Sitemap - Table of Contents

• Jig Design
  • Design Evolution is triggered by users who perceive shortcomings. Tell me about those shortcomings and let's see if the design evolves.
• Comparing sharpening systems
  • Metallography - the study of metal structure with light microscopes - explains how abrasives affect the crystal structure of steel. We use these finding to compare sharpening systems. Many sharpening systems (combination of abrasives and techniques) can produce a specific edge geometry (side profile). It is the crystal structure of the steel in the edge that matters.
• Abrasives
  • Pictures, at 450X magnification of many abrasives.
  • General discussion of abrasives in the Abrasives FAQ
  • For honing I use 3M PSA backed abrasives.
  • Get it on - there are tricks that help you put PSA backed adhesives on the glass sheets.
  • Take it off - when the front part of a sheet is worn, lift the front edge, slice it off.
  • For grinding flat blades, I use a coarse Norton Silicon Carbide stone.
  • For grinding, I also use a 1" Belt Sander.
  • I also tried Norton 3X sheet abrasives for grinding, with chipped blades as a result.
  • Never hand hone or hand grind with a dry abrasive. Always use a cutting fluid. I use baby oil.
• Microbevels
  • A microbevel is a very fine bevel that begins at the edge. See many micrographs and sketchup models of microbevels the bevels page.
  • During use, abrasion between the work and the tool creates very narrow wear bevels near the edge. All of the wear occurs within 0.003 inches of the edge.
  • All meaningful contact between a plane iron and the work occurs in the wear bevel area. Any time spent honing a tool farther back from the edge has no effect on how well the tool cuts. Microbevels are designed to produce the best possible bevel right at the edge, front and back.
  • Any flattening of the back of the tool not associated with a back micro bevel is a waste of time. Covered completely in the introduction to micro bevels.
  • An example of a new blade with a "ready to use back" and how using back bevels flattened the part of the back that comes in contact with the wood. Really flat.
  • More drawings of wear bevels and how honing must remove the back wear bevel in the faq.
  • The page showing the first sharpening of a "new old stock" lets you see how a corroded blade was brought into perfect sharpened condition during a standard honing cycle.
  • There are other places in these pages in which I discuss flat backs. Use the site search above to find them all.
  • Microbevels save time and abrasive wear, and still produce a better edge.
• Camber
  • A general introduction to cambering.
  • Grinding heavily cambered blades, like blades for scrub planes.
  • Honing heavily cambered blades, using a belt sander.
  • Honing heavily cambered blades, using sheet abrasives on a special shaped concave surface.
  • Honing lightly cambered blades, using sheet abrasives.
  • Honing cambered bevel up blades, using sheet abrasives.
• Edge Tools
  • Most of these page refer to sharpening plane irons.
  • There is also a page devoted to sharpening chisels.
  • A page for other edge tools which for now is just cabinet scraper blades.
  • A theoretical jig design for a leather slitter blades.
  • Hone an Adze? You crazy? Well, a visitor put a jig like mine on both a straight and a curved adze. I added a couple of sketchup models showing full Adze honing stations.
• Grinding
  • Before you can hone you must shape the primary bevel by grinding. This pages discusses the general problem and things to think about no matter how you grind your tools.
  • I grind with a coarse Norton Silicon Carbide stone.
  • I also use a 1" Belt Sander.
  • You might use a grinding wheel. If so, you might like this little jig for setting the tool rest angle on a grinding wheel.
• Honing
  • A discussion of the Sketchup models that show blade wear. The models put the wear bevels and the honed micro bevels on one plane iron to show the relative sizes and angles.
  • An extension calculator which lets you determine the appropriate extension of the blade from the front of the jig for the grinding/honing angles you want.
  • A discussion of honing angles for planes and chisels.
  • Honing uses very fine abrasives working right at the tool edge. The Sharpening Station takes you through the building of the various parts of the sharpening station I use, as well as the actual discussing Honing using a shop-made jig.
  • The wooden jig slides on glass
  • A beginning to end look at sharpening with scans and images of the blade at each step in the sharpening process.
  • Special care must be taken with bevel up planes, since wear on the back face of the iron affects performance more than for a bevel down plane.
  • Honing (and grinding) curved blades - blades for moulding planes, scrub planes, planes with convex soles - requires special techniques.
• Hardware
  • All the bits and pieces you need to make a sharpening station and the jigs.
• Jigs
  • The jig holds the tool at a desired angle to the abrasive - when grinding or honing. This page discusses the geometry of the jig, the tool, and microbevels.
  • The glass on which the jig rides is a crucial part of the sharpening system.
  • I use a number of shop made jigs when sharpening. I have found them to be superior to commercial jigs.
  • The standard honing jig and a number of earlier versions. This page also has pictures of jigs built by other people, based on the ideas in these pages.
  • A simplified jig that requires only machine screws, one drill and one countersink bit.
  • The slanted jig used for grinding, for chisels and for short blades.
  • Curved blades, like those found in Scrub planes are hard to grind and hone on flat abrasives. This page looks more closely at the problems and one possible solution.
  • An extension calculator which helps you determine the appropriate extension of the blade from the front of the jig for the grinding/honing angles you want.
  • The stone vice which lets you use these jigs with any bench stone.
  • The chisel jig for use with oddly shaped (very thick) chisels.
  • Shop made honing jigs. A growing collection of honing jigs made by visitors to these pages. Some ingenious jigs and very interesting designs. Send me pictures of your jig.
• Steels and Sharpness
  • While blade testing looks at edge durability, sharpness testing shows that initial sharpness does not depend on the type of steel.
  • A short discussion of steels and their properties in the FAQ.
  • A short discussion of laminated plane irons in the FAQ and in the write up of a marathon blade test in November 2002.
  • Fracture is used in at least 3 ways in these pages. It can refer to chipping at the edge during sharpening, chipping of the edge during use, or deforming the underlying structure of the steel during abrasion.
• Testing plane blades.
  • An introduction to blade testing showing results of tests over 5 years, and the results of a test of 15 different blades at one time. This latter test includes blades not in the regular testing series.
  • I take photomicrographs at 200X of the front and back of the irons before, during, and after the test using the QX3 computer microscope.
  • Academy Saw Works newer HSS blade, and older blade.
  • Clifton hand forged.
  • ECE/Primus alloy (high carbon alloy) steel blade.
  • Berg Ekilstuna an older Swedish Steel high carbon steel blade.
  • Gramercy D2 steel blade.
  • Hock high carbon and A2 steel blades.
  • Holtey S53 blade.
  • Steve Knight O1 High Carbon steel (cryogenic treatment).
  • Lie-Nielsen older O1 High Carbon steel, older W1 High Carbon steel and newer A2 steel blades.
  • Lee Valley A2 steel blade and A2 blade in the block plane.
  • Mujingfang High Speed Steel smoother blade and (Hong Kong style) HSS blade.
  • Shepherd A2 Cryogenically treated blade.
  • Stanley HSS blade, made briefly in Australia.
  • Steve Elliott made a few blades from CPM 3V steel.
  • Tsunesaburo "Blue Steel" a laminated High Carbon steel blade.
• Under the Hood
  • You can just build the sharpening station and use it without getting under the hood. This page outlines the detailed theory behind my sharpening ideas.
  • The first thing you have to think a lot more about is the bevel itself.
  • Images of a blade as the edge wears during use, and strategies to get it sharp again.
  • Some ideas on how fine an abrasive you should use. This page looks at edge durability depending on final abrasive.
• Videos
  • I have done a couple of videos and put them on Youtube: grinding using a bench stone, honing, setting the blade extension, and putting the 3M abrasives on the glass sheet.
• ?????
  • Need more? My Sharpening Pages FAQ has answers to many other questions.
  • If you can't find it anywhere or just want to discuss anything, you can reach me here.

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