How to get rid of that burr

[Andrew Thuswaldner]

I got a MK II honing guide and some Norton water stones (220, 1000, 4000) for Christmas and I'm having my first go at fixing up an old plane blade. Keep in mind that I'm brand new at this so I'm quite certain that none of the issues have to with the equipment but rather the operator. I determined that the original blade angle was about 25 degrees so I set up the honing guide for that angle. The plane blade had what I thought was a pretty small nick but it did take me quite a bit of time with the 220 stone to remove the nick but I was pleased with the nice even looking bevel that was created from a that work. The issue was the burr that curled over to the face side of the blade. According to the Norton literature that came with the stones they say the burr means it's time to switch to the next stone. So I went to the 1000x and the big burr did go away leaving me with smaller burr, so then I went to the 400 stone. I got a nice (I'd call it almost shiny) bevel, the problem is the cutting edge of the blade is not a nice straight line but looks kind of jagged. Any ideas for what I need to change? The blade, by the way, is "Made in Western Germany" and the plane itself is an Este, approximately 9 inches long and 2 1/8 inches wide.
Your advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks, Andrew

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Hi Andrew,
I'm also new at this but have learned much on SMC especially from member Johnny Kleso's site at rexmill.com. One thing I did was to get David Charlesworth's DVD on sharpening plane blades and chisels as well as Leonard Lee's, Ian Kirby's, and Ton Lie-Nielsen's books on sharpening. Charlesworth removes the burr on an 8000 grit stone by placing the blade across the width of the stone with the bevel up portruding no more than a 1/4" off the stone. He then lightly drags/brings it into the stone no more than 5/8 of an inch and starts to move it up/down the stone to finish polishing it.

One thing I have learned to do is grind new bevels on old plane blades and chisels if they need it. I have a WC 8" slo-speed grinder w/the LV grinding jig & tool rest on one side and the Wolverine sytem w/the flat tool jig on the other. If they don't need new bevels I use the MKII to sharpen a new edge on my stones or use the scary sharp sandpaper system. Beware of the slippery slope since I also have a 10" wet grinder and the WS 3000. I'm still trying to find my preferred method but having fun on the way to it finding it.
HTH
Orlando

[Joe Close]

Make sure you keep your stones flat. Check the flatness against a known surface or edge. If you have the Norton flattening stone, check it as well. I made the mistake of assuming the flattening stone was flat, and it ended up being somewhat warped. And that warp transferred to the stones I was attempting to keep flat. :(.

Note, if you use Charleswoth's method of removing the burr, he also uses a small steel rule, placed length wise along the stones edge. This rule imparts a bit of elevation to the rear of the iron.

I also recommend Charlesworth's dvd on sharpening. He demonstrates a very methodical approach to sharpening. I felt it was a good starting point on sharpening for a new guy, (myself).

Good luck!

[Larry Edgerton]

You didn't mention working the back of the plane iron? It can only be as sharp as its worst side, so polishing the back is just as important. Polish it flat, with no bevel. First time is time consuming but if you do it to perfection the first time it will be easy from then on out.

As for that micro burr, I just drag the iron bevel down at a skewed angle a couple of very light passes at aprox 5 degrees more than the primary bevel. This secondary bevel is hard to see with the naked eye[especially mine] but as you have run skewed it removes the micro burr and gives it a tiny secondary bevel that I feel does not hurt the performance, but does increase the longevity of the sharpening.

However, ten woodworkers will have 12 different ways to sharpen......

I just gave up on bench stones and bought a Makita, after 30 years I am just sick and tired of rubbing steel on a rock!

[Andrew Thuswaldner]

Thanks for the advice Orlando, Joe, Larry.
The back of my blade does have some machining marks on it so smoothing that is necessary. Also I did notice that one surface of my 4000 stone has some ridges in it that lined up with the ribs in the plastic case. Makes me think these stones (Norton) are packaged in their "green" state. I'll need to get that flattened. Thanks again for the input.
Andrew

[Danny Thompson]

I wouldn't use the Charlesworth ruler trick on a Bevel-up plane iron. In general, it is easy to remove the burr. Simply lay the first 1/2" of the flat side of the blade flat on the stone (with the rest of the blade forming an L with the stone) and slide it a few strokes up and down the stone, making sure to keep the blade flat against the stone throughout the process. The burr is usually gone in 2-4 strokes.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Ditto on what Danny said. Charlesworth's ruler trick is only for bevel down blades. He also states that the ruler trick is not to be done on chisels either.

[Johnny Kleso]

That I do with all blades is to flatten the back first..
Thats the side oppsite the bevel side..

Then sharpen the bevel..

On the next to last grit I move the grit to the edge of the bench and I place the back on the grit still in the jig and do five strokes back five bevel till the feathered edge falls off and move the final grit and do the same..

There are several different methods I made this method up after my machine shop teacher taught me to strop the feathered edge off like a barber sharpens a razor..