Sharpening by hand - Opinions?

[joelav]

I have a worksharp and a grinder (for lathe tools) but I decided to learn to sharpen chisels and plane irons by hand. I quit smoking not to long ago and when my hands are idle, all I want to do is smoke. So now while I am waiting for glue or finish to dry, I decided to sharpen some chisels by hand. I bought a super cheap buck bros set because I don't want to ruin my good ones. So far I have been using the Veritas MKII and a norton oil stone. I know oil stones have kind of fallen out of favor lately, but with after of practice I can get those buck bros chisels completely fat on the back and a 35 degree microbevel. I can pare off fingernails

My questions are:

1 - whats wrong with oil stones?

2 - what's better? Scary sharp (sandpaper), diamond stones, water stones, Arkansas stones?

I like hand sharpening. I get into a zen-like zone

[JohnnyNoName]

My questions are:

1 - whats wrong with oil stones?

2 - what's better? Scary sharp (sandpaper), diamond stones, water stones, Arkansas stones?

Answer #1: Nothing

Answer #2: None

I think you have answered your own question. "I can pare off fingernails." If you are able to create a sharp edge that does what it needs to do, then keep doing what you are doing.

Currently, I use waterstones. I don't like oil because I find it messier then water, but that doesn't mean that oil stones are bad. It's the end result that matters.

Keep doing what your doing, and save your money on any new system. Give it a least a year so you can really get good at it.

That's my two cents anyway.

Jonathan

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[SteveM]

Check out Bob's sharpening podcasts: http://www.logancabinetshoppe.com/podcast-tools.php

[joelav]

Thanks guys. I thought I was going to get a "OMG!! DO NOT USE OILSTONES!" response. You never see those recommended anymore. I've been at it for about a month now with good results. I even marred one of the chisels up pretty bad to completely reshape the edge, and it worked out well. Once you figure out that MKII, it's pretty foolproof. I think the worksharp is going on craigslist.

[TRBaker]

Man, I've spent the last hour and a half on his site watching videos. Thanks for that link.

[ChrisG]

Oil stones are great! They are very low maintenance, and as you've found can get you a very good edge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with oil stones.

That said, I have both oil stones and water stones and personally prefer water stone because...

1.they cut faster (to what extent depends on the actual water stone - mine cut a lot faster)

2. I can get a finer edge with fewer steps (2 stones, no need to strop afterwards)

Let me repeat. There is absolutely nothing wrong with oil stones. Water stones are simply my preference. The only sharpening medium I really don't like is scary sharp (sandpaper). Sorry scary sharp lovers, that's just how I feel - if it works for you then by all means keep using it.

EDIT:

I just noticed that you listed Arkansas stones as an alternative to oil stones.... I put these into the same group (e.g. and natural ark is a type of oil stone). My oil stones that I referanced are a soft Ark and a Surgical Black Ark. If by oil stone you just mean say a norton india stone, then I would definitely add some type of fine/hard ark to the routine (norton produces a great hard translucent ark), and follow that with some sort of strop with honing compound. You can get much sharper then what you'll get off a "fine" india stone.

[baok]

I bought a set of stones at WoodCraft because they were much more reasonably priced than the water stones and they said "Arkansas" on the boxes. Later on, someone on this forum said that those weren't "real" Arkansas stones, i.e., not made of novaculite. but they still sharpen my stuff so I think I'm good.

I spent an afternoon once with a fellow woodworker who had one of every system and let me try them all. I remember that the water stones made more swarf

[baok]

Well, I hit the wrong button there and posted too soon. Anyway, I was in the process of saying that, as a noob, I couldn't really get an appreciation for all the different sharpening systems - I like my knock-off oil stones Ok.

I have family in Arkansas though and I often think about visiting them via Hot Springs which is where Dan's Whetstones is located. I was told they sell some of the best natural stones.

[joelav]

I currently have india stones (fine, medium and coarse). Those videos are awesome! "Chasing the burr" was something I was having trouble with and just working it off on the strop

[derekcohen]

My questions are:

1 - whats wrong with oil stones?

2 - what's better? Scary sharp (sandpaper), diamond stones, water stones, Arkansas stones?

Everything is a compromise.

Oilstones are decent (not great) on high carbon steel (O1, W1), and slower on A2 (which is offered in most of the modern plane blades, such as LN, LV, etc). Don't even think of using it to hone D2, M2, M4, 3V and other PM steels.

Most waterstones, especially the modern and ceramic types, will leave oilstones in the dust for speed.

One advantage of oilstones over some waterstones (those that require a lot of water), is that it is less messy. However there are waterstones that require very little water. The biggest advantage of oilstones is that they stay flat longest.

You have to weigh up what is important - preserving flatness versus speed of sharpening.

Note that speed is also a function of technique. For example, a microbevel is always going to require less sharpening time than a full face. Free hand honing a hollow grind is speedier for me than the time it takes to set up a honing guide. Efficiency in re-sharpening a blade is more important than a method that only offers one-off sharpness - in other words, ensure that your method allows you to reproduce the same bevel angle.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[wdwerker]

I use diamond and water for quick touch up sharpening especially on cheap all purpose chisels. I always touch up a cheap chisel before we go out to install a job.