Bench planes -- how long between re-honing?

[Tom Henderson2]

Good morning everyone-

I'm trying to move up the learning curve with regards to hand tools.

I'm wondering... for a properly sharpened bench plane iron, how much use do you expect to get before needing to re-hone?

I know this is very much a "it depends" kind of thing, but just to narrow it down a bit, let's presume we discussing finishing/smoothing work on traditional American hardwood, like walnut, cherry, oak, etc.

I'm just wondering if you folks expect to rehone a few times an hour, or after several hours, etc.

I seem to need to rehone rather frequently and wondering if that is normal, or if it is an indicator that my sharpening isn't very good...

Thanks in advance.

-Tom H.

[Joel Goodman]

This may be more technical then you are looking for but it interesting http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/bladetest.html

[John Dykes]

Unfortunately, it does depend...

I don't rely go on "how long," but more about performance of the plane and cut. And you can really tell when it's time to hone the blade... You start sub-consciously asking yourself, "Should I sharpen now? Maybe a little more work..."

Charlesworth wrote that once you begin to detect that the plane isn't cutting the way it should, it's time to take 5 minutes and sharpen. I perhaps am one of the few that likes to sharpen, so I don't mind going to the stones - and may sharpen more than necessary. Haven't really noted the concept of "how long" to be honest, but I'll try:

Initial flattening with a jack of a poorly jointed blank w/ a carbon steel blade at a fast pace? 15 minutes'ish?

Final flattening with a jointer w/ a carbon steel blade at a decent pace? 30 minutes'ish?

Final, light smoothing on a tabletop with a carbon steel blade with kind grain - at a slow, careful pace? Hour maybe?

Again, this is with carbon steel. DC says that with A2, you can go on many times longer. I don't have any bench planes w/ A2, so I don't know...

Interesting topic.

- jbd in Denver

[Don C Peterson]

I only have one rule. I hone the iron when it needs it...

That isn't quite as glib an answer as it might appear initially because there are just too many factors involved to say something like "I hone after so many swipes/boards/days etc...

It also depends on the type of plane. I don't hone my Jack plane nearly as often as a smoother for example because the Jack will still do what I want with a less than sharp iron.

So, I hone the iron as soon as I see or feel signs that performance is becomming marginal, but is still within acceptable limits.

[Steve Hamlin]

Hi Tom
As you say, it does depend on circumstances, so knots or high mineral content will affect the rate at which the edge wears.

As a rule of thumb, for finish planing, I think I touch up the edge after at about ten minutes work (I aim for about six, but expect it ends up this long) - that way, it only takes seconds to do. I find the work required to get a good edge increases disproportionately to the time between touch ups. If a significant wear bevel is allowed to develop, you need to go back to sharpening or even grinding, rather than giving just a quick hone, but touch up regularly and you'll seldom need to do any more.

Signs that a blade deperately needs attention:
* Asking yourself if it needs doing (probably should have asked yourself a while ago)
* Getting harder to push (already too blunt)
* Shaving is split into two along its length (damaged edge)
* Score marks left on the wood (even more damaged, or possibly junk caught in the mouth)
* Need to extend the blade further to get it to cut at all (very blunt)
* Tear out (always worth touching up, though the blade might be OK, and the effective pitch is too low / mouth too wide)

I've half convinced myself that the sound of the shaving changes too.

Cheers
Steve

[Jim Becker]

I only have one rule. I hone the iron when it needs it...

Despite my being a neophyte Neander, that would be my answer, too. Like any tool with a blade/knife, you start to develop a feel for when it needs attention. And it also makes sense to touch things up right before a critical operation, too, just to be sure that the tool will not contribute to any problems. ('Keeps the blame firmly on the operator... :o)

[Michael Faurot]

I'm wondering... for a properly sharpened bench plane iron, how much use do you expect to get before needing to re-hone?

I know this is very much a "it depends" kind of thing, but just to narrow it down a bit, let's presume we discussing finishing/smoothing work on traditional American hardwood, like walnut, cherry, oak, etc.


This is the sort of thing that you just have to do as needed. The main thing is to develop the feel for when it needs to be done versus honing after X amount of time has elapsed.



I seem to need to rehone rather frequently and wondering if that is normal, or if it is an indicator that my sharpening isn't very good...
If it cuts well after honing--then it's sharp enough. If it seems to dull quickly, that could be several things:



If you only have several planes, you're going to use the ones you have for more than one type of task and use it longer. More use, more wear, etc. Wheras if you've got a variety of different types, you tend to move around between the different planes using the one that is best suited to the task and then switching off to a different one as the task changes. Less use, less wear, etc.
The quality of the blade may be such that it just doesn't hold an edge well. If this is the case you might want to investigate getting a quality replacement blade that will hold an edge longer.

[Wilbur Pan]

I only have one rule. I hone the iron when it needs it...

I only have one rule as well. I don't seem to hone soon enough. ;)

Seriously, honing frequently is a good practice to get into. Frequent honings on a fine grit sharpening device is a lot easier than waiting too long and then having to go through several resharpening steps.

To this end I leave my fine grit waterstone out on a table all the time and ready to use, so as to make it as convenient as possible.

[Ken Werner]

I try to touch-up as soon as I notice that it's not cutting as well. I like to keep a piece of MDF with LV green compound on it handy, and use it often. Better to rehone a little at the earliest sign, than to wait till things are getting rough.

[John Schreiber]

A cue for me is that I seem to have forgotten how to plane, or the wood seems to have gotten much more difficult. At that point, if I sharpen, the other problems often go away. I figure with experience, I will be able to tell before I start getting frustrated, but that's where I am now.