Sharpening System

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

Im using the DMT 1200 and Extra Fine, plus an 8000 grit shapton stone which is pretty crazy. Probably the biggest change to my game was getting the DMT lapping plate, which seem like a crazy investment, but having the shapton actually flat has made a huge difference.

I also picked up a $30 guide off of amazon cuz my hands are old and dumb now, but I used to free hand everything and could still liberate hairs from my forearm.

[Rick Liftig luthier wannabe… slowly gettinthere]

I suspect that like most, I have tried every inexpensive system out there, and never could pull the trigger on a Tormak system. But, I was at Woodcraft supply about a year ago and I purchased this system: https://campbell-randall.com/product/razor-sharp-edgemaking-system-8-deluxe

Understand that I reserve the system for keeping things sharp. Initial flattening of plane blades and chisels is still relegated to my diamond stones.

It’s two cardboard wheels that fit on a conventional 8 inch grinder. One is coated with silicon carbide grit, and the other gets charged with a buffing compound. I like it. It works. It’s a lot less hassle than water, oil or diamond stones. And being able to let the motor do the work saves a lot of wear and tear on the old hands and wrists. I have had to recoat the carbide wheel once, but it’s easy – you smear a layer of glue on it and roll it over the carbide dust. The acid test is that after a sharpening session (as Ian implied), I run out of hair to shave.

My one annoyance is that I miss having a stone on my grinder for heavier jobs. But I really like having this always available. Ergo, I may get another grinder. These cardboard wheels are so light, a Harbor Freight import could easily handle them. Then I could put the nice wheels back on the Rikon grinder.

campbell-randall.com

Campbell Randall

Campbell Randall

[Fred]

I’m rocking the Chris Schwarz “Sharpen This” method and it’s been great but I’m 99% sure I’ll end up with a Tormek sooner or later. So I’ve got Shapton 1000, 5000, and 8000 waterstones, a DMT lapping plate, the Lie Nielsen honing guide, a boot tray with a hardboard liner, and a pump sprayer. I started out with the 1000 stone and an eclipse honing guide and slowly added everything else.

I also sometimes do the scary sharp sandpaper thing. I’m kind of thinking about doing that more because I still find myself dragging my feet with the waterstones for all kinds of reasons, even though they’re quick and easy.

I’ve come close to trying out Ken Parker’s method which I think looks awesome, but the investment of trying it is too much especially considering I might not like it.

[Karl Borum – Borum Acoustics]

I’ve gone through ½ a lifetime of sharpening tools and methods. Here is the one I landed on for Luthiery and fine wood work, YMMV :

· 9×12 Granite Surface Plate B grade +/- .0001 (Grizzly IIRC- surprisingly affordable $39)

· Veritas Mk II honing guide (wish I would have bought the “Deluxe” cauz it includes narrow bladeholder which I added later) $79.

· DC Combination Diamond Plate 300- 1000 2 ¾ x 8” : $120

· 3M Wet or Dry various (use 1000 and 1200 most when sharpening)

· Leather strop with green and white (just a piece of leather)

· Cheap Glass Cleaner in spray bottle

9″ x 12″ x 2″ Granite Surface Plate, No Ledge – Grizzly Industrial

Veritas Mk.II Standard Honing Guide – Lee Valley Tools

8″ Double Sided Diamond Benchstone – MPOWER Tools

For Re-grinding an edge: Drill Press Sharpener Ultimate Starter Kit with Sharpener, Jig, & Flat — Taylor Toolworks $89: I can grind a shaving edge on a chisel in under 3 minutes- plane blades need a little second operation due to the width. For carpentry or coarse work, the two part process alone is sufficient and provides a shaving edge.

Honing Methods:

Pretty simple really- I flatten with diamond or paper on the surface plate, then hone with the MkII (it has a micro bevel feature too). After honing with MkII I polish with Wet or Dry 1000 + 1200 followed by light strop. Strops have a hanging hole and hang on a nail behind my bench.

I can touch up an edge with strop or touch up on paper, by hand, in 30 seconds. The glass cleaner works very well to adhere paper to surface plate and to lubricate the diamond stones, and its not harsh or toxic in this application, its minimally soapy and smells good too.

The TayTool fixture works with the drill press. Chuck up your disk, align your tool on the holder and push it into the disk (one hones, one is leather and polishes). Its crazy I know but it works so well. I can even strop an edge if the disk is chucked up in the drill press.

I also use that granite plate for a variety of flat sanding and measurement stuff. I use the surface plate for fretting a FB off the neck. Add a dial indicator and DI stand and you’ll be set for another magnitude of useful measuring configurations.

Everyone has a method that works for them, and fits their budget. It took me years and many stones to settle on this. Best wishes on finding yours….

grizzly.com

9" x 12" x 2" Granite Surface Plate, No Ledge - Grizzly Industrial

G9649 9" x 12" x 2" Granite Surface Plate Great for taking accurate measurements from. The G9649 Granite Plate is for those needing precision measurements from a common surface base. This tool room-grade "B" plate has a bilateral accuracy of … Continue reading

[Dave Staudte (rhymms with "Howdy") NB Guitar Repair (New Braunfels, TX)]

I’ve had one of these for years! Love it!

[Holger]

I use the Paul Sellers process: Eze-lap diamond stones and a strop, mostly freehand but I do have a guide from Dictum if I do need to square up an edge. I found that the faster I can get it done, the more often I sharpen, hence just freehanding it.

[Chris]

I use Paul Seller’s method. It’s no-nonsense and effective. It is low cost over its lifetime of use.

https://paulsellers.com/knowledge-base/sharpening/

paulsellers.com

Sharpening

At which angle should I sharpen? How do you sharpen chisels for mortising? Which glass cleaner do you use? Which sharpening stones do you recommend? What is the best height for a sharpening surface?

[Chris]

I would also like to note that I’ve used his system for the last 20 years. I have watched friends use many different systems. They come and go. Money spent and the results are the same.

I’ve only purchased Eze lap stones once.

Bonus, I use the stones for fret leveling and sometimes clamp cauls.

[Paul M]

I’ve converted a few people to this:
https://taytools.com/products/complete-drill-press-sharpening-system-bundle?_pos=1&_sid=b9fc94629&_ss=r

To be honest I think this is far superior to any other method. I’ve tried a lot of different things with mixed results and a lot of inconsistency. This is stupidly easy and insanely fast. My tools are very, very, very sharp with minimal effort.

I can take a shitty ebay chisel with rust and have it shaving sharp in maybe 5 minutes with minimal elbow grease. The secret is that cubitron paper which somehow just does not get hot. Tool doesn’t get hot. No burning the edge.

Total genius. Everything else is garbage to me. I have some other sorts of paper on glass that I use sometimes to really polish a back but I don’t use it all that often.

If you want to go totally nuts, you can squeeze some of this on MDF and use that as a final hone and you will be mirror sharp in seconds.

https://www.amazon.com/Autosol-Metal-Polish-Chrome-Copper/dp/B003PHLTOG/ref=asc_df_B003PHLTOG?mcid=1cfafe441ffb34bfa2bcd55018ef0213&hvocijid=11862402745332806520-B003PHLTOG-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=730434177080&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11862402745332806520&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002574&hvtargid=pla-2281435176378&psc=1

taytools.com

Drill Press Sharpener Ultimate Starter Kit with Sharpener, Jig, & Flattening Kit

This is the Complete Drill Press Sharpener Starter Kit, which includes: Drill Press Sharpening System: Includes 2 arbors, 2 discs, leather strop, honing compound, and 15 Cubitron sanding discs. Chisel Sharpening Jig: Solid oak and features a 25-degree ramp  Chisel … Continue reading

[Joseph DiTucci Guitar Repair & Learning Center]

I use the Ultra Sharp Diamond Stones, similar to the dmt ones sold on stewmac but significantly less expensive. The quality is just as good if not better than the DMT. Here is a link to a 3 stone kit for $49.95 use code “staysharp” for 12%off. you can find some quality stones at good prices on this site including DMT.

https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/product_details.php?category_name=Diamond%20Sharpening%20Stones&product_id=124

bestsharpeningstones.com

[Andrew M McWilliams]

I’d also like to contribute to the growing list of Paul Sellers method.

Heres how to set it up like him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlHm6IzFxE&t=1013s

And how to use it like him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl6IjZ2WD2c

He basically recommends buying the cheapest stones off of ebay and to make sure they ship from China.

You can certainly buy nicer stones but he points out its almost not worth it

Buying from China will soon be much trickier, so good luck whatever you decide

[Rick Liftig luthier wannabe… slowly gettinthere]

This is such an important topic, I’d like to add one item to everyone’s sharpening system: a really good magnifier. A simple jewelers loupe will suffice (10x or more). When you see the edge at that level, you will immediately understand where you are in the sharpening process and whether you are doing a good job.