Which Sharpening System

[Mau]

Hi,

 

I have Veritas Mk II Honing Guide but sometimes it takes a long time to sharpen all my chisels. What kind of sharpening system you are using? What about Tormek 7?

 

Thanks for your commentaries.

 

Mauricio

[bigpav]

I have the Work Sharp ws3000. I have tried other systems and I never got the hang of stones. This system works awesome and puts a great edge on everything. Real easy to use also.

[qwerty2008]

I have a craftsman tool sharpener it has a fine grit rotating wheel that runs thru a water bath for cooling it combined with a polishing stick for fingernails (this can be substituted with 2000+ grit sandpaper or a polishing wheel on a rotary tool) creates a edge that you can shave with even on my cheapo chisels and mini planes. For X'acto blades I use the above mentioned fingernail polishing stick or a old leather belt lathered with a polishing compound (toothpaste) to keep them more then sharp enough to shave with.

[Mau]

Thank you all.

 

I liked the Work Sharp WS3000. Reasanable price, and seems easy to use.

 

Officer Cadet, do you have some of the accessories?

[bigpav]

I just bought an extra wheel and the leather strop. It really puts a great edge on. It is an air cooled unit so you can't leave your blade on longer than 5 seconds at a time. Other than that it really is easy to use!

 

Scott

Edited June 4, 2013 by bigpav

[42rocker]

One of the topics of a Wood Working mag was sharpening with a sheet of glass with wet and dry sandpaper on it. Chisel was held a block of wood with rollers on the bottom. I have several pieces of counter top stone that I'll be using when I do this. Till then I have a Sears wet sander. Also use a sears grinding wheel for the rough sharpening.

 

Later 42rocker

[TK1]

Hi,

 

I use the method mentioned by 42Rocker - do a search on the "scary sharp" method.  

This involves using wet and dry sandpaper up to very fine grit cemented to glass or other flat surfaces.  Some woodworkers go for 'floating glass' for a perfectly smooth surface, I use 5mm panes, thick MDF pieces or polished granite benchtop offcuts.  Depending on how blunt the edge is, I start at 500 or 800 grit and progress through 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then finer when I can get it (up to 5000) - check auto supply stores or websites for finest grades.

 

A honing guide can be used for consistent edge, but you'll get the hang of it with practice  I sharpen chisels, plane blades and kitchen knives this way, then do a final stropping on the palm of my hand.

 

End result is a mirror finish on the cutting edge that will shave wood with little pressure.  To test if it's sharp I shave some arm hairs - I've managed to get a close shave with a #4 or 5 handplane blade or mortice chisel.

 

Cheaper than buying expensive sharpening systems and gives a great result.

 

Regards,

Darren

[SteveM]

The Veritas honing guide doesn't sharpen anything so it isn't necessarily responsible for the lengthy sharpening session. The Mk II guide has a knob that allows you to select between primary and secondary bevels. Once you've got that primary bevel established just sharpen on the secondary bevel for a while till it gets wide and takes longer to sharpen. When that happens got back and sharpen the primary bevel till it meets the cutting edge. I started out with the Veritas Mk II and sandpaper, but I was starting to use up a lot of sandpaper and decided to switch to oil stones and free-hand.

 

What I do now is establish a primary bevel at about 25 degrees on a cheap 6" bench grinder with a 36 grit wheel. Use light pressure, dress the wheel as needed, and dip the chisel in water to keep it cool as needed. Once I've established this primary bevel I don't go back to the grinder for a long time. Next I move on to a medium grit India stone and hone till I feel a slight burr across the entire back of the chisel then I move on to a black Arkansas stone and hone till I've removed all of the scratches from the India stone. Then I take a few swipes on a leather strop charged with green stropping compound and end with a single swipe on the back to remove any burr that might remain. As I'm working I'll occasionally revisit the strop and when it starts to feel dull I drop back to the black Arkansas stone and proceed as described above. To test for sharpness I try to cut across the end grain of a soft wood such as pine. A truly sharp tool will cut through smoothly while a dull one will crush the end grain and tends to slip out of the cut.

 

What I didn't mention yet is that the backs of my chisels near the cutting edge are polished to a mirror finish, you can't get sharp without that. Also, when I hone and strop I first place the face of the chisel flat on the stone or strop then lift up slightly to create a secondary bevel. This way I'm only sharpening that tiny secondary bevel near the cutting edge so it will go much faster. Over time that secondary bevel gets wider and wider and takes more time to sharpen, that's when I revisit the grinder to reestablish a primary bevel that goes all of the way down to the cutting edge.

 

My oil stone and strop setup was about $100, but the Arkansas stone will outlast me and my only consumable is honing oil which is a minor cost as it goes a long way. The key to sharpening is to pick a system then stick with it till you learn how to use it properly.

[Roman]

If you do not mind spending a little to get alot..... the Tormek T-3 or T-7

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Diamond Wheel on a bench grinder is the fastest way to sharpen  with a Mirror finish.