best way to sharpen plane irons?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

You are a brave man starting a sharpening thread!

As many folks here know, I am a hobby and semi-pro (I get paid, but not enough to live on) sharpener/sharpaholic. I own enough stones to build a small home. That said, I caution anyone starting out not to spend a whole lot of money at first. "Scary Sharp" (using wet sandpaper) works great for starters. Norton makes a great set of waterstones for a relatively reasonable price. Dan's Whetstones sells excellent oil stones.

So despite my love for waterstones, I am open to anything that will put a good edge on a tool/knife. I own a Tormek that I use for professional knife sharpening because it's quicker when doing 20 knives at a time, but I always finish them on waterstones or oil stones. I guess my point is pick one that you like, spend your money there, and don't look back. Just beware- it can be addictive, and then you'll be searching for the ultimate edge. That's fine- I enjoy that myself- just keep yourself grounded and remember that really the goal is to get it nice and sharp, and there are many ways to do so.

[David Sloan]

Adam, you have had lots of good answers so I won't add another of mine. I will say however that I bought the WoodRiver 5 1/2 yesterday and love it. I have about 20 mostly vintage planes and decided to buy the WoodRiver because I had a 200.00 Woodcraft gift card. The WR blade is a hefty one but not very sharp! A little work with the waterstones and I was off to the races. You would not go wrong with that as a first plane! All the best, David

[Robert Engel]

I'll echo what Andrew said.

Find a system that works for you, stay with it, and master it.

The first decisions you have to make relate to:

1. Method (hand vs. machine)
2. Material (stones [oil, water, diamond] vs. paper).

You have to figure out what suits you best. Sharpening is a very individual thing. Personally, I despise using sandpaper.

So my suggestion is start out with water stones. Coarse, med, fine and xtra fine grit (e.g. 300, 800, 4K, 8K). Also realize that grit sizes are not equal for sandpaper, water stones, and diamond stones.

I always encourage freehand sharpening because its 1) and art and 2) very fast.

Personally, I use a combination of diamond and water stones. Diamond in 300, 600, 800, 1250 and water in 4K & 8K.

I also use a combination of xxsharp diamond & Arkansas (soft and surgical black) oil stones for carving tools.

Last but not least, high quality sharpening stones are not cheap.

[Prashun Patel]

With due respect, you won’t get a definitive answer. Buy what sounds most right to you so far and just practice. It does not take much equipment but does require skill from practice.

[Adam Herd]

First to comment on what Malcolm said, I had no idea what I was starting. Second I probably should have provided a little background. So I have been doing wood working for a few years and previously to sharpen the old planes and chisel I have, I have used the scary sharp method and cheap sharpening stones i bought from lowes. I don't particularly like the scary sharp because sand paper is annoying, it moves, it wears quickly, but it is cheap and simple. The stones I have are not great they do work fairly well but they are not fine enough and I have ignorantly not kept them flat. So i am looking for an upgrade from those very basic and cheap methods. I am willing to spend a chunk of change either now or in the future for a better system that will be i guess more of a professional system. I have been leaning towards diamond or ceramic stones but not sure what brand or how much I actually need to spend. Some people have suggested water stones, my only real problem with water stones is the water. I have heard they are very messy, however I am not totally against them if they are cheaper then diamond or ceramic stones and work as well if not better. As for using a guide, I do have a guide it is I think the rob larson one. It is white with a wheel on the bottom every one on youtube has it. I like the guide for my plane irons but for my chisels it doesn't hold them as well so I tend to just free hand my chisels. umm some one else was asking about my space. My parents garage is what i'm using for now while living at home. Any one from central New York knows what the winters are like. I unfortunately do not do wood working in the winter. I think I have answered everyones question. I really appreciate all the suggestions.

[Jake Hillestad]

Quick, easy, and low maintenance - 400 grit Atoma diamond plate, medium spyderco bench stone, ultra fine spyderco bench stone, strop. Should be able to get into that setup for about $150 +/-

[Adam Herd]

Where would the cheapest place to but these be?

[Jake Hillestad]

They can all be had on Amazon, whether they are the cheapest on each one you'd have to look into a little bit. I suspect you'd be money ahead getting them all through one source by the time you factor in shipping and your time.

[lowell holmes]

I also use diamond hones to sharpen edge tools with. The fine one stays out on the bench all of the time with a stropping board.

[John C Cox]

Another good solution for not a giant cash outlay is the 2 sided 400/1000 (or so) diamond plates available from Trend and DMT.. Finish with chrome oxide on a strop and you are off to the races.. Stumpy Nubs woodworking tube channel has a good tut on this.. It's very similar to what Paul Sellers recommends - he uses 3 diamond plates + a strop...

One advantage of these is that they are available in 3" widths suitable for use with the larger plane irons...

[Chet R Parks]

Adam,
Sharpening Supplies Trust Sharpening Supplies For All Your Sharpening Needs is another great place to get sharpening stuff.

[Andrew Seemann]

Every sharpening method is going to be messy, it's more a matter of which mess you dislike the least. No matter how you do it, sharpening involves removing small particles of steel from the blade. Grinding is dusty; waterstones make dirty water; oilstones seem to get oil everywhere; ceramic, diamond, and sandpaper have whatever you use to get off the swarf (the steel particles). I've tried all the methods except ceramic, I'm too cheap to buy any of the stones. Sand paper is the only one I really didn't like, I ended up just tearing the paper it seems like.

I tend to like waterstones because they cut fast and my skin has gotten sensitized to petroleum-based products over the years. That said, if there is a chance you are going to leave them out in the cold, waterstones aren't the best. Diamond seems to cut pretty nice, but you do need to keep the stone clear of the swarf otherwise they don't cut so well. Actually that is true of all stones, but diamond and oilstones seem more prone to it, since there is less fluid to keep the stone clear.

Myself, I use a grinder on the main bevel. The arthritis doesn't like using stones for 10s of minutes at time anymore, plus grinders match my patience level better. I picked up a Tormek on the cheap a few years ago, but before that I used a regular grinder with a real delicate touch. I hone on waterstones, but my shop is heated, so no worry about freezing.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

First to comment on what Malcolm said, I had no idea what I was starting. Second I probably should have provided a little background. So I have been doing wood working for a few years and previously to sharpen the old planes and chisel I have, I have used the scary sharp method and cheap sharpening stones i bought from lowes. I don't particularly like the scary sharp because sand paper is annoying, it moves, it wears quickly, but it is cheap and simple. The stones I have are not great they do work fairly well but they are not fine enough and I have ignorantly not kept them flat. So i am looking for an upgrade from those very basic and cheap methods. I am willing to spend a chunk of change either now or in the future for a better system that will be i guess more of a professional system. I have been leaning towards diamond or ceramic stones but not sure what brand or how much I actually need to spend. Some people have suggested water stones, my only real problem with water stones is the water. I have heard they are very messy, however I am not totally against them if they are cheaper then diamond or ceramic stones and work as well if not better. As for using a guide, I do have a guide it is I think the rob larson one. It is white with a wheel on the bottom every one on youtube has it. I like the guide for my plane irons but for my chisels it doesn't hold them as well so I tend to just free hand my chisels. umm some one else was asking about my space. My parents garage is what i'm using for now while living at home. Any one from central New York knows what the winters are like. I unfortunately do not do wood working in the winter. I think I have answered everyones question. I really appreciate all the suggestions.

Ha! I was being a bit humorous- sharpening threads can get very deep here!

Based on your comments, here is my recommendation:
The Lowe's sharpening stones are not really that good, but they will at least set an edge. I would personally add a nice finishing stone first. I absolutely love the Dan's Whetstones Arkansas Black Ultra Fine if you want an oil stone. I would recommend trying a Shapton Pro 8000, which wouldn't be too costly and is a great stone, if you want a waterstone. This is just one suggestion- there are many out there that are good. I am recommending what I own myself and have experience with.

Once you have a good finisher, work backwards. For a coarse stone for setting bevels, I really like the speed of a diamond stone. The problem with diamond stones is since the diamonds are fixed in one place, the stones leave a very scratchy finish. No big deal if you are just setting a bevel with it. Diamond stones cut really fast, so I would get a medium grain as opposed to the coarse. The coarse is very coarse.

For a middle stone it depends- if you're sticking with oil stones, get a nice Arkansas soft. If you are going with waterstones, get a 1k and 4k or something similar. I recommend Shapton and Naniwa for high end, but the Nortons are good stones for the price. This is, again, just a suggestion based on what I have used. There are TONS of waterstones, and many good ones out there. Stick with a reputable brand.

If you like diamond stones, and want to just get diamond stones, I would very much recommend using something else as a finishing stone because of the above mentioned scratch pattern you get from diamond stones. Keep in mind- I'm a bit picky. Lots of folks finish on diamond stones with no issue, but I very much prefer to finish on a waterstone or fine whetstone. You will get a much more refined edge.

You do need to strop. Stropping removes the burr and final polishes the edge. I personally prefer to strop with green chromium oxide on a leather strop. You can use balsa wood or hard felt as well. This could also be a whole separate topic. My suggestion- keep it simple- get or make a leather strop. Mount the leather fuzzy side up. Sand it with fine sandpaper to smooth the finish. Load it with green chromium oxide. I get mine from Lee Valley. Fair warning- someone is going to jump in and say their green chromium oxide isn't really as few microns as they advertise- ignore them. Whatever the grit is, it certainly does the trick, and it's finer than my finest stone, which is 16,000 grit. If you make your own, get horse butt. It is a really fine grain and makes a great strop.

That's my nutshell recommendations. Again- I could write a book, but trying to keep a simple reply here. If you find something other than what I recommend here, that's great. The main thing is you need to progress from grit to grit- I suggest at least three grits- four is even better. The more different grits in the progression, the less time you are going to spend on each grit. If you started with 600, for example, and then tried to go to 6000, you're going to spend a very long time on the 6000 trying to remove the scratch pattern from the 600. A 1000 and 4000 in-between the 600 and 6000 would make things a lot quicker.

I'm rambling. I'll stop now. :-) Don't ask me about sharpening or sailing or I'll never shut up.

[Warren Mickley]

I bought my first plane when I was a college student student many years ago. It was $9.49 at the hardware store and I had a ten dollar bill in my wallet. As the clerk rang it up I realized I had forgotten about tax, so I fished around in my pocket and luckily there was a quarter. Three years later I could plane any wood any direction without tear out and I had abandoned scrapers as superfluous. When I became a full time woodworker, I still had not spent a thousand dollars on tools and equipment.

I thought Rob Young's answer was the best (combination India stone). My first thought was a medium India $24 and a soft Arkansas $26 both 1x2x8. Alternatively you could get a hardware store combination stone (silicon carbide), a fine India and a soft Arkansas.

I would recommend a #4 plane or a #5, not a 5 1/2. The 5 1/2 planes were not popular 100 years ago and I have never seen one in a professional shop.

[Justin Ludwig]

This isn't a recommendation... it's what I did because I'm cheap and I like to see if I can get the stars and only pay for the moon.

I went to eBay and bought a combo 400/1000 and a 3000/8000. Here

I bought a flattening stone there also, but it is no longer available. All told, I spent $14.50 + $20.90 + $27.50 and S&H.

Then I stopped at 5 Star Equine and asked them if they have any leather scraps. Stoopid question for an equestrian saddle/supply shop. The lady gave me a piece of leather. Otherwise, they sell scraps for $2/lb. I already had Red Rouge compound because I also have a set up on my bench grinder for sharpening kitchen knives.

The stones work great. They wear really quick but I expected that for $20 water stones. My irons can shave the burliest of faces.

Good luck!