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Review by: Keith Smith in Woodworker Autumn 2005
" This leads me neatly to David Charlesworth's plane sharpening video/DVD which has been produced in conjunction with Lie-Nielsen toolworks in America. DLC has been teaching fine furniture making for nearly thirty years at his Devon workshop and this video explores David's techniques for sharpening plane blades. This is not a general 'how to sharpen ' video but a detailed look at the way David uses waterstones to sharpen plane blades and how he creates a curve to the honed edge. The video runs for 75 minutes and covers sharpening, fettling the chip breaker, setting up the plane and amongst the many techniques and tips is his 'ruler trick' which can save an awful lot of hard work when flattening the back of a blade.
There is a subsequent video on hand planing which demonstrates among other things why having a curve to the blade is such an advantage.
I can thoroughly recommend both videos, David is personable and engaging, his videos are easy to watch, informative and inspirational at the same time ."
Review
by: Christopher Schwarz- editor of popular
woodworking USA
Sharpening Video Full With New and Useful Tricks
I’ve been sharpening tools for a long time, so it’s
rare for me to start taking detailed notes when I
watch a video on sharpening. But David Charlesworth,
a well-regarded British woodworker, teacher and
author, has some incredible tricks that will make
your sharpening faster and more accurate. His first
video released in the United States, which was
produced by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, details the
techniques he uses to turn a dull hand-plane iron to
razor sharp. Perhaps most amazing is how little time
Charlesworth actually spends sharpening a tool and
how few stones he uses. But once I tried the
techniques on his video, I became a believer. Here
are some highlights:
• Charlesworth’s so-called “ruler trick” lets you
skip much of the laborious polishing of the plane
iron’s back. This trick alone is worth the price of
the video. • He shows you how to easily camber the
edge of a plane iron for smoothing or jointing tasks
with just a dozen or so strokes on a Japanese
waterstone. • See how he uses two micro-bevels –
instead of just one – to speed up the amount of time
you spend sharpening. • Set up your chipbreaker and
plane iron for a perfect cut without the
trial-and-error process most woodworkers go
through.
These tricks really work – and they’re really fast.
I tried every technique from the video and spent a
lot of that time wondering why I had never thought
of them before. While the instruction is clear and
easy to follow, some basic knowledge of sharpening
will ensure that you digest the good stuff much
faster. No matter how poor or perfect your current
sharpening technique is, you’re sure to pick up some
tips and tricks from this well - organized and
information-rich video.
— Christopher Schwarz
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