There is some agitation in another area here to opening a sub forum specific to sharpening. I am far too new to have a valued opinion on the subject, though I am in favor.
I can generally apply a rule of thirds when I take up a new thing. For joinery, sharpening saws turns out to be easy for me, I suspect I am about average sharpening chisels; I. and I know it when faced with rusty old Bailey planes. When I see a rusty old bailey in the antique shop and know I can get the same thing new from Veritas or LN for only ten times the price, I pretty much buy the new plane.
When there someday is a sticky about sharpening hand saws, bare minimum, I should be in thread behind Pete Taran, Jim Koepke, Derek Cohen and three other users I don't know the name of yet. After "you " have read the sage advice of those six folks who know what they are doing, here is what I have to add...
How to tell, in process, that when you are done the saw you are working on is going to be impressively sharp.
1. Your cat leaves not just your house, but the property and goes next door.
2. Your dog leaves not just the property but your neighborhood.
3. Your neighbor's hounds are howling in pain.
4. Your butthole tingles, a LOT
5. You can picture every dentist who ever drilled any of your teeth, and you know they were all shysters.
Frame of reference. Be careful here. I have become a fan of Leonard Lee's 1995 _The Complete Guide to Sharpening- (Taunton). Mr. Lee doesn't have a bunch of youtubes or a blog, but his stuff is sharp. I think what I am seeing is on youtube you can get a thing about 85% as sharp as Mr. Lee does, with 15% of the effort. If you are willing to go 100% effort to get a thing 100% sharp, check your local library. The English guy covers gouges two ways on youtube in something like 4 minutes, nothing wrong with that; but Mr. Lee covers gouges one way in ten pages with 28 illustrations. I do grill 85-15 burgers during the week, but when I get around to brisket on the weekends I invest 110-110.
The point is they measure opposite. Mr. Lee sharpens a rip saw at 0 degrees and 0 degrees, that is perpendicular to the blade and parallel to the floor. The English guys sharpens a rip saw at 90 degrees relative to the blade with the file parallel to the floor, but their teeth will be shaped the same.
For a crosscut saw, where the Englishman will do "65 degrees" relative to the blade with the file still parallel to the floor, Mr Lee would call that 25 degrees relative to the blade and want the file also tipped 25 degrees relative to the floor to keep the gullet open for optimal chip removal.
Besides a now fantastic rip saw, I did an 11 PPI crosscut over the weekend at Canadian 30-30 (60- WTFBBQ in England) that has knocked my socks off. It is as good as or better than a carbide bladed circular saw in well seasoned ash at a compound angle relative to the growth rings.
I don't yet own the American book with the big A on the front to incorporate that frame of reference.
I went looking and found another 11 PPI crosscut (warranted superior) in the lower 48 on CL that is shipping my way over the weekend. I will shape it at 45-45 after it is jointed. Mr. Lee described that as about the top end for fast cutting/ frequent resharpening.
If anyone is "good" at planes and wants to whip some of my Baileys into shape in exchange for having some sharp saws arrive at your shop in a box, please to drop a PM to me.
Reply With Quote