Ron Hock's The Perfect Edge

[David Gilbert]

I met Ron Hock at the Woodworking in America conferences and have enjoyed his plane blades and other tools. I was very impressed with his knowledge with regard to all things metal. In October at WIA he had a sign-up list for his new sharpening book, The Perfect Edge - The Ultimate Guide to Sharpening for Woodworkers and I quickly added my name to the list. An early Christmas gift arrived yesterday and I have had a quick look at this newly published book. I think it will become a classic for our community. He starts with the properties of steel and then talks about rust and how to remove it. He talks about the abrasives and then goes through sharpening all the tools in our shops. He even has photos of some people that we all know (e.g. Mike Wenzloff sharpening a saw). I think the only "tool" he didn't discuss is the lawn mower but he does talk about chain saws.

This book will help all of us learn to better use our SHARP tools. I just checked and it is already listed on Amazon at a very inexpensive price. My advise is to take some of your Christmas money or return some of your non-tool gifts and order this book.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

David

[Ryan Baker]

My copy is somewhere between Amazon and here right now. I got a ship notice the other day. I am looking forward to getting it -- looks like a really good book.

[Jamie Buxton]

I've been to a talk by Ron on the metallurgy of steel. It was a fascinating talk. Until the advent of silicon for semiconductors, steel was the most-thoroughly studied material in the history of humankind. Ron has studied it his whole life, and clearly could have talked for days about it. I'm sure the chapter in his book about the topic is worth the price of the entire book. I've just sent off my order.

[Danny Burns]

Thanks for the notice!
I am sure looking forward to hearing more about what looks to me to be a classic in the making!

[Jeff Wright]

I just unwrapped my copy this morning from my dear wife. The book is well done with many great photos. Because it covers so many topics it does not go into great detail on some of the techniques described. But it is a good overview of the world of sharpening.