16 Jul 2007
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| The Pleasure of Working with Sharp Tools | |
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There is a phrase which keeps cropping up on or after my short courses. It goes something like this;
"I wish I had come on your tool tuning and sharpening course 5, 10 or 20 years ago." It is absolutely clear to me that many amateurs and a few professionals too, have been struggling with less than satisfactory tools for years. They assume that this struggle is their own fault, or lack of skill, when in fact it is not. Many manufacturers of the last century supplied tools which were merely a crude kit of parts which did not work well. Bench planes are the best example of this unfortunate fact. I also believe that sharpening is generally very badly taught and that the waterstones we have today produce a sharper edge, much faster and than oilstones. It is difficult to appreciate true sharpness untill you are shown it. How is an individual to know that his sharpening is not as good as his neighbour's if they do not compare and use each others tools? The following quote from George Schumacher of Louisiana, is posted with his permission, a perfect example. "After returning home and putting the techniques learned in Hartland into operation I discovered my work to have improved dramatically. Can you believe that I am, after 30 years of piddling with wood, now finishing projects with a hand plane, faster, and more efficiently than ever before! My goal of no more sanding dust is now secondary to the newfound thrill of working with sharp tools. Thank You David!! I wish I had attended your course 30 years ago." The good news is that this revelation is available after a mere five days. Best wishes, David |
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| Sharpening | |
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| posted by davidcharl at 07:48 | comments [4] | |
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| posted by Mike Lingenfelter | 16 Jul 2007 at 15:41 |
I'm still somewhat new to woodworking, so finding your sharping DVD appears to have saved me years of frustration ![[:)]](images/smile/smile1.gif) . I've studied your DVD and put your techniques to practice. I'm getting amazing results. I was just working on a project this weekend and got the most beautiful continuous end-grain shavings.The one thing I'm noticing, is that I lose my wire edge after I move to my 8000 grit stone. I have nice wire edge after I use the 1000 grit stone. Then after a few strokes on the 8000 the wire edge appears to be gone, before I polish the back. I still get great results. Is this a problem? Thanks, Mike |
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| posted by david charlesworth | 16 Jul 2007 at 20:18 |
Mike, I like the sound of "amazing results". No problem at all, the wire edge gets much much smaller after 8000 grit on the bevel. This small wire edge should float off on the stone while you do the ruler trick work, or possible on the sponge cloth during cleaning. Wire edges from the 800 stone are an indication that you have got past the wear or bluntness of use. i.e. They are a good indicator that enough metal has been honed away. They must be honed away cleanly for a fine edge. This last statement partially explains why the ruler trick is such a good thing, as it massively increases the probability of the wire edge being polished awaycorrectly! best wishes, David |
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| posted by Mike Lingenfelter | 18 Jul 2007 at 03:51 |
David, Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure with a little more practice I can do even better! I've watched several of your DVDs and besides learning new techniques, I've learned to slow down. This is still a "hobby" for me now, so I don't have as much time in the shop as I would like. I have tended to rush through my projects and have never been happy with the results. Your calm deliberate approach has shown me to take my time. Thanks, Mike |
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| posted by david charlesworth | 18 Jul 2007 at 21:29 |
Mike, Speed is what the professional has to strive for. I think it is more enjoyable to go a bit slower and enjoy the process, if one can afford to. Mind you many of my DVDs play quite well at 1 1/2 X speed. best wishes, David |
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