Experiments in Sharpening

For the first time, I've combined the Veritas Honing Jig with the 8000X Waterstone.

I hollow grind and freehand hone, so the microbevel on a chisel is new to me.



Paring softwood end grain:



The results are satisfactory. There is a little bit of fibre crushing as the chisel cuts deeper. The edge will continue to improve as the face gets more and more polished with each sharpening.

I think I'll stay with honing my working chisels by hand, but my better set will be honed with the jig. The jig honed edge is straighter, and is less reliant on a perfect grind than freehand honing is.

Lapping

I love my waterstones, but I don't lap on them. Waterstones are too slow and prone to wearing for lapping. For lapping I use sandpaper on a granite reference surface.



3/8" Marples Blue Chip chisel, factory ground face.



Working in the direction opposite to the grind marks, the 120 sandpaper is very quick.



I always work the face in the opposite direction of the previous grit. Checking often, I only switch to the next grit when the scratches from the previous one are gone.





...later...



I have 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, and 800 grit paper. A sheet of each, used wisely, will easily do a full set of chisels. If I had finer on hand I'd use it, but this polish is a good one to start from. From here on in it is lapped on my finest waterstone, right after the stone itself has been lapped. This chisel took less than five minutes to flatten.

(Like) New Gets

I bought a Veritas honing guide at my first visit to a Lee Valley store, eleven years ago.



I haven't used it in ten and a half years. I hollow grind my chisels, so they're easy to get shaving sharp by freehand honing, and I wasn't using handplanes then. I put the guide away, as it wasn't worth the hassle. I used the guide today for the first time on my plane irons. The improvement in edge quality is remarkable.

My 7C cuts a nice heavy chip, full width.



The 5C was my worst plane, I rarely used it. Now it cuts to a mirror finish on this soft Maple.



The 3C is cutting a wispy shaving. The iron is the original Sweetheart, and suffers from light pitting. I need to replace it.



I found locking down the knob when both corners of the iron and both edges of the roller were flat on the stone was easier than using the angle jig. I'll still hone my chisels freehand, but I think plane irons benefit from the precision the guide provides.



For the first time in a decade, I can say that I'm glad that I have this guide.