Another sharpening thread

[harold schmonz]

I have enjoyed reading the previous threads on sharpening, stones, etc.

Does anybody follow Paul Sellers method. I watched him a while ago and that is the way I have been doing it.

It only takes a minute and it produces a sharp edge and nice shavings for me.

[David Bassett]

I'm not sure why all the recent angst over sharpening methods. If it works for you, don't switch!

If it stops working for you, then exploring alternatives makes sense. How it stops working can vary. Most important is probably you can't get the cut quality your project needs. But any reason would be valid for you as long as it's your reason. (JTK relates how he switched to oil stones because water for his water stones freezes in his shop. Me? I'm not as sturdy as his stones, I'd be taking the winter off or looking into heaters! :) )

[Jim Matthews]

Works for me.

I prefer a Coarse India and medium Lily White Washita followed by a strop. I never liked the diamond plates.
(Probably because I was forever dragging knuckles.)

It's important to note that most of my tool steel is O1, and hones quickly this way.

[steven c newman]

"We have work to do.."
437747
This is the edge of a 2" wide iron..from the jack plane I am rehabbing....might take a while...

[Jim Koepke]

I have enjoyed reading the previous threads on sharpening, stones, etc.

Does anybody follow Paul Sellers method. I watched him a while ago and that is the way I have been doing it.

It only takes a minute and it produces a sharp edge and nice shavings for me.

Hi Harold, is this the one where he lifts the chisel on the back stroke and lowers it on the forward stroke?

This produces a rounded bevel some find as an easy way to sharpen.

If this is the Paul Sellers method you are referring to maybe you can answer a few questions of interest:

How long have you been using this method?

Does the bevel ever get overly convex requiring the bevel to be reground?

Is there any correlation between people staying home due to our current pandemic and the viral growth of sharpening threads? :D

jtk

[steven c newman]

Hi Harold, is this the one where he lifts the chisel on the back stroke and lowers it on the forward stroke?

This produces a rounded bevel some find as an easy way to sharpen.

If this is the Paul Sellers method you are referring to maybe you can answer a few questions of interest:

How long have you been using this method?

Does the bevel ever get overly convex requiring the bevel to be reground?

Is there any correlation between people staying home due to our current pandemic and the viral growth of sharpening threads? :D

jtk

And....is anyone even making anything? Seems all they are doing is sharpening...sharpening...sharpening....

[ken hatch]

And....is anyone even making anything? Seems all they are doing is sharpening...sharpening...sharpening....

I finished a kitchen table before the Oregon trip :D

ken

[Jim Koepke]

And....is anyone even making anything? Seems all they are doing is sharpening...sharpening...sharpening....

There are a couple of projects in the shop between caring for things in the greenhouse and garden.

jtk

[harold schmonz]

Hi Harold, is this the one where he lifts the chisel on the back stroke and lowers it on the forward stroke?

This produces a rounded bevel some find as an easy way to sharpen.

If this is the Paul Sellers method you are referring to maybe you can answer a few questions of interest:

How long have you been using this method?

Does the bevel ever get overly convex requiring the bevel to be reground?

Is there any correlation between people staying home due to our current pandemic and the viral growth of sharpening threads? :D

jtk


Hi jtk

This is the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE4yVgdVW7s

How long have you been using this method?

I've been using this method for a couple of years - but this only includes a few projects.

Does the bevel ever get overly convex requiring the bevel to be reground?

As of yet, no. But that may be from the limited number of sharpenings.

Is there any correlation between people staying home due to our current pandemic and the viral growth of sharpening threads?:D

For me, it's because of the recent interest back into woodworking - and the interest in using more hand tools.

Thanks for the questions, makes one have to think.

[harold schmonz]

And....is anyone even making anything? Seems all they are doing is sharpening...sharpening...sharpening....


Just finished a Fir kitchen table.

Working on the rest of my 4 panel interior doors.

A bathroom vanity is next

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for the link Harold.

My opinion on using the lever cap as a screwdriver is it is better to invest in a decent screwdriver for the job. Too many lever caps have come my way with chips along the edge from enthusiastic tightening of the cap iron.

He does make it clear that sharpening is something that one may have to do multiple times during a day of woodworking.

My tendency at times is to also hold the blade at an angle as Mr. Sellers does. This may be what leads to my edges becoming lightly skewed over time. For me it is because my stones are a bit more crowded where they are.

It is also interesting he mentions he doesn't need micro bevels for his work.

In my opinion, Mr. Sellers strops way more than needed. Testing my edges off the stones and again after stropping has indicated a few strokes (like 3 to 5) can improve the edge slightly. More than that has a tendency to round the edge.

Of course, like so many things, 437768 :D

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

And....is anyone even making anything? Seems all they are doing is sharpening...sharpening...sharpening....

I have sharpened 40+ knives and I have at least 20 brand new but very dull junk Chinese made knives to sharpen (I will just give them away). At least one of my kitchen knives is already dull again <sigh>.

I managed to flatten a large pile of dirt from having replaced my main sewer line, that was a lot of work.

Replaced 23 feet of sidewalk.

I have done some woodworking, but it is minimal.

[Jim Koepke]

Part of my yard was mowed the other day. There is about another half acre to do.

Watered in the greenhouse and tended to a lot of plants. Some of the tomatoes are getting close to being ripe. Candy planted some black ones this year.

George likes me to take him for walks in the forest behind the house:

437769

Besides that the leg build for my future bench has been coming along:

437770

There has also been some ash cut and dimensioned to make a box to hold files/rasps for a friend.

jtk

[harold schmonz]

jtk,

Cap iron.
I use a screw driver for this too. After taking the time to true up the cap iron, don't want to use it as a lever and effect the edge.

He does make it clear that sharpening is something that one may have to do multiple times during a day of woodworking.
I may also. But, sometimes only use the fine and x-fine.

My tendency at times is to also hold the blade at an angle as Mr. Sellers does. This may be what leads to my edges becoming lightly skewed over time. For me it is because my stones are a bit more crowded where they are.
When I pick up a used plane, will use a jig to square the blade. From there, it is sharpened by hand. I tried holding the blade more square, but it more natural to hold skewed. Yes, they have a tendency to become skewed.

Micro bevels.
Many years ago before I quit woodworking, I read Leonard Lee's sharpening book and used micro bevels, waterstones, sharpening jig. Since recently starting back into woodworking, I don't anymore.

In my opinion, Mr. Sellers strops way more than needed. Testing my edges off the stones and again after stropping has indicated a few strokes (like 3 to 5) can improve the edge slightly. More than that has a tendency to round the edge.
I started this method stroping the 30 he says. But now it is about 6-8 times on the bevel and a couple on the back.

Since returning to woodworking, after a many year hiatus, looking for simple effective methods. I'm learning all the time.

[Jim Koepke]

I tried holding the blade more square, but it more natural to hold skewed. Yes, they have a tendency to become skewed.

My tendency now is to skew the stone to match my natural skew bias.


I'm learning all the time.

Hopefully we all learn continually.

jtk

[George Wall]

I have enjoyed reading the previous threads on sharpening, stones, etc.

Does anybody follow Paul Sellers method. I watched him a while ago and that is the way I have been doing it.

It only takes a minute and it produces a sharp edge and nice shavings for me.
I find it works really well for me on chisels, and some plane irons. I feel the more I can sharpen freehand, the more frequently I'll sharpen, which is a good thing.

I'm still working out the kinks on the plane irons. One time I made the bevel too convex and lost the relief angle (user error).

[Michael J Evans]

Paul sellers is who got me into hand tools. His methods seem no nonsense and foolproof for the average Joe or for the expert. His sharpening method has made it so I have sharp everything tools. My irons probably aren't as sharp as some of you nut jobs 😉 but if they shave easily without resistance then I'm happy. I have watched some of the other youtube experts and read others, but TBH it all seems way to complicated to me. Don't get me wrong I love a really sharp tool and sharpen my pocket knives religiously, but some of the stuff I see and read just seems Overkill and like your doing 5x more work for 1/10% better edge. But then again ignorance is bliss and I'm happy with what I do.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I feel the more I can sharpen freehand, the more frequently I'll sharpen, which is a good thing.

I'm still working out the kinks on the plane irons. One time I made the bevel too convex and lost the relief angle (user error).

I totally agree, it is why I wanted stones that I did not need to soak; in fact, I gave away some good stones because I just did not use them because if I need to take the time to soak and prepare I am less likely to do it. When I am cutting dovetails, it is already an interruption to stop and touch up. By free handing, it is much faster than if i needed to drop them into a jig of sorts.

So, the faster I an get it done, the more likely I am to do it, which means I can use sharp chisels.

It is one reason why I purchased some Arkansas stones; even if i am slow to adopt them.