Hidden Cost of Entry for Hand Tools?


bushwacked

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I have been considering a plane or 2 just to get started and see what it is all about. However I have read plenty on blades needing to be sharpened straight from the manufacturer to get that super sharp edge. Then the need to resharpen and keep that edge after only a couple uses ... depending on the use.

 

So my question is ... is the real hidden cost of hand tools, the sharpening supplies?

 

I have a Tormek I have used for sharpening knives and other things, but it only goes up to 1000 grit. From what I have read and seen, that is not going to be even close to acceptable for putting an edge on the blades? This is one thing that has kept me from hitting the buy button several times. I am afraid if I buy I wont get the best results and end up hating it. Or I will buy, realize all that and then need to drop $4-500 more on better sharpening stones and higher grit to get things where they need to be.

 

 

Thoughts on this being the hidden cost of entry?

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Sharpening can become a rabbit hole. Paul Sellers has a video demonstrating that a plane iron is perfectly useful after honing with just 250 grit sandpaper. Yes, you will find that very well sharpened tools are easier to work with, but you don't have to go crazy with it. I think the key is to develop a good honing technique, and use guides as needed, to produce a consistent bevel across the cutting edge, appropriate for the job intended.

I use a cheap set of Harbor Freight diamong honing plate when an edge needs to be reground, a nick removed, etc... and hone with either sandpaper on a granite kitchen baking stone, or an old set of oil stones I've had for years. Either method makes a good edge, and stropping with an old leather belt glued to a board and coated with white polishing compound gives a mirror finish. That fine polish is what makes the edge last.

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I'd say it is the sharpening supplies and also building/buying a heavy workbench.  with powertools you can get away with sawhorses and a sheet of plywood.  With handtools you really need something with some mass and good vices.

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You don't need to go past 1000.  I usually only do 220 for planes that aren't producing a finish surface.  I did recently buy an Arkansas stone and I do like it better than sandpaper, but really the sandpaper is all you need to get work done.  Strop on some leather glued to mdf every now and then and you don't have to resharpen very often, either. 

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I think the most beneficial bench plane for someone using power tools is a smoother.  Knocking off machine marks with a plane instead of sand paper really cuts down on time and dust.  For that, you need a good edge so I think you need to go to at least 8000.  Norton makes a 4000/8000 combo stone for under $100.  That with your Tormek will get your edge.  You'll need something to flatten the stone with and if you go course diamond plate to do that, you can use it to fix chips, regrind bevels, etc.  Good news, it can all be used for chisels, marking knives, and anything else that needs sharpening.  Bad news, if you think sharpening is going to be a rabbit hole, wait till you get hooked on hand tools and watch where THAT goes.  

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You can use an edge of a Tormek if you want, you'll find it'll work just fine on most things. 

 

In many ways you've already spent out on a good grinder so you're broken the back of sharpening cost. 

 

As other's have said you can do really well with quite coarse grits it's just useful to know how to up it if you need to.

 

There is also a thought that getting a really fine edge costs a lot of money time and fuss. I'm not sure it does and I think that notion is a bit of a straw man.

 

Say you buy a good vintage item http://www.jimbodetools.com/STANLEY-No-3-Smooth-Plane-Type-8-circa-1899-1902-p42440.htmlor pay a little less through ebay. Say you want to dip your toe in, sandpaper, india stone or the like will be fine. After a year you're still at it and you want to go further. Relatively it won't cost you very much to sharpen to #12000 truly it wont. 

 

I'm currently trying out a #12000 shapton cream ceramic waterstone, it was $90.00 sent direct from Japan. Initially I'm delighted but I'll keep using it before I decide if it's for me.  

 

You should never feel that you can't be part of it if you use simple, good value sharpening media. 

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I would say absolutely not.  You can do it on the cheap if you stay away from the expensive Jap stones.  I pretty much only use an EZ-Lap diamond stone, a 1000 grit shapton glass stone, and leather strops that I made myself with diamond lapidary paste I bought from amazon.  I've realistically got $150 worth of sharpening equipment, but I bought most of it for knife sharpening because I tend to have a thing for sharp knives. 

 

Strops are just leather glued to some mdf with contact cement.  Cheap, quick easy, and put an amazing polish on an edge.

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I'm kind of in the same situation. I've got a few decent planes, three sets of chisels but until now have been sharpening on sandpaper. I'm quite over it. Looking to get into a decent sharpening system. Either assorted stones or the worksharp system.

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I'm kind of in the same situation. I've got a few decent planes, three sets of chisels but until now have been sharpening on sandpaper. I'm quite over it. Looking to get into a decent sharpening system. Either assorted stones or the worksharp system.

 

 

Make yourself a couple leather strops and get some diamond paste from amazon (I have 4 grits between 1000 and 100K.  I wouldn't be opposed to going coarser all the way around, maybe start around 600 and end up at 30K I figured I could always go bigger but not finer so I started on the high side of available grits). 

 

A lot of times I go straight from my cheapo EZ-Lap diamond stone to the leather.  You will be amazed at the polish you can achieve in hardly any time at all.  I think I have 4 grits of diamond paste on various strops.  I think I had 30 bucks in the paste and probably an equal or lesser amount in the leather and pieces of MDF that I mounted them too.  Strops and diamond paste were a game changer for me.  I no longer have a desire to spend hundreds on a fancy asian rock.

20141010_194642_Richtone%28HDR%29.jpg

 

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I freehand sharpen my tools with a convex edge a la Paul Sellers style.  I like the convex edge and it's easy to get a good sharp tool. 

 

I'm the kind of guy that appreciates having the ability to sharpen tools by hand though as well, I don't like to have to rely on a machine to make my tools sharp. 

 

I do appreciate the need of sharpening jigs for things like lathe tools though, I'm not sure how I would tackle sharpening a roughing gouge by hand. 

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For sharpening, you need the following.

1) a course abrasive of some kind to reset a bevel angle, create a new bevel angle, remove nicks, or hone an edge for rough work. This could be a Tormek, slow speed grinder, some really course stones, loose diamonds/grit, or sand paper (120 to 400 grit).

2) some number of medium abrasives. How many grits, and what grits you need depend on what tools you are sharpening, what steel they are made out of, and what you are going to do with them. In my opinion, medium grits start at about 1.5k and go to about 6k.

3) some number of fine honing abrasives. This is for when you need that ultra sharp edge smoothing etc. 6K+

4) if you get stones, you will eventually need to flatten them. this could be sandpaper, loose diamonds/grit, or even a dedicated diamond stone.

5) if you aren't going to hone free-hand then you will need a guide.

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The first couple of hundred dollars spent should be a set of good stones.  Tools from Japan normally sells a $200 set, but I think he's having trouble getting the finest stones right now.  There are a number of different ways to get to the sharp edge you need to be able to do good work.  I have some of each, and recommend the waterstone approach to start with.  With these stones, you also get to develop a feel for the edge on the stone.  Diamonds and harder ceramic stones can do the same thing, but the feel is never there, so if you start with them I don't see how you will ever develop the touch.

 

Contact Stu from Tools from Japan, and see what the expected date he'll be shipping the set again.  If it's too long, you will spend more money anywhere else.  I got by fine with Norton stones for a long time, but if the availability comes back through TfJ you can get better for the same or less money.

 

With say 400 dollars to spend, don't buy a 350 dollar plane or an expensive set of chisels.  Spend the first 200 on a sharpening set up, and get something that you can work with for the rest.

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I should mention that  if you buy water stones first make sure you do your research. As Tom said they can feel drastically different.

 

I started off with scary sharp, then moved to  "Naniwa superstones", and I'm now slowly converting over to "Sigma Power Select II" , and how they feel are drastically different.

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You can get pretty good results with abrasive paper on a flat surface.  Guides can be just a block of hardwood cut at an appropriate angle with a screw and a fender washer to hold the blade.  You can go super elaborate, but you don't have to to get decent results.  We tend to lose sight of the fact that sometimes good enough is good enough.

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One thing to keep in mind, is that those diamond plates aren't as course as they are listed. Diamond is just like every other abrasive, it breaks down over time, and becomes finer. His stones, could easily be twice the listed grit size, and as frequently as he uses them possibly even 3 times.

 

The other key thing that he doesn't really explain is that his 30 passes on the strop, is equivalent to using a 16K stone to apply a micro bevel. So, you need to take it with a grain of salt, when he says you don't need to hone to a high grit.

 

 

 

 

You asked specifically about plane sharpening so here is his method.

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BW. I too have a Tormek, and it did an ok job on plane irons, but it was just that. OK, made me not want to use my planes because the edges didn't hold up. When I bought my LN chisels I decided that I was gonna buy Shapton stones and an MKII. I use that for my chisels and planes and it was a night and day difference from sharpening with the Tormek. You can also like everyone else said use some wet/dry sandpaper on a sheet of glass or granite plate along with the MKII and get great results. Leather strop and compound is also good if you really wanna polish that edge. When I had my Worksharp 3000 I used to go to the micro mesh and then leather wheel with honing compound and my bevels were like mirrors and they were insanely sharp. 

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One thing to keep in mind, is that those diamond plates aren't as course as they are listed. Diamond is just like every other abrasive, it breaks down over time, and becomes finer. His stones, could easily be twice the listed grit size, and as frequently as he uses them possibly even 3 times.

 

The other key thing that he doesn't really explain is that his 30 passes on the strop, is equivalent to using a 16K stone to apply a micro bevel. So, you need to take it with a grain of salt, when he says you don't need to hone to a high grit.

 

Tell me again how you have to spend a small fortune on stones to get functional sharpness.  :rolleyes:

 

"Sharpening to 250 Grit w/ Paul Sellers"

 

Bottom line is you don't have to have a thousand dollars worth of sharpening gettup just to work wood. It can be done without spending a small fortune, and it is a good way to get into handtool woodworking. 

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Tell me again how you have to spend a small fortune on stones to get functional sharpness.  :rolleyes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbAo4RpM7oM  "Sharpening to 250 Grit w/ Paul Sellers"

 

Bottom line is you don't have to have a thousand dollars worth of sharpening gettup just to work wood. It can be done without spending a small fortune, and it is a good way to get into handtool woodworking.

Time vs Material: The discussion is in the $200 range currently and Mr. Sellers can be prone to slight exaggeration as he is going for the simplest need and not necessarily the sharpest tool. Also note that he tests quite typically in some easily worked wood. This is not intended to be a slam, I respect the man. So what does time vs material mean? How many honings on a stone? How many on a strop? How much sanding media to match that life? How easy to keep a non cambered edge on a strop? Not all people move to stones on hype. There are strengths and weaknesses in any system. I don't think it hurts to point out how his way differs less than some perceive.

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But my point is that you can get into hand tools without spending a small fortune right off the bat.  In the referenced video he shows that you can make a clean cut with a plane sharpened to 250 grit which is unreasonable coarse.  So to that end you dont absolutely have to have high end stones to make an acceptable finish. 

 

You've got to think, $200 may be someones play money for most of a year.  Not everyone is well off financially, and I think that they shouldn't be excluded from the hand tool woodworking club.  I like to find ways to make more activities accessible to more people of less means.  I mean, does everything have to be so elitist?  Why can't it be an affordable hobby?  Buy an old No.4, clean it up and have some fun.  Sharpen it with whatever you have and most of all enjoy the process.  Find a piece of glass and stick some sandpaper to it if you have to.  Sandpaper is cheap and most of us already have a bunch laying around.

 

I think the people who have more money than time wouldn't be asking the question of "do I have to spend all my play money on sharpening gear".  They will just buy what is necessary to have their fun and not worry so much about it. 

 

Sorry for the rant, but I get frustrated when things are made to be more expensive and exclusive than I feel they really need to be. 

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