Sharpen This, a new LAP book

[David Bassett]

Lost Art Press just released "Sharpen This" by Christopher Schwarz. It's their "pocket book" size, (like the Charles Hayward "Woodworker's Pocket Book" they published a while back,) and very short. I haven't received the book, but I'm sure it will be LAP's usual top quality paper & binding and all. They have a promo right now where you get a PDF if you order the book. I've downloaded and read that and thought I'd share some thoughts. (I'm bored, it's stupid hot, for here, and it's supposed to get much much worse over the next couple days.)

First, if you're on this forum you probably don't need this book. You probably already have a way to sharpen your tools. If you participate in sharpening threads on this forum, he explicitly avoids the nuance you thrive on. And, probably says something or other that'll piss you off!

That said, I think this is a really good intro to sharpening in general with specifics enough to make anyone successful with chisels and plane irons. He discusses what causes sharp and how to get there with a minimum of fuss. I think he fairly describes the general characteristics of different sharpening systems, but steers clear of recommending any one or specifics within a class. He instead advocates for mastering whatever you chose and evaluating the results you get. When the results fall short incremental improvement in technique is consistently his first step.

He closes with some appendices which touch on some things that are so often debated in sharpening discussions. This will make a novice aware of the possible nuances, but Chris argues they are secondary concerns and not important to achieving acceptable results for your projects. (He also says he doesn't mind if you want to make sharpening your hobby, though he implies he doesn't want you to try to convert him from working wood.) Personally I especially liked the point he made about steel types, that the ingredients are less important than the chef and quality of the preparation.

So, if you have a beginner to help, or a classroom to stock, I'd highly recommend this book. (But remember chisels and plane irons! There are other longer more comprehensive complicated books which cover other topics.) If you're passed the beginner phase, I hope I've given enough of a description you can make up your own mind.

[Jim Koepke]

There were actually two books mentioned at LAP.

The other is Euclid's Door. It seemed interesting so it was purchased.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the review!

[David Bassett]

There were actually two books mentioned at LAP.

The other is Euclid's Door. It seemed interesting so it was purchased.

jtk

That one doesn't look like a quick read! It's going to require some concentration and thought. (Completely incompatible, in my brain, with heat waves. )

Also, while two went up yesterday, there were other new ones last week. (I guess the supply chain logjam at their printers may have broken.)

Nancy Hiller finished recording the audio book version of Shop Tails (shortly before her death) and it was recently released.

They finished a video "Build a Stick Chair" of Chris building one of the designs he's published, (sounds like their summer intern was tech savvy.)

"The Belligerent Finisher", by John Porritt, was also just released. (Another going to require my concentration.)

Plus, Chris's Stick Chair Journal, an expansion to his book (and planned to be an annual) was released.

[Richard Coers]

Hard to compete with The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Just my opinion, and at my age, I've stopped buying books. The couple hundred I have will be hard enough to get rid of!

[David Bassett]

Hard to compete with The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Just my opinion, and at my age, I've stopped buying books. The couple hundred I have will be hard enough to get rid of!

That and this don't really try to compete (IMHO). This is chisels and plane irons, no nonsense get back to work, tiny pocket size throw it in your tool chest (or drawer in your tool cabinet) reference, with just enough info you can probably figure out other tools and knives if you work at it.

The Leonard Lee, and Ron Hock, books are far more comprehensive and I agree wonderful books. But they are much more about sharpening as a topic rather than as a necessary side skill to get back to working wood.

Goodwill takes books, sadly that's were most of mine will probably end up, but I'll enjoy them in the meantime.

[Jim Koepke]

Hard to compete with The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Just my opinion, and at my age, I've stopped buying books. The couple hundred I have will be hard enough to get rid of!

I may purchase the Leonard Lee book as a gift to some of my family & friends.

It has seldom been a worry or mine over books "to get rid of" any of them. Many of them are treasures in my library. Many have also been enjoyed by others in my life. Clearly some of my family and friends will be happy to have these treasures when I am gone.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

I recently bought the book based on your suggestion. I like it.

Every internet woodworker has his schtick and for Schwartz it seems to be simplifying and demystifying things. So this book is true to form. It's a practical guide to sharpening. He omits all the long, sacred discussions about sharpening and gets directly to the point, describing what it takes to get a sharp edge.

I think this would be a good book for someone starting out in handtools. It was a pleasant refresher for an older hand like me. YMMV.

[David Bassett]

An update, news:

LAP has released a supporting video: Sharpen This (the Video) for visual learners or folks wanting more information than the book provides.

...and, opinion / review addition:

I think we can all agree that sharp is what makes handtools work well. The more I think about his approach and personal system, while not what I use, I think is really is the best system for the beginner who is interested only in working wood but not sharpening. The book plays fair, all options work if you master them, but the system Chris uses personally is readily available, capable of working well with any steel, and is less fiddly than many systems. (And, again, if you enjoy thinking about sharpening there are better resources.)

[Rob Young]

There were actually two books mentioned at LAP.

The other is Euclid's Door. It seemed interesting so it was purchased.

jtk

It is an entertaining read, especially if you've kept up with the other George Walker / Jim Toplin artisan geometry works from LAP.

[Rob Young]

Hard to compete with The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Just my opinion, and at my age, I've stopped buying books. The couple hundred I have will be hard enough to get rid of!

I've found Lee's book to be very helpful. It appears (table of contents review as I haven't read Chris' book) that L.L. has more and wider topics. If one can learn from books (and not everybody can), it wouldn't be the worst idea to have both. Or at least inter-library loan to read L.L.'s. Might be a while before C.S.'s appears in the inter-library loan system.

[Monte Milanuk]

It appears (table of contents review as I haven't read Chris' book) that L.L. has more and wider topics.

I think the two are very different approaches. Lee's book is an 'everything you want (or need) to know about sharpening', where Schwarz takes more of a 'cut through the BS, here is the minimum you need to know to make things sharp enough to get back to work'. One is a full sized reference book, the other is a small guide suitable for a pocket or a toolbox. Again, very different approaches.

[Rafael Herrera]

It seems to me one is a $17 complete guide to sharpening, and the other is $70, and eventually $95, guide to sharpen chisels and plane irons. You be the judge of where you want to spend your money.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I’ve got Leonard Lee’s book. I consider it the Bible of sharpening. I gained a lot of knowledge about sharpening various tools from it. It even has a page on sharpening Stanley’s 28 & 29 edge/cornering tools, which I have listed for sale in the classifieds (shameless plug). I wasn’t able to find info on how to sharpen those anywhere else, including the “all-everything” Internet.

[Jim Koepke]

It seems to me one is a $17 complete guide to sharpening, and the other is $70, and eventually $95, guide to sharpen chisels and plane irons. You be the judge of where you want to spend your money.

I must be missing something here:

Guide to Sharpening.jpgThe Complete Guide to Sharpening Leonard Lee.pngSharpen This.png

Where is the $70 or eventually $95?

It looks like $20 + shipping to me. At Lee Valley, you can add some hardware or other items to your order to get free shipping.

Having not seen the LAP book I can not comment on it. The Leonard Lee book is an engaging read. It even has me looking closer at some of my block planes with some thoughts on tuning them in a little better. There is also information on saw sharpening with good information for someone trying to sharpen a saw for the first time or even someone having done a few saws.

jtk