While exploring options for sharpening plane blades and chissels I ran into some reviews of the ScarySharp method. Sounded real good specially with the extensive rave reviews it got. Since I have not invested in any sharpening stones yet I figured the ScarySharp is worth a shot considering the low cost (the complete setup cost me $25 which includes $7).
I used the following website for details and instructions.
http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/jig.html
I have made the exact setup Brent recommends, and the same set of sandpapers (PSA backed). I tried it last week with mixed results. Couple of problems; the sandpaper after a very short time starts feeling smooth. Since I am using oil as recommended I am not sure it is because of the iron filings collecting in the gaps. Also I could never get the final product sharp enough to cut the hair off the back of my hand, even though I followed the instructions to the dot.

I asked Dennis about his opinion and he offered me his water stones for comparison. So last Sat I spent the afternoon at Dennis's shop working with his Japanese waterstones and Tormak. One of the plane blades was out of square (I got a second one for backup), the Tormak got that fixed in no time. After about 4-5 hours of dedicated scrubbing and rubbing on the stones I finally got one of the plane blades "shaving hair off the back of your hand" sharp. Issue settled right? well maybe not.

I wasn't willing to give up on the ScarySharp just yet. So I spent Sunday night sharpening my 1/4" chisel on the ScarySharp setup. The sandpapers were still effectively cutting, even though they were noticeably smooth. One modification I did from the process Brent Beach recommends is that I honed the back of the chissel dead flat (lesson learned from Dennis) as opposed to a slight bevel Brent recommends. The final result the 1/4" chissel got to hair shaving sharp.

I will soon try the process on my second plane blade but as a result of this weekends ordeal I have a couple of questions, hopefully some experienced iron sharpers will be able to answer.

1. When using ScarySharp do you only use pull strokes? does the push stroke (where you are pushing the sharp edge into the sandpaper) have any detrimental effects on the sandpaper. The smoothness of the paper suggests it's loosing its bite, but the paper still cuts the irons effectively, unfortunately I didn't time the first use of the paper so I can't compare the results. I don't have enough experience with this to make a judgement as to whether it is slowing down or not.

2. Has anyone been using the ScarySharp for an extensive period, what is your experience. Do you think it is good enough to replace waterstones?


thanks
Zahid Naqvi