A job for today, and some tool porn :)

Kalimna

Because I am not very organised, I tend to pick up the next tool rather than sharpening the one I have been using. Speeds up work at the time, but leaves me with something of a job to do every so often, and that job is for today. Primary bevels on watergrinder (at around 25 deg) with secondary on jap waterstone to 6000 grit  and final strop. They are mostly A2 steel, and dont take *quite* such a fine edge as more traditional steels. But, yes, work cut out. Oh, and going to sharpen my kitchen knives too.......

some old 5001 chisels, various planes 
https://imgur.com/lBc9NHE.jpg

do I really need 3 size 6 planes?
https://imgur.com/1hcug2Q.jpg

some chisels that were my engagement gift (well, my wife got a ring!)
https://imgur.com/AypL8Ai.jpg

Better get a move on.......


Adam

Musicwolf

By a strange coincidence I've been sharpening my tools this week

Kalimna

Stone axes?

Musicwolf

Yes.  There’s no doubt that metal tools have progressed a long way but I still prefer the authentic ‘axe in the room’ feel that only comes from stone implements.

Kalimna

And perfect for creating bass guitars.



Adam

normula1

Yes you do need 3 size 6 planes. You can be 3 times as productive....ahem

Kalimna

normula1 said:

Yes you do need 3 size 6 planes. You can be 3 times as productive....ahem

Thats what i reckon too Anyway, heres the result. Lots of sharpness, several bald spots on my arms and no lacerations (a first).


https://i.imgur.com/V530iev.jpg

And i didnt even start on the knives

Rabs

Theres more than one type of chisel?     

Kalimna

Rabs said:

Theres more than one type of chisel?     

Yep. Blunt ones and sharp ones

mrkb

Kalimna said:

Rabs said:

Theres more than one type of chisel?     

Yep. Blunt ones and sharp ones

And ones you’ve whacked with a hammer, and those you haven’t (yet)

BigMonka

Kalimna said:

normula1 said:

Yes you do need 3 size 6 planes. You can be 3 times as productive....ahem

Thats what i reckon too Anyway, heres the result. Lots of sharpness, several bald spots on my arms and no lacerations (a first).


https://i.imgur.com/V530iev.jpg

And i didnt even start on the knives

Ooh that's a lovely selection of tools! Those No.6s are expensive too, I've had to settle for just a No.4 at the moment which isn't ideal for trying to learn to flatten something.

Kalimna

Cheers - a collection built up from family pass-downs, engagement gift and folk selling stuff on woodworking forums. Those 6's are a delight to use, and the Clifton irons sharpen much more easily than the A2 blades. The top right is a 5 1/2 from Lie Nielsen back when you could specify cocobolo handles

I'd recommend a 5 1/2 to anyone - easily suitable for flattening, and more heft than a 4 (which is too small for my hands to hold comfortably).

Anyway - I finished up the knives last night, and here they are....

https://i.imgur.com/poyqBLB.jpg

Somehow, I still managed not to slice my hand whilst doing this - maybe they are still blunt?

Adam

TTony

Sharpening is an art I have yet to master.

So I have both tool envy and skill envy!!

BigMonka

Nice knife selection too, do your chef skills match your woodworking/sharpening skills?!

Kalimna

I do a mean chile, and not too shabby at bread

ESBlonde

TTony said:

Sharpening is an art I have yet to master.

It's one of those things that I keep coming back to. There are so many experts in yootoob land with different systems, methods and ideas. I've faffed about with all of them I think.

I've settled on the idea that getting the primary bevel right, square and even is the hard time consuming bit.

Putting on a secondary bevel and honing it is easy and takes a lot less effort than I imagined. Once you've got that edge it's very easy to just re-hone it as needed, sometimes just a strop with some compound and a few strokes and you're off cutting again.

Old time craftsmen would be astonished at all this 9000 grit diamond plate stuff, they just got an edge and carried on. Sometimes I feel I obsess about it all to much.

Kalimna

Indeed. I used to religiously polish through the grits 800-1000-3000-6000-10000 on the secondary bevel. Thats after, as you rightly point out, the hard part of generating a square primary on a powered waterstone. Good grief, A2 steel on waterstones can take a while

Now, i go from primary (coarse) to secondary (1000 then 6000 or 10000 depending on use) then strop.
Much finer secondary bevel means quicker repeat hones/strops.

If possible, i reckon the best way to learn is to have someone show you rather than copy methods from youtube or books.

Kalimna

The thing about the older craftsmen though, they were doing this day in day out with oilstones because there wasnt really an alternative. So as an apprenticr their muscle memory was developed, with their master showing how to improve. As hobbyists, its much harder to do this. Add to that some modern steels, and diamond plates, for instance, become necessary for speed.

ESBlonde

Kalimna said:

The thing about the older craftsmen though, they were doing this day in day out with oilstones because there wasnt really an alternative. So as an apprenticr their muscle memory was developed, with their master showing how to improve. As hobbyists, its much harder to do this. Add to that some modern steels, and diamond plates, for instance, become necessary for speed.

I think you make sense here, as a hobbiest i sometimes can go weeks without sharpening. Mainly because I haven't used the tool (or any tool) for a period. This makes muscle memory a non starter in the main. I will get to a point where I start sharpening, and then creap into the workshop for an hour several days/evenings on the trott just to fine hone a bunch of stuff, this gives me quite satisfaction. Everything then gets put away ready to use when I get a round tuit!