Every project/type of wood being different, is there a basic sequence you follow in preparing a surface for finish (planing, sandpaper grades, card scraping, etc etc.).
Guess what tomorrow is? It’s sharpening day! I purchased stones a few months ago, but they’re still in the bags that I brought them home in but watching this just gave me the confidence to go into my shop and get it done. Thank you!
There was a guy, maybe 30 years ago, who wrote for American Woodworker. Can't remember his name. He had a unique sense of humor.... How do I know when my table saw blade is dull? If you are setting off the smoke alarms, that is a pretty good indicator!
Great video! A trick I use when flattening my water stones, which I do every time I sharpen, is to use a pencil to draw 8-10 lines across the stone before starting to flatten. This gives you a great visual indication of how flat you’ve gotten the stone. Just keep flattening until all the pencil lines are gone.
Great Vid. And there are always lots of ways to do things... when I align my plane blade, I rest the the plane nose down and upside down on a piece of paper and sight along the length, I back the blade off until it is barely visible. Then it's super easy to get the blade exactly parallel to the bed.
THIS HAPPENS TO BE THE BEST SHARPENING VIDEO I’VE EVER SEEN. I HAVE WATER STONES, DIAMOND FLAT STEEL AND EVEN A ELECTRIC SHARPENING MACHINE. THEY ALL WORK GREAT. YOUR APPROACH TO SHARPENING IS THE ONE I WILL USE FROM NOW ON. THANKS FRIEND
lol, I have a penchant for 'bouje' (for short) as well. I was going to upgrade my wet sandpaper station with a water hone machine, or some good stones, until I came across diamond sets for $20. Diamond is officially cheaper than sandpaper, and my boujee shop purchases will be better served by buying some of your hand tool recommendations. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the great content🤓👍 9:50 My teacher showed me a method that works for me. Gently slide the top of ‘your least favorite finger nail’ across the de-burred edge. Then draw it through the end grain of a piece of hardwood.
Bro, I agree with stevecunningham below, you are my new favorite woodworker. You are such a patient and excellent (and oftentimes funny) teacher. Got so many questions for you bro!!
For the ruler trick you can even go to your local tool store 1000 shim, if you really cheap you can use a piece of cardboard from a cereal box it will work just as well! Or if you like me I just do a free hand, and if your back is flat that's all you need! Good video that a good tips enjoying your journey! Columbus Michigan
I just learned how to sharpen freehand when I started. I don´t have to worry about secondary bevels because doing the whole bevel is quick enough and without a honing guide I can use the whole stone so I don´t have to flatten it that often. No jigs, no rulers, it´s not hard to do and much quicker.
Holy words, man. I can split hair, sharpening with a 18$ water stone (double face grit 1000/4000) purchased on the famous online shop. I love water stone.
The reason why the ruler trick is a issue is after you do it you ALLWAYS have to use the ruler the same one in the same position. (or it changes the back bevel/ yorkshire pitch) or re-flatten the entire blade to remove the bevel if you want to do anything else. Not using the ruler is more work in the start setting up the blades but the new lapping films make short work of that for setup. Day to day you shouldn't be hitting the back except to break the burr.
Very interesting!! Eric!, I feel like you're teaching me personally. I know we're all human, and we all question ourselves, but you are an amazing teacher! I would feel intimitated to work face to face with you LOL & I'm in my 50's! I wish/should've gotten into wood working 40 yrs ago. Thank you my friend, keep on teaching n I'll keep on learning...btw WHERE IS YOUR PATREON? What exactly IS a patreon lol...help...
I use a strop and polishing compound as my final step. I have been told the polishing compound is effectively 15000 grit. IDK. But it does give a mirror shine to the edge.
Interesting..... I do have one set of the old DMT stones, with all the holes in the plate. They had pretty much stopped cutting. Put a little of the Trend lapping fluid on them and they came back most of the way. I do have the diamond lapping plates, at least for now. Mostly I don't want the maintenance chore of flattening them. I am curious about you not stropping the plane irons. I can 'feel' a burr of the 8000 grit stone, and even off a 30,000 grit Shapton stone. I am getting back into flat work after almost 30 years on the wood lathes....
My experience with western tools: I got the best edges grinding a "deep and narrow groove" with a dremel grinding wheel (smaller radius) that helps me freehand sharpen super comfortably forna long time. I use 1000, 3000, 8000 and 12000 stones (high quality japanese made), then japanese thin camelia oil to protect blade and tool. Always do sideways movements, also extra pressure on the sides to create that super slight curve. I got transparent shavings with lie nielsen and silk smooth finish on most woods. If I can be of more help, just ask!
i was surprised buy his jump from 1000 to a 10000. i'm just beginning in the hobby. any suggestion on what is too wide a step or a unnecessarily narrow one? yesterday i just got my first decent stone (at least as i can judge it), a 1000/3000 naniwa
@fredericofetter you are correct, that jump is too much and there are two possibilities: small scratches from the 1000 or too much suffering for the finishing stone and too much time wasted. Naniwa are great stones but not all of them are good for everything. The hibiki and chosera lines are great, I would recommend you the snow white for an 8000 and the kagayaki forna 12.000 if you want to go for very nice finish. Also learn to sharpen very flat bevel freehand, it makes for a much better edge no matter the stones. I think you should be fine with that progression, also it's important to use a flat diamond plate like Atoma to keep the stones flat, that way you will get the best results from your stones
Having spent a ton of money on sharpening…my setup now? I have 3 stones: 1K, 3K, and 13K. I use all 3 when I flatten the back of chisels. The ruler trick is a great trick and use on my bevel up planes. I sharpen by hand and do the secondary bevel by feel.
From how I understand it, we Brits modified the word Camber from the Romans Their roads as most countries now do it, have a camber on them to help the rain leave the roads.
I check for edge imperfections by lightly dragging the edge of my finger nail along the blade edge. Super sensitive technique and less chance of laceration! If your fingernail is too short you can pull back the flesh a bit to avoid skin-to-blade contact. 40 years in fine furniture and curvy staircases. And still learning. Great video! Mahalo!
Kudos on mentioning that there is no given surefire way to tell when a blade is dull. I work mostly with soft woods, just last week I was planing a face of a board with freshly sharpened plane. I use a wooden smother and I was getting ridiculously thin shavings (the kind that flies out straight out of the plane and starts sticking to your arm thanks to static), when I moved to plane the edge that was a bit more figured and the individual ring were harder, you could see sings of the slightest skipping on the finished surface thanks to the orientation of the grain. I waxed the sole, tried going slower, and everything went fine after that. Another thing that used to happen to me was getting fluffy (not torn out, just "fluffy") surface, but my plane still cut fine using the same amount of effort, so I thought it was weird grain, but while the plane took still the same amount of force to push, the blade was a bit duller and stroping did the trick. Time and practice solves all, thank you for another good presentation. And by the way, those stones look absolutely awesome.
There's a way to know. Everyone knows when their tools are dull. Most just lie to themselves about it. That's because they suck at sharpening and don't want to do it. The sad truth is the more often you sharpen the less time you'll have to spend sharpening. By rights you should probably be sharpening a tool after every 15 minutes of using it. So whatever you do had better be fast.
Tormek is basically a fancy grinder, the finest stone is a very expensive 1000grit diamond stone, the stropping paste is around 10,000 grit. Waterstones can be much finer, around 20,000 grit or higher. You'll never get an edge off a tormek like you can sharpening with stones. Tormeks excel at grinding odd shapes like a fingernail grind on a bowl gouge or a curved skew grind, for this the tormek is the best but nothing beats waterstones for the absolute sharpest edge possible you'd need for joinery tools like chisels and plane blades.
I've used Tormeks many times but I don't own one. I've found them to be quite good but also quite slow--I'm used to hollow grinding on a standard wheel so it's very quick for me. I also think the edge I get off this 10,000 stone is unmatched honestly.
What a nice video ... eventhougt i am an occasional & semi experienced woodworker and know the subject, such a reminder is a delight !!! For beginners this video is a MUST, lucky you are. The sound of a good shaving is so nice. The more i look at your videos the more i love your style - Thanks ....
Can you answer a question regarding soaking your stones? You pulled them from the tub of water, is that where you store them, or prep? If prep, how long?
I saw he answered this in another reply, so in case you missed it: "I do keep them in water but they don't require long soaking, which is super nice if you need to store them dry. I've given them about 2-3 minutes of soaking before use in the past and they work great."
I've watched about a bajillion videos & read a bunch of articles on how to sharpen. This is by far the best I've seen. Tons of information and practical tips. Usually,the techniques are taught but not explained in as much detail. Thanks for this video.
Hollow grind like he does but notice the mess he's making with those waterstones. If you want slurry like you're cutting stones in your shop then it's a viable option I suppose. He just don't know where to get diamond plates cheap.
About the chisel- the bevel on the other side pushes it into the wood. The reverse bevel keeps it going straight, opposing the small back force from the materian you're removing.
Except it doesn't. The blade will ALWAYS try to ride on that back bevel. It's basic physics that cannot be argued around no matter how many heavily edited videos from much less honest content creators are out there. When you push on a chisel with a back bevel the cutting edge is trying to cut anywhere from a 1/32" to 1/16" above the actual back of the chisel depending on how much of a back bevel you put on it. That means that the chisel back is always going to be being forced to meet uncut wood. If it was a sharp 90 degree angle the it would just stop moving when it hit that but because you've created an incline with that back bevel the chisel will always try to push itself up that incline. You just can't legitimately argue that away. It is going to happen. If you've ever made a cut with a chisel with a back bevel and had the cut come out less than square or with a sloppy fit or with slightly chewed up edges that back bevel and you're natural tendency to try and keep the chisel straight is why. Consciously or or not you will always being trying to compensate for where that chisel wants to naturally go because of that back bevel. It is going to want to push in and as you feel that you will be directing the tip slightly back so that as the back bevel forces the blade forward you're still cutting mostly where you want it to. The sides of the cut will almost always be slightly trapezoidal in shape because most people will tend to overcompensate to one degree or another. The sides of the cut will also not be as smooth as or as neat they could be. Competing bevels on a chisel also make the chisel far more likely to follow some grain change instead of where you're trying to put it. This is not a controversy, it's just the basic physics of how a cutting edge with no reference surface other than itself that is not forcibly held to an angle by mechanical means, like a chisel for instance, is going to behave. You can argue against it and say nuh-uh or come back with this content creator said this and you'll be as wrong as that content creator. And I know which shmuck TH-camr has pushed a few videos with plenty of jump cuts "proving" a back bevel doesn't behave the way physics says it must and he's very wrong as well.
The difference in sharpening angle is usually dictated by 2 things; the type of metal the blade is made of, and how often you want to sharpen. To explain why this is; The more carbon a metal has, the harder it is. Thus it's better at keeping it's angle. I.e. high carbon steels can hold a sharper edge than lower carbon steels. So if you'd sharpen a lower carbon steel with the same edge, you'll be sharpening more often because it will dull quicker.
As you rightly say, having very sharp cutting tools is not a nice-to-have, it’s an absolute essential for any kind of decent woodworking. As you also say, there are quite a few ways of achieving that -and a lot just comes down to personal choice. Here are a few thoughts from me When I started over 45 years ago, it was really a question of oil stones and nothing else (although my grandfather used the dried skin of the dogfish as both sandpaper and a final sharpening paper). Good oil stones are still a fine method but now there are others - and I’ve bought and tried them all I’ve got sets of very expensive water stones. You do need to keep them flattened and need to be soaked just before using. I’ve got a Tormek T8 which takes me up to 1000 grit and then the leather belt. I’ve got the scary sharp style of sharpening films. The key thing for me is simplicity. I ought to touch up my chisels and plane blades whilst using them. If I’m using them a lot, then I ought to touch them up several times during each use. For me to do that, the method has to be simple or I just don’t do it enough. So, I don’t use the Waterstones (need to be flattened and kept wet) or the Tormek (1000 grit is not enough) but use the scary sharp style of system. All stuck onto a piece of plate glass;kept on my bench and ready to use in an instant with a quick spray of water. Where I do use the Tormek is if I have to go back to regrinding the primary bevel. It’s the quickest method that I know of and it does deliver a good consistent edge. Where I do use the Waterstones is to put the secondary bevel on if I have just regrouped the primary bevel. I’m not saying this the best method - let alone the only method - but it suits my style of working. I want to touch up my edges regularly. I agree with the video in that the angle of the primary bevel is not critical. Wisdom has chisels at 25 and most planes at 30. However, I have low angle and high angle planes which vary greatly in the angles required. What I do believe is important is that the secondary bevel is about 3-5 degrees greater than the primary bevel and that I sharpen (and touch up) that secondary bevel to the same angle consistently. Absolutely hard work to touch up at 36 degrees one time; 33 the next and then 36 again. So, that consistency is key again for my need for simplicity. None of this is a critics of anything in the video. Just another perspective .
Hey Erik, going back through the library refreshing my wetware with the information provided. I just purchased a couple Ohishi waterstones, going with the 1K and 6K based on the instructional video provided by CFC. Maybe I'll get to 10k some day :) How do you store your waterstones when done sharpening?
Do you have a full video on sharpening the curved chisels? I have some new Schaaf's and I have no idea how to sharpen them or, in really-ville, I have a hard time understanding what and how a strop actually sharpens the blade (if I should actually be using a wetstone instead) and what the different kinds of colored strop wax stuffs are; which ones I'm supoosed to be getting and using and for what purpose.
I have the LN guide and love it for the reason you mention - the long jaws. Best out there. Another one that is fairly recent is the newer Woodriver Premium guide, As good as the LN one, but no extra jaws. Does come with a setting guide and is dead simple to use and very effective. A question for you about the Ohishi 10,000 grit stone. I have had that one for over a year and was never happy with it, reason being that LN says not to soak it. It drank up water like a sponge and never worked well for me no matter how often I sprayed it with water. Recently (like last two or three weeks) I've tried soaking it permanently. The difference in use is like night and day. Love the way it works now. No issues with it and so far I've not seen any degradation of the stone. We shall see how it holds up long term. I'm wondering if you've had the same experience and have you tried soaking it?
I’ve had the same issue with these stones. The soaking guidance is really conflicting out there and I can’t determine if it works better soaked or not. My buy shaptons cause I feel like I’m not getting the best out of my Ohishi. Appreciate your thoughts
Hello, just found your videos today when searching a method of clamping mitred joins together, your video of the three techniques you use came up I watched it and consequently fell down the rabbit hole that is ENCurtis. I have spent a very engaging couple of hours whilst waiting for glue to dry watching many of them. All were very informative and seem to make the mysterious art of the carpenter accessible to us newbies, especially this little gem. Thanks for the tutorials and keep them coming my friend.
Hey, if someone needed to do a quick hand plane sharpening/setup walkthrough, that's it right here. Waterstones, they ain't that bad price wise. I went with a DMT diamond stones they run about the same. I like the basic veritas honing guide, because it's better than the 20-30$ ones, since it's proper flat. After watching the vid, I may just add a water stone of ~10000 grit instead of the strop for some tools. A question about flattening though, what grit do you use, and does the grit of paper matter for which stone you work on?
Yes I used 600 but I've used other grits before to similar results. And I do keep them in water but they don't require long soaking, which is super nice if you need to store them dry. I've given them about 2-3 minutes of soaking before use in the past and they work great.
Awesome info, Helps . I agree sharpening is the key to woodworking. Sharp tools can let a small shop knock out alot of work and avoids dust - get a bit tired of masks not mention noise is always bad.... Out curiosity, what is your setup for creating the hollow grind? Thanks..
@@ENCurtis do you really need such a fine grit? 120 sounds awfully fine for hollow grinding primary bevels to me. I use like 40. Ain't nobody got time for 120 grit. You're just making air with a primary bevel. The grind don't really look bad either. It's the finish grind on my lawnmower blades too. Sharp enough.
Nothing wrong with methodically going through the grits as you've been doing. However I will say 99% of the time I go straight from my 1000 stone to my 10,000 stone with no problems whatsoever.
Maybe someone has an answer to this problem! A purchased piece of hardwood, on arrival, such as rough cut ebony, has deep chatter (saw) marks. After all careful efforts to flatten the surface, the chatter marks remain. Wetting the surface does help as with knotty wood, but there are stubborn traces of these marks! Could it be that the speed of rough sawing the piece, compressed and cooked the fibres? Some experts "toast" woods like ebony peehaps to make it more workable! The section was 2.5 inches x 1/4 inch. The 1/4 inch edge planes like butter but chatter marks remain, to a lesser degree!
Since it's a very small angle on the back bevel, a good approximation of the angle is the tangent of the angle, so the thickness of the ruler divided by the distance to the edge. Assuming a 0.5mm ruler and 3cm distance, that gives us an angle of 0.0167rad, or about 0.95 degrees
Every project/type of wood being different, is there a basic sequence you follow in preparing a (for example a highly figured curly maple top) surface for finish (cutting/milling, planing, sandpaper grades, card scraping (?)etc etc.). Does card scraping generally go before a final sanding? Thx so much, and appreciate your teaching! Subscribed 👍
Camber ; a slight convexity, arching, or curvature (as of a beam, deck, or road) : the convexity of the curve of an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge. : a setting of the wheels of an automotive vehicle closer together at the bottom than at the top.
Look through his other videos. There is one where he goes over that. He does use a leather strop occasionally for those but you do have to be careful with those and not use them exclusively. The problem is that the leather is soft enough that the toolhead will sink in a little bit. If you just strop to maintain that edge it begins to curl that edge over and round it. You can mitigate that a bit by using some of the thinner stops bonded to a hardwood substrate but you still don't want to use it as the exclusive method of sharpening. There are some very good water stones that are in traditional slipstone shape which is a water stone that basically has the profile of an extremely elongated teardrop with both ends of the teardrop having a radius. One large and one small obviously. There are also cone shaped waterstones. I like the teardrop profile ones as they are more consistent and easier to use as each diameter of the teardrop has the same size down the length. You have to freehand sharpen gouges but you can ride those profiles right down the inside curve of gouge and it will follow it pretty naturally. The back or outside of the gouge you use the flat stones for and just practice will get you there. The angle is big enough on a gouge for you to feel it ride on the stone. You just put one side of that curve on the angle at the far end of the stone and apply slight pressure as you draw it back to you. As you draw it back to you you just slowly rock it over to the other edge so that by the time the gouge reaches the near end of the stone it has completely shifted so that the opposite edge is now resting on the stone.
What do you recommend for new plane irons and chisels for flattening and polishing the backs? I've always found it to be the most tedious part of sharpening. Also, does the $15 honing guide hold narrow chisels securely? Thanks you.
The backs come off a surface grinder that is able to create flat surfacess almost down to a mirometer, it's pointless to "flatten" it, it often will make it worse. After each sharpening session, make a fraction of a degree back bevel with a few strokes on the final sharpening stone or even just a strop, laying the top of the blade on the ruler or a strip of thin soft material to not marr the blade. That will remove the burr and add keenness to the other side. The myth of polishing the back flat has no evidence base and just follows tradition, which has to go.
Brother, when you do the ruler trick it is best to move the blade along the ruler rather than toward and away from it. This will keep the angle of the back bevel you are honing more consistent.
"8 to 12 strokes and I'm done"
Me too buddy, me too 😢
Er, I think you may have misunderstood 😉!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
That little bit when u said "listen, they sound the same." The importance of listening to your tools I don't think is said enough. Great vid
Agreed 100%
Yep
Paul Sellers places a LOT of emphasis on this in his videos, one of the reasons I love watching - and listening to - him.
Nothing like the satisfying sound of a well sharpened blade on a piece of wood. Polar opposite of the scraping of a chalkboard.
Every project/type of wood being different, is there a basic sequence you follow in preparing a surface for finish (planing, sandpaper grades, card scraping, etc etc.).
Guess what tomorrow is? It’s sharpening day! I purchased stones a few months ago, but they’re still in the bags that I brought them home in but watching this just gave me the confidence to go into my shop and get it done. Thank you!
Hey buddy, today is sharpening day. Let’s get the edge.
There was a guy, maybe 30 years ago, who wrote for American Woodworker. Can't remember his name. He had a unique sense of humor.... How do I know when my table saw blade is dull? If you are setting off the smoke alarms, that is a pretty good indicator!
That's my miter saw blade right now -- I don't know what I cut that killed it, but it's smoking every time now.
On your example I purchases a 10000 Ohishi stone and I LOVE IT!!! Thanks for the guidance.
After watching so many videos this one really simplifies the process better than any I've watched. Thanks!
Great video! A trick I use when flattening my water stones, which I do every time I sharpen, is to use a pencil to draw 8-10 lines across the stone before starting to flatten. This gives you a great visual indication of how flat you’ve gotten the stone. Just keep flattening until all the pencil lines are gone.
nice. one of the better sharpening videos i have watched. thankyou.
Glad you liked it!
WAUW. What an educational force you are. Watching the videos makes me dream about making furniture.
Thank you so much 🙂🙏
You are becoming my new favorite woodworker. Your video production is excellent and your teaching method is great!
Thank you so much!
I second that notion!
I third
Great Vid. And there are always lots of ways to do things... when I align my plane blade, I rest the the plane nose down and upside down on a piece of paper and sight along the length, I back the blade off until it is barely visible. Then it's super easy to get the blade exactly parallel to the bed.
THIS HAPPENS TO BE THE BEST SHARPENING VIDEO I’VE EVER SEEN. I HAVE WATER STONES, DIAMOND FLAT STEEL AND EVEN A ELECTRIC SHARPENING MACHINE. THEY ALL WORK GREAT. YOUR APPROACH TO SHARPENING IS THE ONE I WILL USE FROM NOW ON. THANKS FRIEND
Thanks man. I'm glad you got something from it!
Shift button is your friend, buddy.
lol, I have a penchant for 'bouje' (for short) as well. I was going to upgrade my wet sandpaper station with a water hone machine, or some good stones, until I came across diamond sets for $20. Diamond is officially cheaper than sandpaper, and my boujee shop purchases will be better served by buying some of your hand tool recommendations. Keep up the great work!
Well hello dude is by far the best video on sharpening, clear and on point, it's like a master class of sharpening and set up thanks for sharing
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the great content🤓👍
9:50 My teacher showed me a method that works for me. Gently slide the top of ‘your least favorite finger nail’ across the de-burred edge. Then draw it through the end grain of a piece of hardwood.
Thanks for putting out a simple explanation of how to sharpen tools.
Followed this and was finally able to get my planes cutting real well, super good feeling!
Quality advice and a very nice presentation…agreed, no BS
This is the video I've needed for years.
Thanks for all the tips! I appreciate you sharing your skills. Can I ask... what is the proper way to store a plane?
In a hanger!
Thank you! Re setting has been my hardest task!
Happy to help!
Bro, I agree with stevecunningham below, you are my new favorite woodworker. You are such a patient and excellent (and oftentimes funny) teacher. Got so many questions for you bro!!
For the ruler trick you can even go to your local tool store 1000 shim, if you really cheap you can use a piece of cardboard from a cereal box it will work just as well! Or if you like me I just do a free hand, and if your back is flat that's all you need! Good video that a good tips enjoying your journey! Columbus Michigan
Wow. I have a new favorite you tube woodworking site.
Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it!
I just learned how to sharpen freehand when I started. I don´t have to worry about secondary bevels because doing the whole bevel is quick enough and without a honing guide I can use the whole stone so I don´t have to flatten it that often. No jigs, no rulers, it´s not hard to do and much quicker.
This was the clearest, most concise demo of sharpening and setting up a hand plane I have seen. Great video. Can't wait to try your techniques out
Holy words, man. I can split hair, sharpening with a 18$ water stone (double face grit 1000/4000) purchased on the famous online shop. I love water stone.
One of the best plane setup videos along with a great sharpening explanation. Thank you.
Glad you found it helpful 🙂
Eric a great explanation of your process. Enjoy your video's. Thanks again
Glad you like them! Thank you.
The reason why the ruler trick is a issue is after you do it you ALLWAYS have to use the ruler the same one in the same position. (or it changes the back bevel/ yorkshire pitch) or re-flatten the entire blade to remove the bevel if you want to do anything else. Not using the ruler is more work in the start setting up the blades but the new lapping films make short work of that for setup. Day to day you shouldn't be hitting the back except to break the burr.
Pretty good tute. Thoroughly enjoyed watching. I do some things a little differently but.....
To each their own, my dude. Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless.
Very interesting!! Eric!, I feel like you're teaching me personally. I know we're all human, and we all question ourselves, but you are an amazing teacher! I would feel intimitated to work face to face with you LOL & I'm in my 50's! I wish/should've gotten into wood working 40 yrs ago. Thank you my friend, keep on teaching n I'll keep on learning...btw WHERE IS YOUR PATREON? What exactly IS a patreon lol...help...
I use a strop and polishing compound as my final step. I have been told the polishing compound is effectively 15000 grit. IDK. But it does give a mirror shine to the edge.
One of the best plane sharpening and adjustment I've ever seen. Thanks!
Bob Van Dyke has a good video on tuning one of those $15 guides. Doesn't take it to Lie Nielsen level, but makes it a lot better.
This video has been the most helpful thus far. Thank you.
You are an excellent teacher ❤
Another great Vid. Advice is honest and relatable.Which means you get more buy in. Thank you.
I have those stones and just learned that you don’t need to soak them. It’s like shapton you can just spray them.
Excellent video. And very strong entry. Nice job man
I have been woodworking and hence sharpening for years; have found the water stones work best for me.
Interesting..... I do have one set of the old DMT stones, with all the holes in the plate. They had pretty much stopped cutting. Put a little of the Trend lapping fluid on them and they came back most of the way. I do have the diamond lapping plates, at least for now. Mostly I don't want the maintenance chore of flattening them. I am curious about you not stropping the plane irons. I can 'feel' a burr of the 8000 grit stone, and even off a 30,000 grit Shapton stone. I am getting back into flat work after almost 30 years on the wood lathes....
This was very informative. great presentation style.
My experience with western tools: I got the best edges grinding a "deep and narrow groove" with a dremel grinding wheel (smaller radius) that helps me freehand sharpen super comfortably forna long time. I use 1000, 3000, 8000 and 12000 stones (high quality japanese made), then japanese thin camelia oil to protect blade and tool. Always do sideways movements, also extra pressure on the sides to create that super slight curve. I got transparent shavings with lie nielsen and silk smooth finish on most woods. If I can be of more help, just ask!
i was surprised buy his jump from 1000 to a 10000. i'm just beginning in the hobby. any suggestion on what is too wide a step or a unnecessarily narrow one? yesterday i just got my first decent stone (at least as i can judge it), a 1000/3000 naniwa
@fredericofetter you are correct, that jump is too much and there are two possibilities: small scratches from the 1000 or too much suffering for the finishing stone and too much time wasted. Naniwa are great stones but not all of them are good for everything. The hibiki and chosera lines are great, I would recommend you the snow white for an 8000 and the kagayaki forna 12.000 if you want to go for very nice finish. Also learn to sharpen very flat bevel freehand, it makes for a much better edge no matter the stones. I think you should be fine with that progression, also it's important to use a flat diamond plate like Atoma to keep the stones flat, that way you will get the best results from your stones
Having spent a ton of money on sharpening…my setup now? I have 3 stones: 1K, 3K, and 13K. I use all 3 when I flatten the back of chisels. The ruler trick is a great trick and use on my bevel up planes. I sharpen by hand and do the secondary bevel by feel.
From how I understand it, we Brits modified the word Camber from the Romans
Their roads as most countries now do it, have a camber on them to help the rain leave the roads.
I never would have tied that to the crown of a road. Very interesting. Learn something new every day!
I check for edge imperfections by lightly dragging the edge of my finger nail along the blade edge. Super sensitive technique and less chance of laceration! If your fingernail is too short you can pull back the flesh a bit to avoid skin-to-blade contact. 40 years in fine furniture and curvy staircases. And still learning. Great video! Mahalo!
The fingernail is a great trick! I've seen that years ago but was lost somewhere in the back of my brain. Thanks for reminding me of it!
Kudos on mentioning that there is no given surefire way to tell when a blade is dull. I work mostly with soft woods, just last week I was planing a face of a board with freshly sharpened plane. I use a wooden smother and I was getting ridiculously thin shavings (the kind that flies out straight out of the plane and starts sticking to your arm thanks to static), when I moved to plane the edge that was a bit more figured and the individual ring were harder, you could see sings of the slightest skipping on the finished surface thanks to the orientation of the grain. I waxed the sole, tried going slower, and everything went fine after that. Another thing that used to happen to me was getting fluffy (not torn out, just "fluffy") surface, but my plane still cut fine using the same amount of effort, so I thought it was weird grain, but while the plane took still the same amount of force to push, the blade was a bit duller and stroping did the trick. Time and practice solves all, thank you for another good presentation. And by the way, those stones look absolutely awesome.
Time and practice solves all indeed! Excellent words. And yes, these stones are fantastic. Highly recommend.
There's a way to know. Everyone knows when their tools are dull. Most just lie to themselves about it. That's because they suck at sharpening and don't want to do it. The sad truth is the more often you sharpen the less time you'll have to spend sharpening. By rights you should probably be sharpening a tool after every 15 minutes of using it. So whatever you do had better be fast.
Good instruction. Thank you.
Your a really good instructor 🤟🏾
21:54 do you have experience with Tormek or similar sharpening systems? If so, why do you prefer the stones and manual sharpening?
Tormek is basically a fancy grinder, the finest stone is a very expensive 1000grit diamond stone, the stropping paste is around 10,000 grit.
Waterstones can be much finer, around 20,000 grit or higher.
You'll never get an edge off a tormek like you can sharpening with stones.
Tormeks excel at grinding odd shapes like a fingernail grind on a bowl gouge or a curved skew grind, for this the tormek is the best but nothing beats waterstones for the absolute sharpest edge possible you'd need for joinery tools like chisels and plane blades.
I've used Tormeks many times but I don't own one. I've found them to be quite good but also quite slow--I'm used to hollow grinding on a standard wheel so it's very quick for me. I also think the edge I get off this 10,000 stone is unmatched honestly.
From one stubborn freehand clown to another, thank you for your insights...👍
What a nice video ... eventhougt i am an occasional & semi experienced woodworker and know the subject, such a reminder is a delight !!! For beginners this video is a MUST, lucky you are. The sound of a good shaving is so nice. The more i look at your videos the more i love your style - Thanks ....
How long should you soak the water stones for before using them?
Thank you very much. Clear concise and understood. Cheers
Great to hear! Thanks for the kind comment 👍
You never disappoint my man. Always no BS, straight to the point and it is great. Well done!
Thank you!
Can you answer a question regarding soaking your stones? You pulled them from the tub of water, is that where you store them, or prep? If prep, how long?
I saw he answered this in another reply, so in case you missed it: "I do keep them in water but they don't require long soaking, which is super nice if you need to store them dry. I've given them about 2-3 minutes of soaking before use in the past and they work great."
Those are some crazy splits/delaminations in your bench...
Was thinking the diamond panels you showed look like the cheap thin ones. Maybe higher quality thicker ones? Good video. Humours a bit campy. Cheers.
I've watched about a bajillion videos & read a bunch of articles on how to sharpen. This is by far the best I've seen. Tons of information and practical tips. Usually,the techniques are taught but not explained in as much detail. Thanks for this video.
Hollow grind like he does but notice the mess he's making with those waterstones. If you want slurry like you're cutting stones in your shop then it's a viable option I suppose. He just don't know where to get diamond plates cheap.
I'm glad you found this accessible ✊
@@1pcfred , I think you missed the point.
@@dcchambers2772 perhaps you can amplify and elaborate on any point you think I missed? Then I'll let you know if I did, or didn't in fact miss it.
@@1pcfred Don't think I have ever come across a 10,000 diamond plate, maybe you can tell us where you get yours from, must be cheap tho
About the chisel- the bevel on the other side pushes it into the wood. The reverse bevel keeps it going straight, opposing the small back force from the materian you're removing.
Except it doesn't. The blade will ALWAYS try to ride on that back bevel. It's basic physics that cannot be argued around no matter how many heavily edited videos from much less honest content creators are out there. When you push on a chisel with a back bevel the cutting edge is trying to cut anywhere from a 1/32" to 1/16" above the actual back of the chisel depending on how much of a back bevel you put on it. That means that the chisel back is always going to be being forced to meet uncut wood. If it was a sharp 90 degree angle the it would just stop moving when it hit that but because you've created an incline with that back bevel the chisel will always try to push itself up that incline. You just can't legitimately argue that away.
It is going to happen. If you've ever made a cut with a chisel with a back bevel and had the cut come out less than square or with a sloppy fit or with slightly chewed up edges that back bevel and you're natural tendency to try and keep the chisel straight is why. Consciously or or not you will always being trying to compensate for where that chisel wants to naturally go because of that back bevel. It is going to want to push in and as you feel that you will be directing the tip slightly back so that as the back bevel forces the blade forward you're still cutting mostly where you want it to. The sides of the cut will almost always be slightly trapezoidal in shape because most people will tend to overcompensate to one degree or another. The sides of the cut will also not be as smooth as or as neat they could be. Competing bevels on a chisel also make the chisel far more likely to follow some grain change instead of where you're trying to put it.
This is not a controversy, it's just the basic physics of how a cutting edge with no reference surface other than itself that is not forcibly held to an angle by mechanical means, like a chisel for instance, is going to behave. You can argue against it and say nuh-uh or come back with this content creator said this and you'll be as wrong as that content creator. And I know which shmuck TH-camr has pushed a few videos with plenty of jump cuts "proving" a back bevel doesn't behave the way physics says it must and he's very wrong as well.
The difference in sharpening angle is usually dictated by 2 things; the type of metal the blade is made of, and how often you want to sharpen.
To explain why this is;
The more carbon a metal has, the harder it is. Thus it's better at keeping it's angle.
I.e. high carbon steels can hold a sharper edge than lower carbon steels. So if you'd sharpen a lower carbon steel with the same edge, you'll be sharpening more often because it will dull quicker.
Fantastic video - thank you
Do you store your water stones in that water bin or just soak before use?
As you rightly say, having very sharp cutting tools is not a nice-to-have, it’s an absolute essential for any kind of decent woodworking. As you also say, there are quite a few ways of achieving that -and a lot just comes down to personal choice.
Here are a few thoughts from me
When I started over 45 years ago, it was really a question of oil stones and nothing else (although my grandfather used the dried skin of the dogfish as both sandpaper and a final sharpening paper). Good oil stones are still a fine method but now there are others - and I’ve bought and tried them all
I’ve got sets of very expensive water stones. You do need to keep them flattened and need to be soaked just before using.
I’ve got a Tormek T8 which takes me up to 1000 grit and then the leather belt.
I’ve got the scary sharp style of sharpening films.
The key thing for me is simplicity. I ought to touch up my chisels and plane blades whilst using them. If I’m using them a lot, then I ought to touch them up several times during each use. For me to do that, the method has to be simple or I just don’t do it enough. So, I don’t use the Waterstones (need to be flattened and kept wet) or the Tormek (1000 grit is not enough) but use the scary sharp style of system. All stuck onto a piece of plate glass;kept on my bench and ready to use in an instant with a quick spray of water.
Where I do use the Tormek is if I have to go back to regrinding the primary bevel. It’s the quickest method that I know of and it does deliver a good consistent edge.
Where I do use the Waterstones is to put the secondary bevel on if I have just regrouped the primary bevel.
I’m not saying this the best method - let alone the only method - but it suits my style of working. I want to touch up my edges regularly.
I agree with the video in that the angle of the primary bevel is not critical. Wisdom has chisels at 25 and most planes at 30. However, I have low angle and high angle planes which vary greatly in the angles required. What I do believe is important is that the secondary bevel is about 3-5 degrees greater than the primary bevel and that I sharpen (and touch up) that secondary bevel to the same angle consistently. Absolutely hard work to touch up at 36 degrees one time; 33 the next and then 36 again. So, that consistency is key again for my need for simplicity.
None of this is a critics of anything in the video. Just another perspective .
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and experience. And an excellent point about convenience.
I appreciate this video.
Wiping the blade dry would help to display the bevels should help in camera.
Hey Erik, going back through the library refreshing my wetware with the information provided. I just purchased a couple Ohishi waterstones, going with the 1K and 6K based on the instructional video provided by CFC. Maybe I'll get to 10k some day :) How do you store your waterstones when done sharpening?
Do you have a full video on sharpening the curved chisels?
I have some new Schaaf's and I have no idea how to sharpen them or, in really-ville, I have a hard time understanding what and how a strop actually sharpens the blade (if I should actually be using a wetstone instead) and what the different kinds of colored strop wax stuffs are; which ones I'm supoosed to be getting and using and for what purpose.
Thank you Lyle.
I have the LN guide and love it for the reason you mention - the long jaws. Best out there. Another one that is fairly recent is the newer Woodriver Premium guide, As good as the LN one, but no extra jaws. Does come with a setting guide and is dead simple to use and very effective.
A question for you about the Ohishi 10,000 grit stone. I have had that one for over a year and was never happy with it, reason being that LN says not to soak it. It drank up water like a sponge and never worked well for me no matter how often I sprayed it with water. Recently (like last two or three weeks) I've tried soaking it permanently. The difference in use is like night and day. Love the way it works now. No issues with it and so far I've not seen any degradation of the stone. We shall see how it holds up long term. I'm wondering if you've had the same experience and have you tried soaking it?
I’ve had the same issue with these stones. The soaking guidance is really conflicting out there and I can’t determine if it works better soaked or not. My buy shaptons cause I feel like I’m not getting the best out of my Ohishi. Appreciate your thoughts
Hello, just found your videos today when searching a method of clamping mitred joins together, your video of the three techniques you use came up I watched it and consequently fell down the rabbit hole that is ENCurtis. I have spent a very engaging couple of hours whilst waiting for glue to dry watching many of them. All were very informative and seem to make the mysterious art of the carpenter accessible to us newbies, especially this little gem. Thanks for the tutorials and keep them coming my friend.
Hey, if someone needed to do a quick hand plane sharpening/setup walkthrough, that's it right here. Waterstones, they ain't that bad price wise. I went with a DMT diamond stones they run about the same. I like the basic veritas honing guide, because it's better than the 20-30$ ones, since it's proper flat. After watching the vid, I may just add a water stone of ~10000 grit instead of the strop for some tools. A question about flattening though, what grit do you use, and does the grit of paper matter for which stone you work on?
For flattening I just use sandpaper. 600g up to about 1000-2000g. Then I go to my stones. Easy peasy.
Great video, thank you. Could you share what grit sandpaper you use for flattening water stones? Also, do the ohishi stones need to be soaked?
He said 600 for flattening and he pulled the stones out of water when he started, so yes.
Yes I used 600 but I've used other grits before to similar results. And I do keep them in water but they don't require long soaking, which is super nice if you need to store them dry. I've given them about 2-3 minutes of soaking before use in the past and they work great.
Perfect; thank you
Awesome info, Helps . I agree sharpening is the key to woodworking. Sharp tools can let a small shop knock out alot of work and avoids dust - get a bit tired of masks not mention noise is always bad.... Out curiosity, what is your setup for creating the hollow grind? Thanks..
Very true! I use a white 120g wheel from Lee Valley with the wolverine jig from OneWay. Simple and very effective.
@@ENCurtis do you really need such a fine grit? 120 sounds awfully fine for hollow grinding primary bevels to me. I use like 40. Ain't nobody got time for 120 grit. You're just making air with a primary bevel. The grind don't really look bad either. It's the finish grind on my lawnmower blades too. Sharp enough.
Thanks for this. Your descriptions and analysis are first rate. I am having some trouble seeing things at times however.
Glad you liked it. Still learning the craft of videography though. And I appreciate you giving criticism in a kind way 🙏
I’m going to try the bigger jump in grits. I’ve been doing 600-1000-3000-8000 but maybe I’m over doing it?
Nothing wrong with methodically going through the grits as you've been doing. However I will say 99% of the time I go straight from my 1000 stone to my 10,000 stone with no problems whatsoever.
20:30 Wow...nice. Koubou would be proud!
Oishi stones are just iminishi stones rebranded for lie Nielsen. Save the money I've had both find there to soft and require to much flattening
Great video thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Maybe someone has an answer to this problem!
A purchased piece of hardwood, on arrival, such as rough cut ebony, has deep chatter (saw) marks.
After all careful efforts to flatten the surface, the chatter marks remain.
Wetting the surface does help as with knotty wood, but there are stubborn traces of these marks!
Could it be that the speed of rough sawing the piece, compressed and cooked the fibres?
Some experts "toast" woods like ebony peehaps to make it more workable!
The section was 2.5 inches x 1/4 inch.
The 1/4 inch edge planes like butter but chatter marks remain, to a lesser degree!
Thanks for the lesson!
Great information, thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful!
Well done. Thank you.
Can you help me out I found the 1000 grit stone but the 10000 grit was a different color green and it was $109.00
Just curious what is you system for establishing the primary / hollow grind bevel. Thanks
Just a standard low speed grinder, a 120g white wheel from Lee Valley, and an adjustable platform from OneWay. Very simple.
Grazie. Consigli veramente preziosi ed illustrati benissimo!
Since it's a very small angle on the back bevel, a good approximation of the angle is the tangent of the angle, so the thickness of the ruler divided by the distance to the edge. Assuming a 0.5mm ruler and 3cm distance, that gives us an angle of 0.0167rad, or about 0.95 degrees
Cannot fine the 10,000 stone, is there another link?
Wow. Just incredibly informative! Especially the difference with irons vs chisels. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful for you!
Think of camber as the top lean in and out of a tire. If it's leaning either way the tire gets round on the edge.
Every project/type of wood being different, is there a basic sequence you follow in preparing a (for example a highly figured curly maple top) surface for finish (cutting/milling, planing, sandpaper grades, card scraping (?)etc etc.). Does card scraping generally go before a final sanding? Thx so much, and appreciate your teaching! Subscribed 👍
Thanks. Awesome detailed information. Could you advise on that small ruler you use for your back bevel?
Cheers, 👍
Just a $5 steel rule from Lie Nielsen. Seems to be just the right thickness. And cheap.
Camber ; a slight convexity, arching, or curvature (as of a beam, deck, or road) : the convexity of the curve of an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge. : a setting of the wheels of an automotive vehicle closer together at the bottom than at the top.
If you wouldn't mind, I could use some instruction on how to sharpen round gouges etc. Both inside and outside bevels please!
Look through his other videos. There is one where he goes over that. He does use a leather strop occasionally for those but you do have to be careful with those and not use them exclusively. The problem is that the leather is soft enough that the toolhead will sink in a little bit. If you just strop to maintain that edge it begins to curl that edge over and round it. You can mitigate that a bit by using some of the thinner stops bonded to a hardwood substrate but you still don't want to use it as the exclusive method of sharpening.
There are some very good water stones that are in traditional slipstone shape which is a water stone that basically has the profile of an extremely elongated teardrop with both ends of the teardrop having a radius. One large and one small obviously. There are also cone shaped waterstones. I like the teardrop profile ones as they are more consistent and easier to use as each diameter of the teardrop has the same size down the length. You have to freehand sharpen gouges but you can ride those profiles right down the inside curve of gouge and it will follow it pretty naturally.
The back or outside of the gouge you use the flat stones for and just practice will get you there. The angle is big enough on a gouge for you to feel it ride on the stone. You just put one side of that curve on the angle at the far end of the stone and apply slight pressure as you draw it back to you. As you draw it back to you you just slowly rock it over to the other edge so that by the time the gouge reaches the near end of the stone it has completely shifted so that the opposite edge is now resting on the stone.
What do you recommend for new plane irons and chisels for flattening and polishing the backs? I've always found it to be the most tedious part of sharpening.
Also, does the $15 honing guide hold narrow chisels securely?
Thanks you.
The backs come off a surface grinder that is able to create flat surfacess almost down to a mirometer, it's pointless to "flatten" it, it often will make it worse. After each sharpening session, make a fraction of a degree back bevel with a few strokes on the final sharpening stone or even just a strop, laying the top of the blade on the ruler or a strip of thin soft material to not marr the blade. That will remove the burr and add keenness to the other side. The myth of polishing the back flat has no evidence base and just follows tradition, which has to go.
Why do I keep ending up with a very skewed blade on everything I sharpen even with the honing guide?
excellent video!
Glad you liked it!
Brother, when you do the ruler trick it is best to move the blade along the ruler rather than toward and away from it. This will keep the angle of the back bevel you are honing more consistent.
This makes zero difference on the angle. How is honing a primary bevel perpendicular makes it consistent, but honing back bevel the same way doesn't?
I inherited my grandad's planer and the back handle is loose. Do you have a video of how to overhaul the whole thing? I am a beginner here!