Measure Me Up

[Termite]

Okaaaaayyyyyy, so on top of expanding my handplane collection, adding to my card scraper and scraper plane inventory, fueling my addiction to Japanese saws, and generaly being dragged down to the dark side, I finally succumbed to the dreaded WATER STONE DISEASE.
A couple of weeks ago I bought 1200 and a 6000 stones, then last week 800 and 4000. I spent all Saturday flattening honing polishing and only cut myself twice. How long has this been going on folks, I mean I've seen various threads on sharpening and waterstones but none of you in the know have realy let on how good these stones are.
So the outcome of all of the above is "I'M A BELIEVER"
Derek, send the regimental tailors around to measure me up for my black suit and helmet please.

[silentC]

Two woodworkers sharpening their chisels. One says "where's the waterstone?" The other says "yes, it does, doesn't it?"

[Termite]

That had to come from the bottom of the waterstone sludge Darren

[Wood Borer]

Termite,

We have let on but it is an inner secret of the dark side. Were you wearing a foil hat when let on? If not, perhaps your recollection has been stolen.

Try re-reading the threads now you are a member of the dark side. Some of the hidden text might become visible.

You are right though, waterstones are great and most people who knock them or don't use them do so due to ignorance rather than due to bad experiences.

I am sure there are other stones that are good but I haven't moved on from waterstones because they perform so well.

I often consider getting into Arkansas stones as I have heard they are also very good. It probably boils down to horses for courses and perhaps a selection of stones would be ideal.

[Termite]

OK I know about the foil hat but what about the secret handshake

[Wood Borer]

Don't worry about the handshake, you can tell a keen dark sider by the shaved patches on their arms. Some people like Al, have taken it too far and shave their legs and who knows what else but it is good they are keen.

[silentC]

On their arms? Oh bugger, that's where I've been going wrong. I've been shaving my head

Thank you brother Borer...

[craigb]

Did you also get some plasterboard sanding mesh for flattening your stones?

I think it was originally Derek's tip and it works a treat.

Oh, and you'll definitely be needing some green honing compound.

[Wolfs]

I have just the 1200 and a 6000 which work very well, did the addition of the 4000 make a noticable difference?

[Wood Borer]

Termite,

What Craig suggested is great for flattening your water stones as they won't remain flat.

Although not directly related to sharpening, another useful tool (and cheap) is a screwdriver used by shearers on their handpieces for the cutters and combs. These screw drivers are very short, fit easily in your hand and have a nice wide blade for undoing the screws on your planes. Most wide bladed screwdrivers have handles 2 foot long and the shorter screwdrivers have relatively narrower blades, including the stubby screwdrivers.

I bought one at an old tool sale but my little brother tells me you can pick them up brand new for $7 at Stock and Station agents who sell shearing gear.

[Termite]

1. Haven't got the plasterboard mesh yet, been using wet & dry.
2. Yes, got the green compound, although I still hone on glass based 2500 wet & dry (0.5micron) before the green compound.
3. Yes the 4000 is a good transition grit before going to 6000, takes out the coarse scratches from the 1200 and lets the 6000 do its job properly.
4. Thanks for the tip about the driver.

Thanks folks, love the way the info comes when you're part of the inner circle.

[Suresh]

Thanks Woodborer,
That tip about the short but wide bladed screwdriver is just what I was looking for. By the way I finally passed "Sharpening 101".
I could not believe the amount of time I was spending trying to get a good edge on my blades and the frustration building up.
As I mentioned on another thread I recently bought the new Woodworking magazine and there was an interesting article on sharpening. It brought home to me the importance of the back of the blade. Now I beleive that the most important tool for sharpening is a marker pen. Without it I could not get the back of the blade flat and without the back flat there was no way of getting the blade sharp.
Suresh

[silentC]

These screw drivers are very short, fit easily in your hand and have a nice wide blade for undoing the screws on your planes

Isn't that what the lever cap is for?

[Rocker]

Suresh,

I am a believer in the back-bevel, as recommended by David Charlesworth, for sharpening plane blades. It is produced by laying a thin 150 mm ruler on a diamond stone parallel to one of its long sides. The back of the plane blade is then laid on the ruler and the blade is slid up and down the stone at right angles to the ruler. This produces a back bevel at an angle of half a degree to the back of the plane. It eliminates the need for the blade's back to be perfectly flat, and easily removes the wire edge produced when honing the microbevel.

Rocker

[Wood Borer]

Isn't that what the lever cap is for?

Mmmmm not with good bronze lever caps, besides the lever cap is angular and eventually ruins the screw slot.

I know you were joking Silent but I know many people use the lever cap as a screw driver. It is even suggested in some books but I reckon it is not a good practice. I have an old lever cap chewed out on that edge which I suspect was used for that purpose, certainly not by me though.

I suppose you could also use the sole of the plane to tighten the vice by belting it against the handle.