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It wasn’t stepping on the piece of glass that scared me but rather the possibility of dropping the piece when I was moving it. If the chisel isn’t in my hand, it is stuck to a magnet strip in the wall. If I had to wear shoes all of the time in the shop, it would take some of the pleasure out of building.

Hi Bob,
The post was made in a semi-humorous vein- no shoe shaming intended.
I'm sure most of us don't armor up in flak jacket and steel toes to go play in our wood shops. I, too, have a granite surface plate (government surplus) but the older I get, the heavier it gets, and the less inclined I am to pick it up and put it on the bench.

I put the granite surface plate on a corner of the bench where I can leave it. I can sharpen a lot more frequently that way. And, I put a piece of leather next to it so I can dress that edge whenever it would help.

You can’t shame me. All of the risks I knowingly take are calculated and willingly accepted. When I screw up, I know I earned it.

One of the brain’s abilities that amazes me is the instantaneous judgement on whether to move away or catch something that is dropped. There’s no time to think but the appropriate decision is usually made.

I have learned to not try and catch sharp tools and I have gotten very good moving my foot out of the way. I have had lots of practice moving, but have not been hit.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Motivated by this thread, I bought a set of seven 3M lapping films with PSA backing from Taylor Toolworks via Amazon. They arrived today and I stuck them, shoulder-to-shoulder, on a 12"x30" plastic-coated MDF shelf from Home Depot. Then, using a Veritas guide and a spritz of water, I sharpened two sets of chisels, three planes, and a drawknife. Fast, easy to use, easy to clean up. And REALLY sharp results. (The fact that it's inexpensive is just a pleasant coincidence.) It's now my go-to sharpening method. Thanks, SnowManSnow, for starting this thread. (Now I have to find a place to store all my old sharpening implements before, eventually, throwing them away.)

As the voice of consent, scary sharp is very good. I like the idea of a granite plate - never really cared for the concept of glass, but it worked well regardless.

As the voice of dissent, I’m glad I was introduced to ceramic stones. Problem is the large investment. And because of that investment, I use them. Too easy to setup, and put away, and they don’t need to be kept soaked like traditional water stones.

I got the large granite surface plate from grizz , last summer, in spgfld mo it has a loto f uses

+1 for the surface plate. I have mine permanently set up with coarse paper on it. Use it ALL the time.

I have Shapton, Norton & diamond stones and are very happy with them. As soon as I started searching for sharpening, I was immediately flooded with ads for what look to be new Chinese brands of water stones that are way cheap. I wonder how bad they could be? Has anyone tried them?

Pat

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Pat

I thought my chisels were sharp until I also got the grizzly granite block, veritas guide, and 2000 grit. Quick and easy and beyond razor sharp.

Pat to answer your question about 10 yrs ago I bought the allegedly 12 k chinese guanxi blue stone from woodcraft. I have used it sparingly . IMHO it is only worth it if you are on a tight budget . Because it takes many strokes to get your chisel or blade sharp. I have a 8 k japanese waterstone that is over 20 yrs old and it creates a fast polish . So does the 13 k stone from LV it also leaves a mirror polish. All the 3 stones are soft and can be readily flattened with a atoma 100 grit diamond plate or 120 grit paper on granite surface plate, Overall IMHO the chinese stone is ok for those on a budget the other stones are a much better buy . You can also google chinese blue waterstone and see positive comments from users of straight razors. I also have 3 honing guides my fave is the LN. Getting your blades and chisels razor sharp makes quick work of many luthier tasks . In japan novice carpenters spend their first 900 hrs learning to sharpen by hand.

I have Norton Oil Stones (from my culinary days), and diamond stones. Once I got Shapton Ceramic stones, I tossed the Norton’s, and my diamond stones are collecting rust. Of course, I didn’t realize at first that I needed to get a flattening stone, so that increased the cost. No need for a Nagura like traditional waterstones; the ceramic slurries quickly, and works really well.

And the ruler trick works great - pulling that burr is so satisfying!

Coincidentally, I just did a workshop for the local guild, and the topic was sharpening. Besides the stones, also featured was the two Veritas jigs and another cheaper one.

Snowmansnow, sorry for the hijack. I know this is about scary sharp, and if I ever went back, I’d definitely use my granite plate (which I learned from this thread)! I actually have one, loaded with coarser grits for various other processes.

I'll bet that it's tempered, and if so, it will shatter into many small pieces when you try to cut it.

I learned this information the hard way while trepanning a telescope mirror blank out of a table top. Once I ground about 1/4 of the way through the whole piece shattered.

I think my Shaptons are ceramic. They were called Shapton Pro, now I think there is a diff name.

I do the Todd Stock method: coarse diamond for primary then 8k for micro. Use the same diamond to flatten.

What is this ruler trick??

Pat

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Pat

Aaron is still sleeping in HI, so David charlesworth english furnituremaker, invented slipping a ruler under your plane blade to make quick work of adding a bevel to create a burr and final polish on the edge. I have one of his books explaining it . But perhaps you can google his name and see if he has posted a pic or someone else has posted pictures of the process it works . But I do not use it any more . I prefer a deadflat back on my chisels and plane blades, Which I polish. to 13 k I have the new narex cryogenic chisels and the backs are flattened and polished all along the back, so that the chisels can be used to do a light sewed planing effect. etc.

The ruler trick is designed for plane blades. Laying the plane blade on the abrasive surface with the ruler under the top of the blade lifts that end of the blade so only the very tip of the back contacts the abrasive. This puts a tiny, easy to polish, couple degree bevel on the back of the blade. When installed in the plane, the wood doesn't see much of a difference, but it is easier to accomplish sharp. However, on a chisel you usually want a perfectly flat back as a reference, say for cutting mortices or trimming joints. If you are going to try it on a guitar chisel, it would probably be good for brace shaping as long as you understand what you have. The benefits of the ruler trick aren't so great with a chisel at 1/2" as they are with a plane blade at 2" wide. Carvers at times will put this back bevel on their tools, but they don't usually need the reference surface.

Have fun

Ed

To those of you using the Scary Sharp setup, do you typically use all 7 grits?

I assume for typical touch up you only need to use a couple different grits?

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Ernie was right about the time difference

Once I learned the ruler, I redid my planes and now use them way more often, including bookmatching.

And though not usually recommended, I do my chisels the same. Like Ed mentioned, carvers use it, and I use the chisels more to carve, than register flat surfaces. Except my Japanese chisel, which is used for miters.

Note: this is a long video - one of the commenters suggesting changing the playback speed to 1.5x normal. Seems he switches to what works like a ceramic stone for polishing. If anything, I learned how few strokes it takes to polish a blade, whether using the ruler, or not.

If you actually think about it, Ruler Trick applies to Scary Sharp as well.

FWIW aaron are you using a angled shooting board ?. Todd stock either had a pic posted here or on his website. Makes quick work of bookmatching. I use a 5 deg back bevel on my carving chisels as ed mentioned, Which then gets buffed on a red and green rouge buffing wheel. The buffer makes quick work for sharpening gouges.

wellll..................most.......................of................................you.............................are..........................doing..................the........ruler................method.....................wrong....................

Wow, I couldn't wait. I had to fast forward. I think I got behind that guy at the Lowes register yesterday.

Best episode of Taxi ever:

What does a yellow light mean?
Slow down.
What . . . does . . . a . . . yellow . . . light . . . light . . . mean???

I hav seen Lie-Nielson at 3 different woodworking shows and they always have had a sharpening station set up with a metal ruler to demonstrate this. If you have the opportunity to attend a show you can watch someone who is used to it do it.

Ed