I chuckled out loud when you mentioned the sharpening wankers. When sharpening becomes the hobby instead of woodworking, it can get a bit silly. I do love my sharpening setup and the sharpening process though, so I do fall further towards the wanker side of the spectrum.
I didn’t find it somewhat interesting that you went from the Veritas set up to that simpler aluminum honing guide. Oddly enough, I started with a honing guide very similar to that one, and then migrated over to the Veritas!
I think we all have a honing wanker lurking somewhere in us, dreaming of arranging those steel molecules perfectly in line right out there on the very edge ...
But regarding my various honing guides; I use them all, according to what they're best suited to, but the Lie-Nielsen does 90% of my everyday honing (and it's made of stainless, not alu, if you please :-)
Well, that would explain why you enjoy using the alumin... err... steel guide (I stand corrected). The one I had that looks similar to yours was definitely not Lie Nielsen quality; it was a rather inexpensive aluminum version that didn’t hold my chisels square and loosened on its own sometimes.
The basement is dry and repaired for the most part, and almost ready to go back to being a shop. It became a de facto staging area for setting up lights, ornaments, the tree, and all the associated wrapping, packaging and storage that goes with Christmas. We are putting that stuff away this weekend, and will be back to work after a short trip to Niagara Falls next week. Thanks for asking!
Thanks Walter, I use a the fancy Veritas M2 and water stones(I agree with the amount of fuss they require) but I have a cheap side clamping guide that I use to grind my primary bevel on Sandpaperer. (I don't own a grinder)
Nice to hear that you also find the veritas two piece honing a faff on. I have one but could never seem to muster the motivation to use it for anything other fixing an edge that has suffered an accident (nail, dropped on floor).
For a long time I used a 1000 grit diamond stone and 7000 grit water stone that I'd give a little spray with water and it worked nicely. However, as a newb, I did unstick the diamond from the plate and I switched to oil stones for honing and a strop for touching up. I do have some very course diamond stones for fixing edges but I use them only when I have to as it takes ages. I start dreaming of tormek at that point.
As part of rebuilding the internal of my workshop I got the new sharpening area set up yesterday (saw chain, planes, chisels etc) as I tested it out on a small project for the house which required a nice sharp number 6 and 4 1/2. It'd had been ages since I'd sharpened a plane blade and for some reason I dropped the blade. In the millisecond it took me to realise the new edge was heading directly into a concrete floor I decided I'd rather stick my boot out to cushion the fall than prevent an hour of repairing the edge. The blade went through the leather of the work boots, through the internal lining of the boot and left a tiny little cut on my foot. The edge survived fine and by the quality of the cut in the leather and lining, I can deduce the oilstones and strop work fine in their new location. This was confirmed by nice shavings!
Next time, it's hitting the floor. The boots were only a few months old and now they've got a nice little slash in them. Learning how to stitch leather is in my future.
Oilstones and strops have a lot going for them -- especially with the high quality honing/stropping pastes on the market now.
I'd like to buy a really coarse diamond plate for exactly the same use as you describe, we'll see if I can find the money. As for Tormek, my colleagues have one (the expensive one -- T8?) and I've used it a fair bit. It's a beautifully made, top quality machine, but it's also mind-numbingly SLOW! It's useful for carpenters who have never learned to hone on a stone; it allows them to get a usable (not fine) edge on their tools 'just by using the machine'.
As for footwear, I work in sandals. No point in trying to be stylish in the shop, and it's so comfortable :-)
Happy New Year to you and yours, not forgetting the kitlings!
I chuckled out loud when you mentioned the sharpening wankers. When sharpening becomes the hobby instead of woodworking, it can get a bit silly. I do love my sharpening setup and the sharpening process though, so I do fall further towards the wanker side of the spectrum.
I didn’t find it somewhat interesting that you went from the Veritas set up to that simpler aluminum honing guide. Oddly enough, I started with a honing guide very similar to that one, and then migrated over to the Veritas!
I think we all have a honing wanker lurking somewhere in us, dreaming of arranging those steel molecules perfectly in line right out there on the very edge ...
But regarding my various honing guides; I use them all, according to what they're best suited to, but the Lie-Nielsen does 90% of my everyday honing (and it's made of stainless, not alu, if you please :-)
How's your water-damaged basement getting along?
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Well, that would explain why you enjoy using the alumin... err... steel guide (I stand corrected). The one I had that looks similar to yours was definitely not Lie Nielsen quality; it was a rather inexpensive aluminum version that didn’t hold my chisels square and loosened on its own sometimes.
The basement is dry and repaired for the most part, and almost ready to go back to being a shop. It became a de facto staging area for setting up lights, ornaments, the tree, and all the associated wrapping, packaging and storage that goes with Christmas. We are putting that stuff away this weekend, and will be back to work after a short trip to Niagara Falls next week. Thanks for asking!
Aaaahh ... that alu abomination sounds like the Eclipse Honing Guide, or one of its many, many clones.
Looking forward to reading about your new, dry and improved woodshop next year :-)
Thanks Walter, I use a the fancy Veritas M2 and water stones(I agree with the amount of fuss they require) but I have a cheap side clamping guide that I use to grind my primary bevel on Sandpaperer. (I don't own a grinder)
Nice to hear that you also find the veritas two piece honing a faff on. I have one but could never seem to muster the motivation to use it for anything other fixing an edge that has suffered an accident (nail, dropped on floor).
For a long time I used a 1000 grit diamond stone and 7000 grit water stone that I'd give a little spray with water and it worked nicely. However, as a newb, I did unstick the diamond from the plate and I switched to oil stones for honing and a strop for touching up. I do have some very course diamond stones for fixing edges but I use them only when I have to as it takes ages. I start dreaming of tormek at that point.
As part of rebuilding the internal of my workshop I got the new sharpening area set up yesterday (saw chain, planes, chisels etc) as I tested it out on a small project for the house which required a nice sharp number 6 and 4 1/2. It'd had been ages since I'd sharpened a plane blade and for some reason I dropped the blade. In the millisecond it took me to realise the new edge was heading directly into a concrete floor I decided I'd rather stick my boot out to cushion the fall than prevent an hour of repairing the edge. The blade went through the leather of the work boots, through the internal lining of the boot and left a tiny little cut on my foot. The edge survived fine and by the quality of the cut in the leather and lining, I can deduce the oilstones and strop work fine in their new location. This was confirmed by nice shavings!
Next time, it's hitting the floor. The boots were only a few months old and now they've got a nice little slash in them. Learning how to stitch leather is in my future.
Oilstones and strops have a lot going for them -- especially with the high quality honing/stropping pastes on the market now.
I'd like to buy a really coarse diamond plate for exactly the same use as you describe, we'll see if I can find the money. As for Tormek, my colleagues have one (the expensive one -- T8?) and I've used it a fair bit. It's a beautifully made, top quality machine, but it's also mind-numbingly SLOW! It's useful for carpenters who have never learned to hone on a stone; it allows them to get a usable (not fine) edge on their tools 'just by using the machine'.
As for footwear, I work in sandals. No point in trying to be stylish in the shop, and it's so comfortable :-)
Happy New Year to you and yours, not forgetting the kitlings!