How high should a sharpening station be?

[Frederick Skelly]

I have the impression its supposed to be lower than my tablesaw top, but I dont know any more than that. Are there any rules of thumb? If you have one, how tall is yours?

Im going to repurpose the open stand off of my contractor saw, but its obviously too low as-is. (The new stand and mobile base worked out great!) Anyway, I thought Id build a cabinet on top of it to kill two birds with one stone - get it to the right height and provide some storage for sharpening stuff.

Thank you!
Fred

[Jim Koepke]

This is one of those questions that has many answers.

Though my methods are different, my recollection is Paul Sellers suggests for his method to have the sharpening station about belt high. For many years my pants have been held up by suspenders so that wasn't for me. :p

It is something that you will have to match to your own style and comfort.

Mine is somewhere around 36" high.

jtk

[Don Dorn]

I got my design from "Working with Waterstones" by Ian Kirby. My sharpening station sits just to the left of my bench and the stones sit just slightly above belt high, but they (three diamond stones) are on an inspection plate. It works well because I can just just lean my body forward and back and my arms are nearly fully extended. It's a very short cabinet with a drawer and door below for the paper towels, water, strop, etc.

[Anthony Moumar]

Mines 916mm high which is about 36inches. What I did was start on my work bench which is about 32" high and stack on 1" thick boards which I used to test different heights.

[David Weaver]

Mine's about 38" high. It's about the right height for me to put an iron on a stone freehand at about 30 degrees without thinking about it or getting contorted.

[Curt Putnam]

Are you going to sit down or stand up to hone? I sit so my desired bench height would/will be/is different than one for those who wish to stand.

[maximillian arango]

Disclaimer I have hardly any experience but have a useless opinion :D.

I am using a honing guide when I sharpen so this influences how high my sharpening surface is. The surface I use is about 26 or 27 inches high which is very low but I sit when I sharpen so it is comparable to those who do it standing with a 36" surface. My surface isn't made for sharpening it is a school desk that I had to buy in 12th grade after a whole year of drawing on things on this desk. I do most of my meticulous work on this desk since I can slouch over and go at it for hours, which is what I have had to do for the planes I've bought.

[Bob Easton]

Height really shouldn't matter much because you can (1) learn to hold blades at the correct angle no matter what the bench height and (2) after you learn to sharpen well, you'll only be doing it for a few seconds at a time. It's not like you'll be straining your neck or back with hours of discomfort. Worry about the height of the place where you'll be doing most of your work, and that shouldn't be the sharpening station.

[Sean Hughto]

To paraphrase Lincoln, high enough for the blades to reach the stones.

[Andrew Bell]

Lots of people suggest that you should have it low so you can lock your arms fully extended on whatever you are holding just touching the stone so you can rock from your feet - if you don't sharpen that way then different heights will suit your needs, using a Jig, I'd probably say the height is irrelevant.

[Hilton Ralphs]

Lots of people suggest that you should have it low so you can lock your arms fully extended on whatever you are holding just touching the stone so you can rock from your feet

Yes I seem to recall Rob Cosman saying something like this in a video of his. He rocks on his heels with his arms locked at full stretch so as not to introduce a pendulum effect on the cutting stroke. Seemed to make sense.

[Jack Curtis]

To paraphrase Lincoln, high enough for the blades to reach the stones.

Or low enough. :)

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for your help guys!
Have a good day,
Fred

[Daniel Rode]

I still have more questions that answers.

I have a 3/4" plywood bench hook type setup that I take off a nearby shelf and place on my work bench. So this puts it at about 38 3/4". Pretty often, I find that I have my X-X-Fine diamond stone and strop sitting directly on the bench while I work and I regularly touch up the edges. This is where I've been learning to freehand sharpen.

I've been thinking about a dedicated sharpening station and what height would make sense and I think it would be very close to bench height. Maybe a couple inches lower but not much. I think a lot of it is what you're accustomed to. My bench works fine for sharpening, especially touch up but I'd like to keep the mess from more aggressing sharpening off the bench and not have to clear work from the bench to sharpen.

[Prashun Patel]

In my book, it doesn't matter.

I'd make it workbench height or tablesaw height for no other reason than it can serve as an extension or outfeed for those devices.

[Mike Holbrook]

I think the first question one building a sharpening station might ask themselves is what tools do you want to sharpen. I am finding that some green woodworking tools have a different set of requirements. Drawknives, for instance, with handles on either side, have to be sharpened on a raised devise that keeps ones hands from hitting the table top. Some tools with curved blades, gouges, inshaves, drawnives, travishers, adzes, axes...may also have special requirements. Some of these items may require special jigs and positioning of the sharpening devices. Sometimes the more complicated blades on these devices may require/suggest that the sharpening device be taken to the tool.

I just ordered some of Lee Valley's diamond coated film, leather that I will attach to dowels and small pieces of wood that I will take to my tools. Some tools may be better sharpened held in a vise or hand held.

[Jim Koepke]

I think the first question one building a sharpening station might ask themselves is what tools do you want to sharpen.

Mike makes a good point.

The benches for my two sharpening stations were already in place when we moved here.

Recently a small bench was built for my power sharpening station. My procedure was to check everything for comfort. Even the front rail used as a foot rest.

Often when using my oil stone station the stones are picked up and used free hand in the air.

It would indeed be a sad day in the shop if sharpening couldn't be performed for lack of an area of the "correct" height.

So as with so many things in life:

282698

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

I put them on my kitchen counter, so 35" or so. It's comfortable, I don't feel the need to be overly scientific about it, I saved that for my workbench.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Kitchen counter height works well for me, although there's also the height of the stones and the height of what I set the stones on to add to it. Kitchen counter height is also what I work with because that's where I sharpen, of course!

My sharpening technique is akin to what others have mentioned; I lock my arms, and get all my motion from my feet or my core; (at least when working the bevels) trying to move forward and back using my arms introduces a rocking motion and makes maintaining a consistent angle difficult. I don't, however, lock my arms at full extension as some have discussed Cosman using, that seems awkward to me. I lock my arms at my side, my elbows bent at a right angle, so my forearms are roughly parallel to the countertop. Seems more comfortable to me.

I think like many sharpening things, it's less right v. wrong, and more what appeals to you for whatever reason, as long as you don't hate it, and then stick with it. Particularly if you're freehand honing, being able to use the same height over and over takes one more variable out of it.

[Jim Neeley]

I don't know there's a "should height", there's what works for you and that depends in part on your level of fine dexterity.

The key (IMO) is to be able to maintain a controlled angle on the edge. Being one of those with probably lower dexterity than most, I have found a bench about 24" high (+ 2-3" for the stone holder) gives ME the best results. For ME in that position, my arms are straight, elbows locked and all of the motion is made in my shoulder joints (the sharpening motion). The reason this has worked for ME is because I am only moving one joint at a time (shoulders); when I try to coordinate moving shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers I find it difficult to maintain a constant angle.

Just MY $0.02.. YMMV. :-)

Jim

[Tom M King]

I think the first question one building a sharpening station might ask themselves is what tools do you want to sharpen. I am finding that some green woodworking tools have a different set of requirements. Drawknives, for instance, with handles on either side, have to be sharpened on a raised devise that keeps ones hands from hitting the table top. Some tools with curved blades, gouges, inshaves, drawnives, travishers, adzes, axes...may also have special requirements. Some of these items may require special jigs and positioning of the sharpening devices. Sometimes the more complicated blades on these devices may require/suggest that the sharpening device be taken to the tool.

I just ordered some of Lee Valley's diamond coated film, leather that I will attach to dowels and small pieces of wood that I will take to my tools. Some tools may be better sharpened held in a vise or hand held.


You'll like the Diamond Lapping Film. I use it for final honing, and polishing. I keep a dedicated surface plate with the four films stuck to it. Also, I use it, like you are planning, to hone molding plane irons, on drill bit shanks, and other stuff that I can find that fits. I suggest only backing up with it though. It will get an edge so sharp, so fast, that it will cut right down and through the film if you go forward. It only takes 5 or 6 strokes for final honing. The stuff cuts REALLY fast.

[Tom Vanzant]

Mike, what Tom King said, especially don't push the iron forward. Instant cut/tear. But it does cut and polish fast.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have heard quite a few people say the diamond film is very fast. I have a couple fleabay drawknives that some knuckle head butchered, with some sort of power grinder, by the look of it. I ground out most of the edge trying to get rid of all the different levels & notches in the bevels, fast sounds good. I bought two of the kits. I plan to put one set on dowels. The other set on other shapes of wood for: gouges, hard to reach curved surfaces, small flat surfaces too small for the stones I have. I am trying diamond paste on wood and leather on wood too. So, I will have some sharpening surfaces that can handle rougher edges than the diamond film.

Sort of like a belt sander, not a good idea to run the blade into the belt. I do keep reminding myself about that.