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Why does nobody talk about how we used to actually sharpen our own hand planes
Was in the lumber yard last Tuesday and heard two apprentices talking about ordering new irons instead of sharpening the one they had. Made me think about my old boss Ray back in 1998 who would not let us touch a power sander until we could get a hand plane to cut a .002 shaving off a scrap of walnut. We spent 3 weeks on water stones, 1000 grit then 4000 then 8000, and he'd check the back of the blade with a ruler to make sure it was dead flat. Now you can get a decent honing guide for 30 bucks and most guys my age don't even own a strop. The funny thing is a sharp iron with a 25 degree bevel will cut end grain cleaner than any random orbit sander I have ever used. What do you guys do for chipped edges, grind it back or toss the blade?
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faith_chen723d ago
My buddy grinds his chipped irons back on a benchtop wheel, says tossing good steel is just lazy.
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