Ned Mcbee
04-29-2021, 4:39 PM
Now that I'm tryin to systematize my sharpening regimen the one area of greatest confusion seems to be all the various angles I have to keep square ... in my head. With a Lie Nielsen honing guide and protrusion jig with shim, I finally have a tool capable of repeatable precision (my Eclipse clone's screw was chewed as it struggled with its blade securing duties).
When I contemplate all the various angles for different blades, and the subset of primary, secondary, and tertiary bevels Chris Schwarz's idea of a single bevel angle for all blades looks promising. I've not yet thrown in the towel and adopted a single sharpening angle and will make an effort to apply a different angle to different blades as needed. I'm also still new to cambering a blade only having tried it once. I woodwork periodically and don't have a dedicated sharpening area. I'll need to have a chat sheet of sorts and/or write on my blades the angles so I can keep confusion at bay.
However, I want to get some feedback on what how others are altering the bevel angle for subsequent stages of the honing process.
For example, assuming a blade with a primary grind at 25° and targeted for a secondary bevel at 30°:
1) Primary Bevel: the 25° need not be honed or polished, correct? It could conceivably be established on a coarse stone and left as is.
2) Secondary Bevel: of 30° is honed (for ex. with a 1k +/- stone) to raise a wire edge.
3) Polishing Stage: do you, a.) maintain the same 30° bevel angle but just polish it, or b.) add a tertiary bevel of a couple more degrees - in this example to arrive at bevel of 32° [for ex. by use of a shim in a protrusion jig or by other measurement]? Or other?
Thereafter when the blade requires routine touching up from use, do you only do a few passes on the polishing stone at 32° if using a tertiary bevel (or at 30° if your sharpening routine only uses a secondary bevel)? Or do you raise a wire edge on the honing stone at 30° first?
When I contemplate all the various angles for different blades, and the subset of primary, secondary, and tertiary bevels Chris Schwarz's idea of a single bevel angle for all blades looks promising. I've not yet thrown in the towel and adopted a single sharpening angle and will make an effort to apply a different angle to different blades as needed. I'm also still new to cambering a blade only having tried it once. I woodwork periodically and don't have a dedicated sharpening area. I'll need to have a chat sheet of sorts and/or write on my blades the angles so I can keep confusion at bay.
However, I want to get some feedback on what how others are altering the bevel angle for subsequent stages of the honing process.
For example, assuming a blade with a primary grind at 25° and targeted for a secondary bevel at 30°:
1) Primary Bevel: the 25° need not be honed or polished, correct? It could conceivably be established on a coarse stone and left as is.
2) Secondary Bevel: of 30° is honed (for ex. with a 1k +/- stone) to raise a wire edge.
3) Polishing Stage: do you, a.) maintain the same 30° bevel angle but just polish it, or b.) add a tertiary bevel of a couple more degrees - in this example to arrive at bevel of 32° [for ex. by use of a shim in a protrusion jig or by other measurement]? Or other?
Thereafter when the blade requires routine touching up from use, do you only do a few passes on the polishing stone at 32° if using a tertiary bevel (or at 30° if your sharpening routine only uses a secondary bevel)? Or do you raise a wire edge on the honing stone at 30° first?