Sharpening - Which ONE book/DVD would you buy as a newbie?

[Lyndon Graham]

The header says it all. Which ONE book/DVD would you buy? Thanks.

[Brian Sullivan]

Sharpening Woodworking Tools DVD by Leonard Lee. I like it more than his book.

[Dewey Torres]

When it comes to WW books Taunton is hard to beat:

http://www.amazon.com/Tauntons-Complete-Illustrated-Guide-Sharpening/dp/1561586579/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229398594&sr=8-2

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I am also a newbie and the books I got were:

Leonard Lee's The Complete Guide to Sharpening
Ian Kirby's Sharpening With Waterstones
Thomas Lie-Nilesen's Complete Illustrated Guide To Sharpening (Tauton)

I have 2 of David Charlesworths's Hand Tool Techniques DVDs because I also like using jigs (he is very deliberate in his presentation):

Plane Sharpening and Precision Preparation of Chisels for Accurate Joinery

I know that there are DVDs out there by Rob Cosman, Chris Schwarz, and others that address sharpening but I haven't sampled them.

Bottom line is there is no One book/DVD that will answer all your questions. I Googled sharpening/grinding of blades and chisels and had a plethora of information from which to choose from. Also visit SMC member Johnny Kleso's site at rexmill.com he has a ton of info on sharpening. Additionally, do a search in the Neander forum for sharpening and you will also find additional information on the subject. You are going to find out that there is more than one way to sharpen chisels and blades. You just need to find what works best for you and go with it but be open to try different methods from time to time.

HTH
OG

[Mike Henderson]

Personally, I don't much like DVD's because they take too much time to watch and it's difficult to go back and review a point later. I much prefer a book or web page. Given that, I like Leonard Lee's book on sharpening.

Mike

[Johnny Kleso]

You can see a bunch of videos at uTube.com just search sharpening or woodworking sharpening

The book with everything and thenewest is Tautons covers everything from a-z

If your not a reader I like David Charleswoth he is pretty good at the videos..

But check out uTube.com first..

[Randy Klein]

This (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=NO-SVIDEO-WAT&Category_Code=) is a pretty good one about free hand honing from Joel at TFWW.

[Robert Rozaieski]

This (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=NO-SVIDEO-WAT&Category_Code=) is a pretty good one about free hand honing from Joel at TFWW.

I agree. The guide to sharpening at Joel's web site is all you need. Read it and try it. If you need to see it done he has two DVDs as well, one using oil stones like in the online article and one using water stones. I use the method described in Joel's article and it's fast and easy. Can't ask for much more in sharpening. Allows you to get it doen and get back to work.

[John Dykes]

Sharpening what?

I have a tendency to be a bit outspoken on this topic. I've called the skill of sharpening the 'hill' that hides the entrance to the slippery slope... I wasted many years because I couldn't sharpen. Books, websites, scary sharp - nothing did the trick for me. I have the Lee and Lie-Nielsen books - I apparently wasn't smart enough to translate their words into actions to produce a very good edge.

David Charlesworth's plane sharpening video changed all that. It can probably be rented from SmartFlix for $10. If that doesn't work for you, I'm more than happy to send you my copy to borrow. Yes, it's that important.

Learn the mechanics and theory in detail from Charlesworth. There is no higher recommendation or advice that I can give in all of woodworking. (How's that for dramatic?)

[eric auer]

I Have a laptop and a printer in my workshop, I find I buy very few books these days.

Some stuff i just save as a .pdf file and view on the laptop, some I print and put in a binder, I steal those clear inserts that hold a page from my wife, she has hundreds for her kitchen folders.

I learned sharpening from my Grandfather, just oil and stones, but man have I found a lot of neat stuff out there on the Web about it, and I,m itching to eventually try some new stuff.


Eric