Objectivity test for me. Plane pushes easily, takes a working shaving, finish surface is what I want, lasts a reasonable amount of time for the material being worked. Like this. And the plane went a long while after this time.
Jim
Objectivity test for me. Plane pushes easily, takes a working shaving, finish surface is what I want, lasts a reasonable amount of time for the material being worked. Like this. And the plane went a long while after this time.
Jim
Sharpness for what purpose. My dad could get one hell of an edge on his straight razor, but I wouldn't expect it to hold up to use on my wood lathe. Turners have some preferences for angles of the edges for cutting. Some more acute depending on the species of wood being worked. Same for chain saw teeth. Cutting a hair or thread is not particularly helpful with the edge on an axe. Years ago, I was given a round poll axe from Norway. It sharpened easily and cut amazingly. But it was no scalpel.
Respectable pile of shavings. Beautiful. And, so fun to make. What I enjoy thet most is a bevel up going against the grain, getting no tear out-now, that is the best.
Excellent points.
My original question, which has been answered (to my delight) in numerous ways, was asked primarily w planes in mind. Leonard Lee's book is the priimary reading material now in my...... ummm, library. He addyresses edge geometry for us woodworkers in his typical easy to understand style.
David
Confidence: That feeling you get before fully understanding a situation (Anonymous)
Hey Brian, objective accomplished. The shine hurts my eyes
Jim
Thanks gents
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Yes Brian it is all about the results.
Yours are beautiful by the way.
If that could be done with a dull blade we wouldn't have sharpening discussions.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Thanks Jim!
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Thanks Stan! Absolutely, I think this was the biggest 'ah-ha' moment in my work (at least in finish planing) was when I discovered that I could sense minute dullness in the plane and knew well to stop and sharpen. I push it sometimes now, but generally I'm sharpening way more than I was when I first started hand planing or finish planing.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 11-06-2017 at 11:34 AM. Reason: spelling
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
It is likely many of us have one of those palm against the forehead moments like this.
When it comes to bench planes;
My smoothers are sharpened more often than my midsize or jack planes which are sharpened more often than my try planes or jointers which are sharpened more often than my scrub plane.
Sharpness is helpful on each plane, but some can be allowed to go a little longer between sharpening than others.
Of course as is often the case, YMMV!!!.jpg
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
It's been a long time since I had this confusion and I think it needs some clarification. When I say sharpen I mean the full way from course stone to finish stone. When I say hone I mean take it to the finish stone or maybe a strop and evaluate. When I was learning it was all or none. I spent a lot of steel and even more time than I ever needed. I didn't get it until I was asked about the time I was taking and than getting some direction. So now I even tell myself to "clean up that edge". I wonder how others think about this?
Jim
James, it all depends, for chisels I will 'hone' meaning just touch up the edge, sometimes. For plane blades, it's not worth the effort so I work from coarse on through every time.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Thanks Brian. I know you use Japanese planes a lot. Do you handle western irons any differently? I'm asking because you are doing the whole bevel on Japanese blades and only a smaller part of the bevel on western irons. I made an assumption here that you are hollow grinding western irons. I know, I know assumptions not good.
Jim
I start by sharpening away the wear on coarse stones, then I hollow grind followed by honing.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.