I said "trend."

- chriscarter

Actually - what you did is called a straw man argument. Nobody in this thread has complained about how long it takes to put a blade in a sharpening jig. You apparently know some "people" who have this problem. You could spend your time talking to them instead.

 

Many years ago I bought a Sharp Skate from Harrelson Stanley. I tend to use it if I have a pile of blades and chisels to do at once, which in actual use seldom happens. Generally I will find an edge poor, and just attend to it right then, For them I use a Worksharp 3000, and am done and back at it in seconds. Mostly because it is just sitting there, There is no set up, finding water, or oil, just flip it on, zing zing, and done.

Back when, Derrick did a huge compendium about the Sharp Skate. Since I want to think he's switched gears, and is using something else. This however still is likely the best compendium about what a Sharp Skate does, and how to best do it. Harrelson has certainly moved on, he's on iteration # 54 or something now, and I believe many home mortgages are less than a new model Sharp Skate. Back when, mine was less than lunch. I saw one like I had go for a LOT more than I paid for it on E-Bay several years ago. I think I'll keep mine for a retirement package….

 

I use this guide when I need to change the bevel angle on my Japanese chisels. It helps to train one to side sharpening.
On my plane blades that are A2 I hollow grind. Side sharpening I think is a better edge then the plow technique.
I have no scientific data to prove my claim.
I mostly rely on my experience.

Good Luck

- Aj2

Aj

That is the model of Sharp Skate that I have, you must have had yours for quite a while. I agree if you are talking about the best edge, it probably does come from side sharpening. But the speed with which I can keep going with the WS I just go with that. As opposed to a flat grind, I can't tell a difference with what I can get with the WS. It certainly is a capable edge.