Originally Posted by
Tom Mayock
Thanks for all of the input. I am starting to see why I confused originally.
I do now have a strop. It sounds like to round out my sharpening station in a corner I will buy some float glass and coarse grit sand paper. I am looking forward to figuring this out and tuning up a #4 Stanley that has seen better days. I managed to get the plane cutting with my previous setup, but the post-planing surface still required a lot of sanding to make things presentable even to my untrained eye.
Try to find sand paper with an adhesive back. Some folks use a spray adhesive others use water. This is often available in 3 or 4" wide rolls. Sand paper can have a tendency to bow or buckle when the blade is pushed on the paper. This can dull an edge more than sharpen it. PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) paper has less tendency to do this.
There are monument makers in just about every part of the country. They are the folks who make tombstones. They are one source for a good piece of granite to set up a production:
Granite on Horse.jpg
This piece is 4' long. A magnet wrapped in paper is used to remove the swarf every few passes. This is a more of a luxury, not a necessity. It was only $25. At the time my accumulation of tools to rehab was going full bore.
Remember, the coarser the abrasive the more work to get rid of the deep scratches. Unless a blade is really bad a 200 or 300 grit abrasive works fast enough at removing metal. On my set up it can get the blade warm by hand. It also removes deep nicks, skews or sloppy bevels fairly quick. This is where a blade holder can be very handy. It lets one establish a bevel without much work other than going back and forth.
A shop making stone countertops may also have small useable off cuts.
Often big box stores will have returned granite tiles or a sale and a good flat 16X16" piece can be bought for $1.
Float glass is also a good choice.
When your plane leaves a surface sand paper can only scuff or make dull, you know you are on the right path.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)