sharpening tool

[art3427]

Hey guys, look at this.

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blum+sharpening+box&aq=f

Looks like the perfect sharpening jig for straight blades.

art

[TDHofstetter]

I don't like it. It's quick, but it tempts ya to use your stone in a circular or sideways motion... and that's NEVER good for an edge except when you're completely reshaping one. Good sharpening is always done in a straight line from the toe of the bevel to the heel of the bevel. I don't like that abrasive residue from a coarse grit is expected to lie on top of the box to be picked up by the next finer grit, either... and if ya wipe it up, you consume a ton more oil than usual. I don't like the lack of repeatability; knock off your wire edge and put the tool back... and suddenly you're at a slightly different angle (which wasn't accurate in the first place 'cause the more the tool rises above the box's top the more obtuse the angle becomes, and the shorter the stone the more obtuse it becomes, too).

Last, I don't like the $150 price tag. It'd be fine for a guy with designer Bermuda shorts, but it won't find its way to my shop.

I'm too satisfied with the rolling jig I use - works just fine for chisels & plane irons, stays clamped on the tool for wire-edge removal and so is perfectly repeatable, takes up nearly zero space when it's not in use, is very easy to set to any angle, matching any existing bevel, and costs about 10% as much as the Blum box.

[Beamer]

I'm with tim ... i also don't think I like the idea of moving the stone around. I'd rather drop a chisel than a stone ... stones shatter - steel just needs more grinding.

But also ... rubbing that stone around on that box? Yeah, it's HDPE or UHMW ... low friction stuff, sure ... but eventually you WILL grind it up - and that's just something that don't work for me.

[sawduster]

IMO it is just another high priced gadget that takes up space and slows down the learning of a necessary skill for woodworkers. If you're a mostly power tool woodworker and have only a few blades to sharpen, it isn't worth the money. If you're a mostly hand tool guy and have lots of blades to sharpen, that thing will be more time consuming than many simpler jigs and free hand sharpening.

[imahic]

Just out of curiosity, what do you guys use to sharpen your plane blades and chisels? I have contemplated getting one of those rolling jigs but just never have pulled the trigger. I would like to learn to use a handplane more so need to learn how to sharpen the blades properly. Up to now I have just done it by hand and eye (and not real well at that....lol). My carving tools I just keep honing them on the strop and that seems to keep them pretty sharp. Most carvers I have seen advocate not touching the tools with a stone unless it is nicked in some way.

[sawduster]

I have the old style Veritas guide that I use for establishing a new bevel, as well as an old style Stanley like this one:


These were hard to come by for some time, but maybe you can search one out. Limey turned me on to this one. The little black plastic tab is a built in angle setter.

I had one of these:

It is also a good guide, but I sent it off to a new young woodworker from another forum some time back.

I use the guides to establish a new bevel on my bench top belt sander, but switch to hand held on water stones for refining the edge and for honing between renewing the bevel.

[TDHofstetter]

I've got guides nearly exactly the same as the two Jer pictured there, except I believe my "General" (the lower one, bigger picture) has a pair of wheels instead of just one. It's not quite as instant to set the angle on as the Stanley, but it's more easily squared (the Stanley isn't self-squaring, the General is). It's really pretty easy to set the bevel angle on the General, though, by feel and sight.

Either allows you to pick up the IBS (Implement Being Sharpened) and knock off the wire edge EASILY without losing any angle or squareness registration, since the IBS remains clamped in the guide. They both let you clearly see when you need more oil and when the swarf needs to get cleaned off the stone. I'd much rather see the stone "live" than see the bevel I'm sharpening... I KNOW what's happening to the bevel, and when I want to inspect it for "doneness" I just pick it up & look at it.

[sawduster]

Another of Limey's jigs that I copied, and have passed on before, is this one for setting the blade angle for those jigs.



To make one, use a protractor or what ever method you choose to accurately set the projection of the blade from the front of the jig for the bevel angles you use. As each one is set, hold the front of the jig against the edge of the base of the jig and mark the end of the blade. Now glue a strip of wood parallel to the edge of the base where you have marked the base for each of the different bevel angles, then add a perpendicular piece for each to assist in setting the blade square to the jig. Next time you want to renew a bevel, put the blade loosely into the guide, set the front of the guide against the edge of the jig, slide the blade to the stop with one edge against the squaring stick, and snug down the blade into the guide and you're good to go. Note that the jig in the picture has "Upper" printed on it. The second guide in my earlier post has two levels for grasping different widths of blades, so a separate jig needs to be made for each of the two levels.

[Ruffnek]

I have one of those single-roller guides like Jerry pictured but started using the Jet wet sharpener when I got it.