"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
In the 40+ years of working with my grinders....have NEVER had an issue with any of the wheels I have used. Maybe because I tend to be more careful about how I use mine....than some on here.
I suppose one could jam an item as hard as they could against the side of the spinning wheel....then act surprised that the wheel broke. Then think everyone else will treat a grinding wheel the same way.
"Stupid"??? Respect for the tools I use.....I use a light touch, not out to burn away metal. Of course, IF one has a CHEAP, crappy wheel on their grinder......Get the good wheels, NOT the Harbor Freight/Borg ones..Had one of those break apart...just trying to dress the edge....that had just crumbled away.....
But, I suppose there are some out there, that buy the cheap wheels, slamma-jamma an item into the wheel...after all, don't have the time to carefully do the job.....maybe not so much the "Procedures" as it is the person using the "Procedures" that is at fault.
"Don't interrupt the man by telling him a job can not be done, until after he has completed the job"
Then, there are some, that go out of their way to prove a "technique" will fail.....
Had enough of this...stuff....go your own way, I'll go mine....see ya!
Norton Abrasives is not a cheap manufacturer. Their dos and don'ts clearly specify not to use the side of the wheels. You're just fortunate you have not had an accident.
I have a stone that specifically states that you can do this (Tormek), but boy am I bad at it. I will never try it again. I also would not try it on a stone that specifically warns against it.
I have seen Steven do things while fixing or sharpening that I simply am not capable of, but that is also why when I find something that I cannot make work I make the trek out to his shop. One example is using a belt sander on the bottom of a frog. Yeah, he fixed it and when he was done this "might as well throw it away" #4 plane was usable. I have not seen Steven flatten the back of a blade, but, with the warnings of a shattered stone, I would be very leery of doing this without something that said it was ok to do.
Also note that I was not able to flatten the back using a Worksharp and many here are able to easily do that.
I tried taping a block of wood to a new A2 plane blade using XFasten double-stick tape. The block was about 1 1/4” by 2 5/8”. The blade is 2 5/8”. I glued the block right next to bevel. It does give a much better grip. It stayed on until the block got pretty wet from the water used on the DMT diamond stones. I was about done when it came off. I had to work a long time on the blade so I think that is satisfactory.
My best grip was with finger tips on the bevel and thumbs behind the block. This position gives good pressure at the cutting edge. It works well for either forward/backward and side-to-side motion. I also tried placing my palm on top of the block and pressing down. This gives a good grip and works well for coarse grit. For finer polishing, it only polished under the block. I needed more pressure at the edge.
One further point about diamond stones, you can’t use a MagSwitch as a handle. The diamond plate is magnetic. Well, maybe you could if you are a gorilla. I couldn’t budge it.
I've had really good results with the Charlesworth ruler trick. If you watch any of Rob Cosman's videos on sharpening on YouTube, he demonstrates the technique. This saves needing the flatten the entire back, by putting a very slight back bevel on the edge. All it requires is a thin steel ruler (like 1/32") and you have everything you need.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)