New in Sharpening?

[Mtobey]

Hello everyone; When last most of you heard from me, I flattened backs with large DMT plates, the went to my trusty Tormek (green with carefully selected tool holders, then to my pro Shaptons working up to ONLY 8000 and then to a mounted Horse Butt  strop loaded with diamond paste.

At the present, I have most of my tools, other than some planes and very few chisels locked up in 10' x 30' storage including all of the above.

So, what is new and better in the honing/shaping world? Remember that except for using the Tormek, I do freehand and results are Wicked Sharp [tm] and a few of you oldtimers have watched the process , including doing a barely noticeable curve on some plane irons. In all the time I have been away, what has happened to make me appear incompetent or lazy?

[hbmcc]

I'd say you've done more than most of us. 

Throw away your stones, your diamonds, your glass, your ceramic plates. We all grind on neighborhood boulders now. There's another challenge coming up in two weeks so losers can find a new rock.

[Admiral]

I've totally regressed into madness. I use flattened flea market oilstones, have no idea of their grit, just coarse, medium and fine, and finish up with a red man-made straight razor stone (pretty fine grit), followed by leather strop and a final strop on a brown paper grocery bag. This gets everything really sharp, how sharp, I don't know, but sharp enough for me.... I guess I should sell my japanese waterstones.....

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Mike

Good to see you around.

My latest sharpening kit cost me about $15. This was for 3 diamonds plates off eBay, each about $5. They are 800/1000/3000 grit. I have no idea how long they will last, but that is not a big concern as they are for travelling to wood shows when I do demonstrations. The use I have had in the shop at home was favourable.

The diamond plates are about 2mm thick, and I epoxied them to UHMW sheets. Of course the UHMW is not stiff like hardwood or glass, but it is waterproof and unlikely to get damaged. The plates remain flat (enough) when pressed on top of a flat bench.

They certainly cut well. I have a similar sized piece of hardwood with LV green compound for final polishing. The plates are 8" x 2 1/2" (or thereabouts).







Regards from Perth

Derek

[Hank Knight]

The diamond plates are about 2mm thick, and I epoxied them to UHMW sheets.

Derek

Derek, I'm interested in your experience with epoxy and UHMW. I've had mixed results with it. What kind of epoxy do you use? Do you do any prep work before applying the glue? (I rough up the UHMW with coarse sandpaper) How secure is the bond? Have you used epoxy to glue UHMW to wood? How well did it work?

TIA.

Hank

[Timberwolf]

Hello everyone; When last most of you heard from me, I flattened backs with large DMT plates, the went to my trusty Tormek (green with carefully selected tool holders, then to my pro Shaptons working up to ONLY 8000 and then to a mounted Horse Butt  strop loaded with diamond paste.

At the present, I have most of my tools, other than some planes and very few chisels locked up in 10' x 30' storage including all of the above.

So, what is new and better in the honing/shaping world? Remember that except for using the Tormek, I do freehand and results are Wicked Sharp [tm] and a few of you oldtimers have watched the process , including doing a barely noticeable curve on some plane irons. In all the time I have been away, what has happened to make me appear incompetent or lazy?

...................
Hi Judge....great to see you posting again !!! I see you are still searching for the "Ultimate" edge!!!!.I am still on the path myself and I recently added a Worksharp 3000 to my armory...A few months ago I was cruising Amazon Prime and discovered they offered Diamond Laps at great prices and in several grits. I purchased three for my Veritas MKII in the 8" diameter and was "blown away" {I hate that term
} by their performance...I wanted a machine that I could use while sitting {it's what I do best} at my computer desk so I bought the WorkSharp and two 6" diamond laps for it...The laps were $9.95 each including shipping!!!! The lap is about 1mm thick made of steel and is very flat..It fits the shaft of the W.S. and I just place it directly on the glass plate....The edge coming off the 3,000 grit plate is outstanding!!!.....The 8" laps can be adapted to fit the W.S. very easily as well, and the 8" plate I believe is somewhat thicker and can be used just as you would a rectangular diamond hone, except the area of the diamonds is much larger on an 8" lap than most rectangular hones...Another neat thing about them is when they eventually wear out, you can glue sandpaper to each side of the steel lap and always have a good one ready for service...In the meantime, my Tormek and MKII are both enjoying a well deserved "vacation"......

[Bill Wilson]

...................
 so I bought the WorkSharp and two 6" diamond laps for it...The laps were $9.95 each including shipping!!!! The lap is about 1mm thick made of steel and is very flat..It fits the shaft of the W.S. and I just place it directly on the glass plate....The edge coming off the 3,000 grit plate is outstanding!!!.....

I'm intrigued by this TW.  I have a WS 3000 and usually read all the posts I can find on it.  THis is the first time I've seen a reference to using diamond laps on it.  I had to Google diamond laps, because I didn't even know what they were.

So this really works, huh?

[Timberwolf]

I'm intrigued by this TW.  I have a WS 3000 and usually read all the posts I can find on it.  THis is the first time I've seen a reference to using diamond laps on it.  I had to Google diamond laps, because I didn't even know what they were.

So this really works, huh?

.........................
Bill, it takes sharpening on a horizontal plane to a new level IMO...Mike Tobey and I have been intrigued by sharpening for many years, so it takes a lot to impress both of us...This impresses me....

If you go that route, use a light touch and a few drops of lube...transmission fluid or synthetic engine oil work very well but most any lube should suffice to reduce the loading.. They cut quickly on the hardest steel...and you can even sharpen the face of a carbide router bit on the diamond lap.

BTW, I also have a Foley-Belsaw 6" motorized Diamond lap faced with 600grit sintered diamond in heavy concentration...IMO the speed is too slow...The Worksharp outperforms it.

One other thing.....this is where a foot switch comes in really handy..with it, you can have both hands free to hold the work before you turn the motor on..Flatten the back by placing the iron directly on the lap, THEN step on the switch....Stop the motor before removing the blade.

[wmickley]

So, what is new and better in the honing/shaping world? Remember that except for using the Tormek, I do freehand and results are Wicked Sharp [tm] and a few of you oldtimers have watched the process , including doing a barely noticeable curve on some plane irons. In all the time I have been away, what has happened to make me appear incompetent or lazy?

There has been some movement away from harsh abrasives to oilstones (or to natural waterstones) for increased durability of the edge.

[Ricky]

There has been some movement away from harsh abrasives to oilstones (or to natural waterstones) for increased durability of the edge.

Just curious about harsh abrasives decreasing durability? 
I can understand that in theory a hollow grind can decrease it's durability versus a slightly convex grind. But that's a separate issue.
And I've heard diamond abrasives can give a "toothier" edge.  
Not arguing, just curious.