Interested in hand tools but scared of sharpening? Hear me out on this!

[Jason Buresh]

I am by no means an expert on sharpening. I'm not. But I can sharpen well enough that I can get done what I need to do. What I am about to say is my opinion, so please take it for what it's worth.

A friend stopped by my shop the other day and was really interested in my hand tools. He said he was thinking about getting into it but was intimidated by sharpening and the investment of sharpening supplies. This made me think.

When I was learning how to sharpen I watched tons of videos on the internet and read articles with people who have diamond stones and other fancy equipment. Rob Cosman, Paul sellers, the third coast Craftsman all used diamond stones.I looked at the price of this stuff and honestly was afraid to get started because of the investment. I was afraid if I didn't buy the best of the best I wouldn't get results.

When I eventually did buy my stuff, against all the wisdom on the internet and YouTube, I bought a cheap Norton double sided oil stone and really cheap strop that came with some compound. All in all I think I spent $32. I added some mineral oil for lubricant and a cheap set of Irwin chisels and I was off to the races. I bought what I could afford.

What I learned with my cheap stone and chisels is that after my first sharpening I made the chisel sharper. I followed the tips and tricks I learned online and improved my tool. And the more I sharpened the sharper my tool got. I was learning and building confidence.

I don't know how many videos I watched or articles I read that say start with diamond stones so you don't have to upgrade in the future. While this is a valid point, I don't believe it's the most practical. Was your first car a Ferrari?
Eliminate the stress of how much money you spent while you learn.

If you are wanting to learn how to sharpen, buy a cheap oil stone, a cheap strop, and a cheap chisel. Focus on technique and form. Learn how to move and hold the blade properly. If you make a mistake, so what? You're not out a ton of money. Learn by doing! Build your confidence.

The point I am trying to make is don't feel like you need to buy hundreds of dollars of sharpening equipment to get started. Don't stress about making mistakes and focus on learning. I am telling you making a mistake on a $7 chisel is much less painful than a mistake on a $100 chisel.

I know this may be common sense, but if it helps give someone confidence to buy cheaper equipment and get their feet wet, I feel it's worth it.

Don't be afraid to start with cheap equipment. The experience you will gain is priceless, and when you do upgrade, you will have the confidence to do the job right.

[Jim Koepke]

And the more I sharpened the sharper my tool got.

This is a common phenomena. Even though my sharpening ability has been able to bring edges to the point of shaving hair, my sharpening abilities and understanding is still improving.

One helpful thing people can do to accelerate their freehand sharpening skills is to video your sharpening from the side. This will help one to see if their hands are holding the bevel angle steady.

jtk

[Graham Haydon]

Could not agree more. To get started this set up is perfect, further it's my set up at work. I think a combination stone would keep 90% of woodworkers happy for life.

At home I bought a fine oil stone from a flea market and spent time collecting good vintage tools. In my opinion this takes it up a notch. However it's not essential.

I find project time the hardest thing to get.

[Derek Cohen]

If you are wanting to learn how to sharpen, buy a cheap oil stone, a cheap strop, and a cheap chisel.

Jason, in principle I agree with all you wrote. You do not say whether you are going freehand or using a honing guide, nor whether you have a grinder, or a way to grind a primary bevel. This complicates the matters somewhat, so we need to find a recommendation that simplifies it back again.

To the oilstone, which is what I started on, I would add sandpaper-on-glass, which is what I moved to. Waterstones and diamond plates were well into the future.

I have nothing against a honing guide. These do make the process easier (not necessarily more efficient, nor train a skill which may be transferred to other angles). I believe that more would take up hand tools if they had a way of getting blades sharp at the start of the learning process. Not everyone wants to put time into freehand sharpening, but this would be the next step for those when they are ready.

Grinding a primary bevel can be done on sandpaper with a honing guide. This also lets the beginner rescue their blade and start over.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

I bought what I could afford...

I know this may be common sense, but if it helps give someone confidence to buy cheaper equipment and get their feet wet, I feel it's worth it.

Don't be afraid to start with cheap equipment. The experience you will gain is priceless, and when you do upgrade, you will have the confidence to do the job right.

I could not have said this better, myself.

Even Waterstones are now available at reasonable prices.

Kudos

[Jason Buresh]

Jason, in principle I agree with all you wrote. You do not say whether you are going freehand or using a honing guide, nor whether you have a grinder, or a way to grind a primary bevel. This complicates the matters somewhat, so we need to find a recommendation that simplifies it back again.

To the oilstone, which is what I started on, I would add sandpaper-on-glass, which is what I moved to. Waterstones and diamond plates were well into the future.

I have nothing against a honing guide. These do make the process easier (not necessarily more efficient, nor train a skill which may be transferred to other angles). I believe that more would take up hand tools if they had a way of getting blades sharp at the start of the learning process. Not everyone wants to put time into freehand sharpening, but this would be the next step for those when they are ready.

Grinding a primary bevel can be done on sandpaper with a honing guide. This also lets the beginner rescue their blade and start over.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

You make an excellent point that I failed to mention. I do have a honing guide I use strictly for grinding primary bevels. And I do use the sandpaper and glass method for that process.

I feel the sandpaper and glass method is not an economical choice for everyday sharpening due to the cost of snadpaper, but for regrinding a bevel the extra surface area to move around on while using a guide is a big plus.

I use an inexpensive guide from Amazon. While it can be tricky to set up, for $12 and how often I use it I can't complain.

I find with grinders you can screw up an angle much faster than a slow and steady hand sharpening. That's my lack of experience though.

[Eric Rathhaus]

I like your post because I think newbies like me can be intimidated by the amount of verbiage spilled on the right or best way to sharpen. All those opinions remind me of martial art enthusiasts arguing about what master teaches the authentic form. I'll second Derek's nod to wet/dry sand paper. I got a thick hunk of glass for free from a glazier, and you can buy a small amount of sheets while you learn. I'd favor this method because you don't have to worry about damaging your stone, and water's less messy.

[Warren Mickley]

Thanks for this post, Jason. I certainly agree. I have often recommended a medium India and Soft Arkansas combination stone and a piece of smooth leather as a viable sharpening system. This is certainly good enough for high quality professional work.

One of the problems with buying expensive gear is that so much of this stuff is designed and promoted by people who don't have much experience or judgement themselves. For example there are people who encouraged the purchase of $500 or $1000 of Shapton stones, who themselves now no longer use these products. They left behind the people who followed their advice and bought these products. The idea that one should buy quality gear to start with fails when there is so much poor information around. There are people designing chisels who barely know how to use a chisel.

[Scott Winners]

The opening post in this thread is why I think this website needs some kind of 'like' button. Well said OP.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I took two classes, each two days long, on sharpening. One class focused on Japanese water stones, the other using DMT Diamond Stones method, with Japanese stones for the final polishing. Of the two, I favored the DMT method. Both used Veritas Guides.

[Derek Cohen]

It is probably appropriate to post an article from my website, written in 2006, "The 10 cent sharpening system (http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System.html)".

It also includes a clever honing guide by the late Brent Beach, who passed away a few months ago.

Regards from Perth

Derek





The 10 Cent Sharpening System






I had a visitor today in the form of Mike, a primary school teacher, who was setting up a woodworking program for his kids at school. What is exemplary, he is doing this on his on initiative and out of his own pocket. Several Perth members of the Ubeaut woodworking forum had donated planes. When I heard of Mike’s wonderful effort I felt that the least I could do would be to hone the blades, tune the planes and ready them for use.

Of course, little did I know that this involved 8 of the most abused and rejected planes – four #4s and four block planes – all cruddy and warped. Thanks to the miracle of electricity and a large belt sander, all soles were flattened, all blades and chip breakers de-rusted, blades ground and honed to razor edges, and planes tuned to take fine shavings. And in just 3 hours!

I anticipated that Mike would need some strategy to maintain the sharp edges. So I came up with “The 10 cent Sharpening System”, which actually cost nothing since I just used a few scraps lying around. However quick and cheap to make, this is really a serious sharpening system and I've posted it here so that others might enjoy using it as it is so compact and works very well. Mike timed me taking a blade with a rough primary bevel to a razor edge in under 30 seconds.
None of this system is original. Just my adaptation in this package, which I consider perfect for the thinner Stanley blades, since the primary bevel on these can be ground rapidly on sandpaper.

At this price we are talking Scary Sharp, that is, the use of wet-and-dry sandpaper as the sharpening medium. I only used one grit – 600 – but I later made provision for lower grits as well. In addition to the 600 grit W&D, I used .5 micron Veritas green compound.

For a honing guide, the best at the price (5 cents) is the jig designed by Brent Beach (http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/Chisel%20jig.html). No, just kidding. This is a cracker of a jig at any price as used in this type of system.

Here is Brent’s jig.



http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System_html_m3eaaf5 aa.gif



Where Brent uses a glass substratum, I purposefully built this from an off-cut of MDF. The honing guide was just a block of Tasmanian Oak from the scrap bin. I am not sure of Brent’s dimensions here, but I suspect that the one I built is lower (I used the same height as a Eclipse guide). One possible advantage is that the set up is compact. The disadvantage is that the backbevel angle is 10 degrees, so micro backbevels need to be done as per David Charlesworth’s “Ruler Trick” (http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00177.asp?), that is, with a steel ruler.



So what is the system?

There are three parts: the honing guide, the honing board, and the guide angle set.



The honing guide

My Brent Beach copy:



http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System_html_m6d669a ba.gif



The honing board

What we have here is 600 grit W&D contact glued to the MDF. Later I realized that a better system would be to simply have two clamps (using bolts and butterfly nuts) so that sandpaper strips could be changed out.

The far end is a section with Veritas green compound – just “scribble” this on the MDF.In between the two, the MDF surface is given a coat of wax to reduce friction.



http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System_html_1c8b323 8.gif



The Guide Angle Set

There are two elements here.

Firstly, the depth of projection is set for 25- and 30 degrees. This also automatically squares the blade in the guide.

Secondly, here I have drawn in lines for microbevels (1/32” is sufficient for a 1-2 degree secondary bevel) – just shorten the projection to these lines.

Later (again!) I realised that a better system would be to just use a shim (one for each reduction) placed against the fence to set the depth.



http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System_html_30980b7 f.gif http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/The%2010%20Cent%20Sharpening%20System_html_575dd42 .gif



Method

Most know this process well.



Grind a primary bevel (I used 120 grit on a belt sander in this project. One could use a 6” grinder with a coarse 38 grit wheel, or even sandpaper glued to a longish grass plate and run the jig sideways along one side of the glass). The Guide Angle Set will enable one to grind this at 25- or 30 degrees. Use 25 degrees for the primary bevel.





Set the blade for a secondary bevel on the 600 grit (pull the blade back to the first line), and hone on the 600 grit W&D. The bevel created this way needs only to be 1/64 - 1/32” wide.





An alternative to the 1-2 degrees created this way (which is preferred for block planes) is to use the 30 degree setting. This is preferable for bench planes and bench chisels.





Hone this further (same angle) on the green compound. This step will polish the bevel but not widen it further.





Use the Ruler Trick to remove the wire edge (a particular boon on older blades with non-flat backs).




Items 2-4 took about 30 seconds.



In summary, there are many ways to sharpen a cat – but none cheaper or simpler.



Derek Cohen
Perth, Australia



June 2006

[Rob Luter]

Don't be afraid to start with cheap equipment. The experience you will gain is priceless, and when you do upgrade, you will have the confidence to do the job right.

Good advice. I started with sandpaper and a $10.00 honing guide. As it turned out, I stuck with a low cost alternative, namely PSA abrasive film on glass blocks that are glued to MDF. If I need to establish a new edge I hollow grind on a Borg grinder or use an inexpensive diamond stone I got at a sporting goods store. The abrasive film does the rest. I made a couple strops for the last couple swipes and to keep things fresh while using. I generally find keeping things sharp is easier than getting things sharp.

As I've continued down the path I have upgraded my honing guide to a LN, but that's about it. Otherwise I've stuck with the "cheap" methods and I'm telling you they works just as well as the expensive stuff.

428651

[Charles Guest]

$200 gets you all you need - a basic 6" grinder, a medium stone, a fine stone, strop and dressing. Could be done for less if you choose a grinder-less option like sandpaper.

[William Fretwell]

I bought a single sided oil stone to start, made a box for it, still have it, bet most have one somewhere.

Of the jump to water stones buying the guide is the most painful expense. Look in Re-stores, I found the standard Lee Valley pair of water stones for Cdn$40 for my son.

You will jump to water stones or diamond eventually but the initial oil expense is small. Diamond plates did not impress me, leaving fine scratches on the edge but they do sharpen for a while then seem to wear out and take forever; not so with water stones.

The other painful expense with water stones is a flattening method. Rubbing them together helps but is very lengthy. My large CBN plate does a fantastic job quickly.

[George Yetka]

I started with scary sharp technique on glass.(cost me all of about 30 in paper/film I couldn't get this to work for me so I moved to dmt diamond. This would leave everything rougher than I would like so i switched again to water stones

I started with 2- 1000 and 3000 then over time I bought 1 every few months 2000,5000,10000 and a dmt diaflat. then added strop/compound.

If I were to do it again i would get a 1000/3000 water stones supplemented with paper/film from the start and add to it over time. I could have saved in the long run.

[Robert Engel]

Don't be afraid to start with cheap equipment. The experience you will gain is priceless, and when you do upgrade, you will have the confidence to do the job right.

Oooh, sorry but I have to totally disagree with this! I went down this road starting out and believe me, the only experience I gained was frustration and self doubt.

That said, nothing wrong with oil stones, and I use them, but I would not start with them. Water stones are much faster and give quicker feedback which is very beneficial to a beginner as well as expert. They also are not easy to flatten as they wear.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

When I started, I was afraid of sharpening. I purchased a fancy set of chisels that would come sharp enough to use, but then I was afraid that I would damage them.

I ended up practicing on dirt cheap garbage Stanley chisels (couple of bucks each) on sandpaper. In the long run, the price would add up, but it worked. As I improved, I started adding things to improve my results. If I had known someone who could have mentored me, it would have helped. I have done some damage that left permanent marks, thankfully in areas that do not matter, glad it happened on the cheap chisels.

The nice thing about what Derek shows is that it has a trivial entrance point and price. You can teach a bunch of people how to do it without spending a bunch of money, and they can take it home. After you learn the skill, you can figure out if you really want to invest the money to purchase a better system.

When I teach fountain pens to children, I bear the entire expense. I purchased about 50 fountain pens to prepare for the summer class. You can be sure that I did not purchase high end pens. One year we made our own with straws, they were not great, did not last long, but they worked. From there they could decide if they wanted to invest the money in a nicer pen for certain types of fancy writing. The pens I hand out are mostly for regular writing with some exceptions.

I have a cheap set of chisels new in package for similar reasons; although I misplaced them during my last shop clean-up :mad:
More than someone I know has wanted a set for very very occasional user so they get a tuned up set of very inexpensive chisels.

[steven c newman]

And....we're off on yet another sharpening thread....

[Jason Buresh]

And....we're off on yet another sharpening thread....

Sorry Steven.

My intention of this post was not to start a debate but simply if a potential woodworker is not starting because they think they need to buy top of line equipment that they should consider buying what they can afford and get in the shop.

[Charles Guest]

And....we're off on yet another sharpening thread....

Most sharpening threads are just thinly veiled justification for a four-figure investment in honing and grinding gear. Inevitably someone will present photos in excruciating detail of adequately cut dovetails along with all the gear it supposedly took to prep the equipment they felt necessary to execute the dovetails in the photos. The only problem is that it doesn't take all of that stuff, and dovetails aren't that hard to do in the first place. Inevitably the irrefutable by lack of logic argument is made that "they would have used all of this had they had it" is made and then it just devolves from there. "They" of course meaning the master craftsmen of the past whose work we all know and love. The effectiveness of these arguments, generally, requires a gullible reader impressed by intermediate woodworking done at the torrid pace of two projects a year the success of which largely results from an unlimited budget in time, tools, and materials.

[Rafael Herrera]

And....we're off on yet another sharpening thread....

Ha ha, yes Steven. We guys love to pontificate. My own experience began w waterstones and has ended with Washita stones. I use sand paper and a bench grinder to flatten backs and repair bevels, once the tool is in working order I use my Washita stone and a strop. I'm also a hobbyist, so I would not consider spending hundreds of $$$ in sharpening tools. My father was a professional woodworker, I don't remember him screwing around with jigs or fancy stones. I think he used a double sided carborundum 6" stone and a bench grinder. He was very effective with what he had, he would profile his own blades to make mouldings to fit on his table saw.

I have a suspicious nature when it comes to taking advise from people that have a commercial interest in the tools they recommend, even more so when they put their name on them. When I read things like "sharpen to 33.5 degrees", micro-bevels, "sharepen to 25000", etc., I tune off. On the other hand, I appreciate the comments and experiences posted in this forum. Yesterday, I read one of Paul Sellers blogs (https://paulsellers.com/2020/03/edge-sharpening-under-10/) and last night I saw this post, an interesting coincidence. I like his point of view, since it fits the attitude I experienced growing up.

Rafael

[Jak Kelly]

One of my friends removed a granite countertop from his mothers kitchen remodel, 2' x 4' long. He made an inquiry to me as if I might want it or be interested in it. Then I suggested how good it might be for a sharpening and honing surface. We checked it with a straight edge and it was pretty darn flat. Now is this as good as the smaller chunks of granite that they sell at the box stores, maybe?, I dunno. But that top, a selection of sand-paper (120 grit to 600 grit), some WD-40 and a $15 honing guide from Lowe's/Home Depot has worked and worked rather well in my opinion. Then I switch to some stones for further honing.

[Jim Koepke]

Okay, just a mite off topic:


When I teach fountain pens to children, I bear the entire expense. I purchased about 50 fountain pens to prepare for the summer class. You can be sure that I did not purchase high end pens. One year we made our own with straws, they were not great, did not last long, but they worked. From there they could decide if they wanted to invest the money in a nicer pen for certain types of fancy writing. The pens I hand out are mostly for regular writing with some exceptions.

Many summers ago we had our grandkids up when our geese were molting. There were a lot of big wing feathers to be had. A search on making quill pens found > http://www.flick.com/~liralen/quills/quills.html

After a little practice my quill cutting got decent enough for some fun:

428672

The kids enjoyed these and took them home. There are still a few uncut feathers around.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I use my Washita stone and a strop.

Since you use a Washita, and I should probably just start a new thread rather than create a rabbit hole, I have never used a Washita stone, but, I own some. I own a bunch of stuff, that I was able to find and I wanted to test, I simply have not ahd time.

I read that the only true Washita is from Norton or Pike, otherwise, it is a soft Arkansas stone. I have no idea how true that is or is not.

Is your stone branded?

I own a Smith Washita, a Buck Washita, two Norton #1 Washitas, and at least one Norton Lily White. It is on my list of things to try just because. Before I jump in, I will start a new thread rather than muddy this one with advice on this. I just wanted to post because I am kind of excited to hear that someone is using a Washita.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

when our geese were molting. There were a lot of big wing feathers to be had. A search on making quill pens found > http://www.flick.com/~liralen/quills/quills.html

After a little practice my quill cutting got decent enough for some fun:

428672

The kids enjoyed these and took them home. There are still a few uncut feathers around.

I never had a sufficient supply of feathers to give it a go. A friend of mine (who is apparently a big deal in the art world) found a feather and did exactly that. Someday I need to give that a try. I might even try tempering the feather (or whatever they call it when they heat it in hot sand) to strengthen it. it would be very cool to cut my own feather quills, and the kids would love it.

[Prashun Patel]

There is no short cut. Wisdom gives you a perspective that's not there when you start. Even a 'cheap oil stone, chisel, and strop' aren't intuitive tools to start with.

I've concluded there's no short cut here. There's just desire, confusion, inquiry, experimentation, practice, reflection, and iteration.

Everyone tries to have the final word on sharpening (I'm doing it now myself). But there is no final word. Everyone makes their own journey.

[Chris Fournier]

Don't buy a "cheap" anything! Not even sandpaper. Buy the right item for your intended task and buy the best you can afford. Every time!

Sharpening is a rabbit hole for sure. I think that the basics in practice and somewhere back from cutting edge (haha) on sharpening tools is a good place to be. You can get excellent results for your $$$

I have a bench grinder (made in USA!) and the Lee Valley grinding set up with 46 grit and 60 grits wheels, a 12" X 18" granite inspection surface, waterstones and sandpaper. Like Derek I have made many of my own jigs, fixtures and tools to sharpen my blades, scrapers and saws. I accumulated all of the above over the years and bought quality each time, no need to replace anything as my idea of sharp got sharper. Sharpening takes some time and practice to figure out but once you can do it well you'd be surprised how many aspects of everyday life are better for it! Think kitchen, gardening etc.

Not too many folks begrudge buying tools and equipment and when they do they're half way there. A sharpening kit that works for them makes their tool and equipment investment pay dividends.

As a metal machinist I can tell you that sharpening can get very expensive, woodworkers have it easy! Phew!

[Mike Henderson]

I started cheap with my sharpening equipment. But I'll bet I spent quite a bit more than if I knew what to purchase in the beginning. I kept learning about equipment and techniques and spent a lot of money on blind alleys. What I wound up with is:

1. A WorkSharp with diamond plates to establish the primary bevel. I got the WorkSharp cheap when Home Depot had a pricing error.
2. Shapton stones 1000, 4000 and 8000. I mostly use the 8000 to do the secondary bevel.
3. A DMT diamond plate which I use to keep the Shaptons flat.

I've been with that setup for quite a while now and it works well for me.

Mike

[Rafael Herrera]

PM me if you want. I don't have labeled stones.

[Jim Koepke]

it would be very cool to cut my own feather quills, and the kids would love it.

Yes, it was cool.

Yes, the kids went crazy having fun with their quills.

There is hope this can be repeated with more of my grandkids in the future.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

And....we're off on yet another sharpening thread....

We could always return to "Hoarders, why bother to store tools when you can buy another?"

[ken hatch]

Most sharpening threads are just thinly veiled justification for a four-figure investment in honing and grinding gear. Inevitably someone will present photos in excruciating detail of adequately cut dovetails along with all the gear it supposedly took to prep the equipment they felt necessary to execute the dovetails in the photos. The only problem is that it doesn't take all of that stuff, and dovetails aren't that hard to do in the first place. Inevitably the irrefutable by lack of logic argument is made that "they would have used all of this had they had it" is made and then it just devolves from there. "They" of course meaning the master craftsmen of the past whose work we all know and love. The effectiveness of these arguments, generally, requires a gullible reader impressed by intermediate woodworking done at the torrid pace of two projects a year the success of which largely results from an unlimited budget in time, tools, and materials.

Hey Charles, tell us how you really feel :). LMAO, a great post.

BTW, with all my time at home now I've been watching a few of those videos and learning amazing things :rolleyes:.

ken

[steven c newman]

I'll watch a few..until they turn into an Infomercial. The kind where they claim only a certain brand of tool can get the results, and without them, you just can't get a task done....

I have my own way of getting MY tools sharp.....and that is what matters..sharp.

Quit jousting at the Windmills of the Perfect Edge, and just get to work.....( was bad form, to critique the way a Headsman sharpened his ax....right before he used it)...I hear Charles Stuart bribed his...

Then there was the "The Riddle of Steel".....

[Charles Guest]

Hey Charles, tell us how you really feel :). LMAO, a great post.

BTW, with all my time at home now I've been watching a few of those videos and learning amazing things :rolleyes:.

ken

Have fun Ken.