Sharpening Skew-Angle Plane Irons

[Cliff Ahlgren]

Recently I have been thinking about upgrading my block plane lineup which currently consists of a standard-angle no-name (probably Stanley) from Sears and a low-angle Groz. I have been pretty impressed by recently acquired Lee Valley planes (a low-angle jack & medium shoulder) and suspect their low-angle block plane might give similar results.

However, it sounds like Lie-Nielson planes are also good and possibly better. In particular, their low-angle copy of the Stanley 140 looks interesting since it can also be used for rebates.

However, it has a bevel-up skewed blade and I am wondering how tough it is to sharpen those things. It doesn't seem like my Lee Valley honing guide(s) will accomodate a skewed blade and freehand sharpening is the only alternative. This may be a problem since the angle seems more critical with a bevel-up blade and this might be difficult to reproduce free-handed.

If any of you folks have this Lie-Nielson plane I would be very much interested in your opinions of it and what your sharpening experiences with it have been. Thanks.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Cliff

Here are two articles I wrote on sharpening the #140 using the LV honing guide.

<center>http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=handtools&file=articles_566.shtml</center>

<center>and</center>

<center>http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=17787</center>

<center><div><img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Sharpening/Copyof1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> <br /></center>



At some time in the near future (just how near I am not sure), LV will bring out an add-on for their Mk II honing guide. I have played with a pre-production version and can say that the production version should be a boon to all types of skew blades.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Maurice Metzger]

Hi Cliff,

As far as freehand sharpening goes, the methods presented here:

http://www.antiquetools.com/sharp/index.html

And here (although I don't have a grinder):

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12747&highlight=basic+sharpening

worked well for me with a smaller skew blade, to a Stanley 39 1/4 inch.

- Maurice

33050

[Cliff Ahlgren]

Thanks for the info gents. I read all these articles with great interest and it sounds like the skew would not be a huge disadvantage. I have done some freehand sharpening but will try another run at it.

[Steven Wilson]

There are just some tools that really need to be sharpened freehand (you may grind them with a jig though) and you really should try and develop some profficiency in sharpening freehand. Most of the time now I sharpen freehand and it gets easier every year.

[Derek Cohen]

There are just some tools that really need to be sharpened freehand (you may grind them with a jig though) and you really should try and develop some profficiency in sharpening freehand. Most of the time now I sharpen freehand and it gets easier every year.

It is important to realize that honing bevel up blades adds another dimension to that of bevel down blades. The cutting angle on bevel down blades is determined by the bed angle (such as the frog), while for bevel up blades the cutting angle is partly that and partly the bevel angle, per se. As a result, it is important to retain the appropriate bevel angle when honing a bevel up blade (as in the #140) if you wish to maintain its cutting characteristics. A honing guide is essential in establishing this dimension, and also makes it easier - particularly with planes such as the #140 - to obtain a parallel mouth. I will freehand my blades as well, but I return to a jig (the LV Honing Guide Mk II) when establishing the bevel, and when re-establishing the bevel.

Regards from Perth

Derek