Originally Posted by
fred everett
This is a timely thread for me as I about to change sharpening up in my shop. I'm staying with a honing guide, and a strop to finish, but I just ordered 3M microfinishing films hoping to move away from stones. Currently, it takes 10 times longer to ready the stones than to it does to sharpen the tools, which only take a few minutes. I'm also hoping to have less mess/cleanup with the films.
I was very impressed with the 3M psa micro-finishing films, but I worried about cost so I ordered Trend diamond plates as recommended by Stumpy. The Trends are going back as I can feel the edges of the material about to peel off the one of the plates....wish I'd seen Paul Sellers blog regarding this b4 I ordered them.
So, I circled back to the 3M psa micro-finishing film for more testing. Took an old chisel and brutalized the 300 grit (40 mic) film scratching very hard fwd and backwards. The film did not tear and only peeled up when I went close to the edge. When it peeled, I cleaned under the edge and stuck it back down. I then took a good chisel and ran it over the same film and got a consistent clean finish on a 25 degree bevel. This convinced me the film is tough enough to handle many normal sharpenings. So the COST.....a great way to address this is steer away from the high grits.....IMO the 8k, 14k and 60k grits not needed. I achieved excellent results with the 300, 600 and 1800 grits. These grits are available in 5 sheet packs that are 8 1/2" x 11" for $15, which when cut into thirds gives me 15 sheets. In short, $45 total for 15 sheets each of 300, 600 and 1800, which for me, will last many years.
On the honing guide front, I ordered a Veritas MKII w/ narrow blade head which is excellent. At some point I need to move on from the micro-bevels which is the reason I use a guide. I can do everything freehand, but I don't think I'll ever be skilled enough do micro bevels consistently freehand. It's probably phycological but I feel blades are sharper with a micro-bevel.
At the end of the day my goal is to move away from water stones to a method where I can do a touch up sharpening of a chisel in under 5 minutes. I believe I've found a way with the 3M films, but I believe a course dia plate or stone, and a grinder of some sort, are still part of the overall equation. That's my take, but I'm hoping for opinions as that's how I learn.
Thanks,
Fred
Seasoned professional possessing unremarkable proficiency at innumerable skills.