beginner sharpening system

[Jfitz]

On 5/18/2020 at 8:01 PM, RichardA said:

I should have warned you @tomy josif, That everyone has their own way to get to the sharpness that they use and need.

Totally agree!  An RichardA's advice about keeping it simple is spot-on.  Find something that works for you.

I can only relay my experience - I started with wet-dry sandpaper on pieces of plate glass  (I seem to recall I went all the way up to 2000 grit, but don't hold me to that).  This is also known as the "scary sharp" method (look it up, there are a lot of videos on this).  This was a good way for me to get going, somewhat inexpensively, and allow me to work with sharp edges and know what it meant to have a sharp tool.  The knock against scary sharp is that long-term the cost of the paper can add up.  True, but like anything it depends on how much work you get to do and how much sharpening you need to do.  Using the sandpaper/glass method let me decide when to get into some waterstones and the associated intricacies of using them - how to store them, how to keep them flat, etc.  But using the SS method let me become accustomed to waterstones on my own terms and timeline.  Now, I use waterstones pretty much exclusively - and if I decide to get new or different stones, I have a baseline of what to expect of what works for me.

One recommendation I'll make is to get a decent honing guide (I use the Veritas MKII and I like it, but there are a lot of good options out there).  You'll be able to make use of it with pretty much any sharpening medium you choose.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to use.