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Summer 2005 - Hone Your Skills |
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Give your hand tools an edge |
If you think sharpening
is difficult, you’re missing the point. Working with a
dull chisel or cupped hand-plane iron is frustrating and even
dangerous. Learn to sharpen your own plane blades and chisels,
and you’ll always be on the cutting edge. |
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1. When a tool’s edge is damaged
or the bevel needs to be reground, reach for a classic power
grinder such as the King six-inch bench grinder to accomplish
the task quickly ($40)
2. Choose a medium-grit grinding wheel
for a badly gouged edge and a fine-grit wheel for one that’s
less damaged (Rona Fine Metal Grinding Wheel, $13)
3. Other power sharpeners are available
besides common bench grinders. One alternative is the Veritas
Mk.II Power Sharpening System, which sharpens using an abrasive
disc ($399)
4. After grinding, it’s time
to hone with a bench stone. Waterstones are softer and faster
than oilstones or diamond stones and will give you a finer edge.
Different grits are available (Norton waterstones, 1,000 grit,
$50; 4,000 grit, $62)
5. Waterstones are so named because
they require water as a lubricant. If you’re sharpening
your chisels frequently, you may find it convenient to leave
the stones in a water bath all the time so you don’t have
to soak them prior to use (The Stone Pond by Veritas, $65)
6. Diamond bench stones are coarser
and faster than waterstones, but they won’t achieve as
fine an edge (DMT’s Duosharp Plus stone with stand, $153)
7. Most modern oilstones are manufactured
from aluminum oxide. This double-grit stone from Norton has
a medium-grit side and a fine-grit side ($62)
8. When sharpening with an oilstone,
always use honing oil as a lubricant (Mibro Sharpening Stone
Oil, $8)
9. It can be tricky to hold a chisel
at the proper angle when you hone it against a stone, so consider
employing a honing guide such as the Veritas Sharpening System
($48)
10. A leather strop such as the Double-Sided
Strop from Lee Valley will buff your tools, the final step in
sharpening ($27)
11. Another option for buffing planes
and chisels is a hard felt buffing wheel. Use it after a grinding
wheel; it replaces stones and strops (Lee Valley Felt Wheel,
$35)
12. Charge your strop or felt buffing
wheel with an abrasive such as Veritas Blade Honing Compound
($10)
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| text
by Susan Peters, photos by Simon Cheung |
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