The Secret To Freehand Sharpening Anything
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- čas přidán 14. 07. 2021
- There are many ways to sharpen anything but learning to sharpen freehand and have goof body mechanics is key. today I want to look at how to master freehand sharpening. here are just a few videos on sharpening.
Other sharpening videos:
My Sharpening Method: • How to Sharpen Freehand
How to sharpen anything live: • How to Sharpen Anythin...
How to sharpen a plane iron: • How To Sharpen a Plane...
How to sharpen chisel: • How to Sharpen any Chisel
How to sharpen a rip saw: • How to Sharpen a Hand ...
How to sharpen a saw: • How To Sharpen a Crosc...
How to sharpen a card scraper: • How to Sharpen a Card ...
How to sharpen a carving gouge: • How to Sharpen a Card ...
How to sharpen a draw knife: • How to Sharpen a Draw ...
How to sharpen a marking gauge: • All About Marking Gaug...
How to sharpen a molding plane: • How to Sharpening a Mo...
How to sharpen an auger bit: • How to Sharpen an Auge...
My Sharpening station: • How To Make a Sharpeni...
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As a dance teacher there is a much easier (healthier) way to build the muscle memory for your shoulders. Every time you are at the kitchen counter waiting for whatever slide your hands back and forth on the countertop. No need to go to the workshop. No need to pick up the tools. Just practice. Then when you are in the workshop with your blade you can practice your wrist angle. Much less stress on the rest of your body and those with arthritis or joint problems are more empowered. A time when the keep-it-simple principle comes into play. Have fun!
"there is no best method"
I wish this was the first thing every crafty person was taught
TIP: If the back of your tool is raised up (from your sharpening stone) to a height that is half of your tool length , then you are at 30 degrees with the stone. this is known as a 30-60-90 triangle
Fantastic tip!
As James so wisely said, to each his own. I have been a hobbyist for 40 years but only in the last 10 have I gone to hand tools almost exclusively. It was difficult to give up electric woodworking and switch to manual. On that journey I have literally used about every jig , stone and diamond plate known to man. But I have found, since I don't work full time for money, a jig is the easiest , most predictable and most efficient for me. Good video. I am now at peace.
I wish I'd seen this video when I first started about two years ago. I found a lot of die hard enthusiasts for their own method and there was a lot of stress approaching sharpening; it seems to be a whole subgenre unto itself. Thanks for this. Hopefully it will save someone else who's just beginning a world of pressure. I wish the "keep it fun" philosophy was more prevalent in the world with almost everything. Clearly not everything can have that mantra but woodworking seems to sometimes have a very exclusive and judgmental atmosphere that can be very off-putting at times. I've had to teach myself how to do much of what I know which, obviously, caused many mistakes, frustrations, scrapped projects, and also MANY injuries lol, but CZcams has been a godsend and I just wanted to say thank you. I've learned a lot from your videos and from your perspective. Thanks again
For me, the best way to get sharp is to use the KISS principle. I sharpen freehand. I'm not the best at it. I can't get it to cut every hair it meets on my arm, but I can get it sharp enough to get the work done. And there's nothing more satisfying than making beautiful curls.
This is exactly how I started . First with a jig then eventually knowing what sharp is and going free hand which is a real time saver.
It's nice to see a video that focuses on consistency in the sharpening instead of accuracy of the angles.
Thanks for sharing those tips!
This is such a great video. Thanks so much, James! Body mechanics have so much to do with using hand tools effectively, and it's not always intuitive. This is a great video on sharpening. Very much appreciated. For the record, it took me like 5 years to learn this! It's so nice to hear it articulated in a really easy to understand way. Great video.
Love this genius teacher
Great reference video - already shared it with folks who need this. Thanks!!
Awesome content as always. Thank you James.
I have the Veritas mrk2 sharpening system. Then I found Rob Cosman's technique for sharpening. After some practice I switched over to free hand. It's so much more satisfying to do it by hand
So true!
Great explanation. Best I've seen. Great tips, James. Thanks!
A very smart video. Thank you James.
I use the jig to test how I did. Every once in a while I will throw it in the jig and take some passes and look at how the material is removed. If it looks even then I know I did a good job, most times it is not and I can tell if I have been straying/off on my hand sharpening.
Edit: Fyi his comment about watching different methods is spot in. You notice different details and seeing masters and copying them is a great way to learn.
Great tip!
Fantastic, James! Thanks a lot! 😃
There's a treasure of tips in this video!
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I think your perspective on accuracy is very accurate! I guess no excuses left, I need to tackle my planes at some point. Thanks for sharing!
Appreciate the video James. I've been 2 years dabbling with hand planes/chisels and use the veritas jig with great success.
But I'm definitely seeing the need to start practicing free hand sharpening as it would be a lot quicker.
Your tips are where ill start, although maybe on one of my unused irons!
Emjoy your content. 👍
Some real nice moves there James, I bet you're a hit on the dance floor. 🙂
Seriously though, when I was a bar fitter, I could free-hand sharpen anything in no time. Then I went into construction carpentry for a few decades where nothing ever got sharpened (just thrown away and buy new). Now, I am back in the hand tool game and I am having to re-learn many of the skills I lost along the way - but I'm 40 years older now. A young body learns much faster than an older body, that's for sure!
Excellent advice. I had to learn on my own and tried the jigs. I found that my own technique was just faster and more in line with my style of woodworking. One of my favorite chisels is a 1/4 inch that is not 90 degrees, but about 75 degrees. I could straighten it to 90, but have never needed to.
I have watched many of these videos, on this channel and learned a lot.
For years and years I could not get a square vertical saw cut and then discovered why by watching this guy. I would pull my arm out to the side, the further out the worse I was. By holding my arm to my side and pumping forward and back, wow, square cuts.
This arm movement I have adapted to sharpening all my tools and even knives, which can be extremely hard to sharpen.
Once again, a very informative video from a man who I consider the only person to compare to Norm Abrams. '-)
Thanks Robert. That means a lot.
I have to say this is perfect timing I just started looking into sharpening last night
you are so right , it is al about having fun in what you are doing
Very helpful!
Ayye, useful information on a day like this. 'Goof' body mechanics do, indeed, help everything.
nice video, thanks.
Thanks again!
Great video, Thanks! As always “Keep your irons sharp, but your mind sharper”.
I mostly free hand plane irons, chisels, knives etc. I tend to only use my Veritas jig for very narrow blades…3 mm chisels, 1/8” plough plane blades as I struggle to keep them square otherwise…particularly important for those very narrow multi-plane blades.
Thank you for allowing me to free myself of obsessions of precision bevel angles and exact 90 degree angles. Very liberating!
Hum, I guess I now understand why some feel jealous of how fast I pick some stuff up. Never have used a gauge, always freehand. In school when we were shown, can't recall if degrees where mentioned, but I'd guess so - teacher taught the "Figure 8" method. Now 36+ years later when I decided to pick wood working back up, with all the great videos out there on YT, I found my own preference pretty quickly - I rock from the shoulder/hips (move it for/aft) with the arm locked, use sand paper and only touches on the pull of the stroke and can keep a damn flat bevel. I also do a secondary bevel, seems to work for me.
The video that really help me understand sharp was one by the guy from Carving a Path on YT, really explained what sharp was and how that was achieved, then with videos from James, Rex, Paul... on techniques, I could produce a proper sharp tool almost right away.
This is DEFINITELY another thing you and Rob could talk about because you have great thoughts but different strategies for sure.
Got to love the sport. So many different ways to do it.
Ahhh plane and simple. I get the point! (Teehee) Thanks James, another excellent tutorial. I'll be trying that.
I learned freehand sharpening with pocketknives. Its the same premise and idea and teaches you how to step up the grades of stone and care for the stones as well, you can strop as well and that can aid with its use. A sharp knife is a safe knife
This was timely, my chisels and planes are all due for a good sharpening.
A lot of thanks.
Thanks mate.
Made my own jig from a skateboard truck and bearings. But yeah, I guess I'm at that whole body phase. I'm feelin it. 🖖
Ah if only sharpening would make the world a better place…..thanks for all your teaching videos James.
What I do is sharpen to 35ish degrees on a fine diamond plate. Then on a somewhat finer carborundum, raise the angle just a tad, so that I'm scraping up a little powder. I guess that creates a micro-bevel, but with all the guesswork taken out of it! Then on leather charged with buffing compound, I roll the edge from 35 degrees up to about 60 degrees on both front and back.
That said, for the most part I'm just touching up by going to the strop, or the carborundum and strop, rather than going through the whole process. I did buy a cheapo sharpening jig when I started out, but the roller got gummed up and stuck on the first use!
Also, I gave up on using liquids when sharpening as I found I was always making a mess and getting dirty fingerprints on my workpiece. Now I just scrub the diamond plate once in a while if I think it's less effective than it could be.
Just like riding horse. You have a sore body until one day it clicks and you can do the rising trott (much smoother ride). You ride again and your body just goes to where it needs be and the feel of the movement is not forgotten.
Thanks
Like everybody else, I’ve watched the videos of several famous furniture makers, like Cosman, Charlesworth, Schwarz, Macguire and Sellers, and they each have a different sharpening method. Paul Sellers is the only one of them who, like you, doesn’t like secondary, or microbevels. And like you, he (as well as Cosman) freehand sharpens and never uses a jig. Sellers does rock his arms and deliberately creates a cambered bevel, starting at 30 degrees at the cutting edge and then sloping back to 25 degrees at the heel. I would like the freedom and speed of learning to sharpen that way. However, I have a couple of Lie Nielsen planes with thick Blades of hard A-2 steel and a couple of Ray Iles mortise chisels with massive bevels made of D-2 steel that is almost as hard as Kryptonite. How do I hand sharpen them with only a single bevel without it taking the rest of my life?
If you're working with diamonds it goes really quickly. Even with a D2 blade it's only 30 seconds to a minute on the plate in your back at it. If you're working with waterstones oil stones or sandpaper then you're going to be at it for a while.
Thanks! I'm getting better with my plane irons and chisels but cannot get the card scraper sharp. I'll try this tip.
Those trip up a lot of people. Best advice I can give is try different methods.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo i have the Veritas card scraper sharpener thing, it's pretty good, although I must learn to burnish properly. I also have the Veritas MK2 and I hate it! I know that you said that it doesn't matter if there's a 90 degree angle, but I just hate the fact that there's not even a single reference edge on the jig. I'm constantly checking to see I've nudged the plane blade out of square, it just feels wrong!
I tried Paul Sellers' method as a complete beginner and I've had sharp tools ever since. It's really easy to do and I didn't have any of the frustration that you're talking about.
you will find a camber on all my chisels (old retired furniture maker) and believe me it makes no difference to the work the chisel will do. if you have an excessive camber then its down to technique.
Nice
Good story. I'd like to see a similar one for curved blades - curved in 2 plains too.
it is the same thing there just a bit of wrist movement added. I have several videos showing sharpening gouges and and other curved blades.
James,
You have showed the best human side of the war on dull. Could you please show how to camber a plane blade to ease plane tracks. Thank you.
Thanks. I actually do not camber any of my irons. If the cut is shallow enough there are no plane tracks that you can feel.
2:00 Trying to learn freehand sharpening, I do have a big problem with a cambered/convex bevel: I can't "feel" the bevel angle anymore. I can't really find it. That's why a hollow grind is useful: you register clearly when both ends of the bevel make contact.
I like shiny! Except when I see my reflection in the back of plane or chisel blade. Now that is truly scary sharp. LOL.
8:33 "A Tendency to Want to Rock" is the name of my Thrash Punk Joni Mitchell cover band....
Good morning my amazing friend
Congrats on first.
I lock my blade and chip breaker to allow a close fit with my screwdriver, taped it in place on both sides and hold onto the blade and the screwdriver while my other hand guides the blade.
Dollops of common sense - cheers. Happy to sub for more.
Just to be picky, the "hook" and a scraper is a pair of intersecting arcs rather than two intersecting planes. And the secondary bevel on plane iron is merely a "camber" simplified to two planes on the bevel rather than one plane. With a slight camber in the bevel you eliminate the "secondary' bevel.
Best way to learn is to grab a nice flat old oil stone off a antique market granted they work slow but that just gives you chance to find a flow without doing much to the blade then you can adjust your form plus they're tough so you'll never take a big chunk out of a oil stone like you can with a whet stone
Hey James. It's been a while since I've been able to catch a video. I became the guardian of my great-nephew overnight. After almost a year of adjusting to the baby's schedule, I'm now heading back to my shop and catching up on CZcams. I have a question regarding the great powerful burr. Once you have a burr does that mean you stop on that grit and move to the next? Does it hurt to continue with the same grit even though you have a burr? I wonder this because I am able to get burs on my chisels but they don't seem to be sharp, Harborfrieght brand if that matters. I am not sure if I should continue sharpening when I already have a bur. From what I can tell the backs are flat.
a burr means that it is as sharp as that sharpening plate will get it. if it is a heavy burr then it will not be sharp. but if you have a burr all the way along the edge then move on to the next palate. some people clean the burr off between plates so they know when the next plate has done its work. if you keep going after you have a burr then you are just taking off more material not getting it any sharper.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo Thank you.
We need more sharpening videos from dull woodworkers
Great info, James. I have to mention one thing I would like to take a small exception to. That is about the camber on the bevel side of whatever blade. Not sure if I'm going to explain this properly, but here goes. The camber itself is not an issue. There is, however, a real effective angle that comes into play at the very edge that could be a problem if the camber is too convex (rounded). Hard to say in words, but if you lay an angle from the very tip (front) of the blade to the highest part of the camber you could get an effective angle greater than what would cut reliably. (think if it is larger than 45° for a bevel down plane blade). I realize that is an extreme condition, but it is possible, so I'd qualify your comment that the camber doesn't matter just keeping that in mind.
Now, the bit about rocking from your ankles, then your hips, then your shoulders, and finally just your arms is the best explanation of that progression I've ever heard, and never thought to explain it that way myself. Great way to explain the process of learning freehand! Gotta remember that one. Oh, and nice dance moves at the end showing that process. :-)
Thanks man. Well said and you're right on.
Have you been able to try the new Veritas side clamping jig ? It's way cheaper than the lie nilsen for example, I'm considering buying it because I hate my cheap eclipse style guide. I would love a review of that new veritas guide.
I have not yet had the chance to play with that one yet. But it's on my list. Maybe someday I'll get a hold one.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo I know you're a big fan of hand sharpening but for the price it looks like a great candidate for beginners like me if the quality is on par with most other Veritas tools. The Mk2/Lie Nilsen/Bridge city guides are just outside of what a lot of people can realistically spend :/
I would love to find another guide that can give solid results but all of the cheap ones just are more frustrating and cause more problems for the beginner. at $65 it is not that expensive when you look at most tools out there. not when it is the beginning for skill for every tool.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo But does it work well with narrow blades ? Because the attachment for that is another 50€ here :( The new side clamping jig is 42$ on lee valley (haven't found it in europe yet) and it's supposed to work with any type of blade.
@8:34 Just imagining this on loop over that very famous Andy Kim song. xD
@14:06 Search failed, I can't find the link on the video on how to sharpen my wit.
So I skewed the s*** out of my blade the first time I sharpened it the other day.
Like really bad so I had to file it back at 90° and start all over.
And I cannot get it hair shaving sharp no matter what i do.
So like what do I do just keep going through all the different grits over and over or do I just go back to the super fine one if it's not sharp enough?
you might get the answer you are seeking if you understand the geometry and how to get it. check out this video. czcams.com/video/WHLpywJpfU0/video.html
when i started, i bought the cheapest jig that i could find on amazon. it was, as expected, all kinds of garbage. so much play. such bad surface finish. had to file down some high spots, to even get the iron in... but, it worked to hold the angle. because of the amount of play it had, it would mess up the edge, if you dont properly put pressure in the right spots, just like free hand sharpening, but it held the angle (at least kind of. the wheel wasnt perfectly centered, so it had a bit of a wobble) so, imo, it was still a good learning tool, so i could focus on getting down the movement and pressure.
but... if you have the money for a good jig, i would definetly not reccomend buying a cheap one. they are no fun to work with and kinda all suck.
Dull intro, but by the end I got the point!
LOL I was gonna say " that was a sharp video " and then I thought, no that's stupid, and so I decided I'll just say " I got nothing this time"
Ha! It was a cool video tho! Thanks!
I like the implied thumbnail that he shaves his head with chisels
Lol I had to go back and look at it. I actually do have a video showing that.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo which video is that? I'd love to see it lol
Hollow grind is the key to freehand sharpening. The slight hollow will make it easy to feel when the 2 edges of the bevel are on the stone.
Feed the algorithm.
Must.... fight..... the... O.... C..... D.
All bevels were camberd before jigs which are a pretty new thing 70 years max plus the most people go for something thats not practical
Thirteen.
James has the Cutting edge techniques in sharpening 😆😆😂😂
I just use my tools till they're really, really chipped and then however poor of a job of sharpening I do, it's always better than it was! 🤣
Nice pun 😂😂😂😆😆😆
The problem with having a camber, and it is a problem, is that you can miss the final sharpening of the final edge. With it rounded, you have no reference and you are forced to round it more and more to have the actual edge touch the sharpening surface.
You're right. What I do is, from time to time, to go to the coarser grit and create a smaller angle, because I know I'm going to create a bigger angle in everyday use.
Or if I'm patient, to go to the coarser grit every time so it's just a little more work every time, instead of much work one day.
That's true until you get to the point where you always end at the same spot and angle. If you look at most antique irons that have been touched and 100 years you'll find that they're almost all rounded ever so slightly.
James I don't think you can sharpen a plane blade by rubbing it against a workbench czcams.com/video/VxLmq6ctxWU/video.html
Lol you never know until you try.
Sorry, But I'll see your molecule and raise you an atom. I had to say single atom at the tip for the sharpest but also the least durable.
Nah man you cant trick me. Card scrapers are magic and don't make anysense.
it doesn t take so long learn how to free hand sharpening, about a month or less you have good result at a decent speed
It all depends on how often you do it. and how fast you learn. some can pick it up in a month or so and I have worked with some that it takes 3-4 years.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo sounds too long for me but everyone is different, that's the beauty of the world. Thanks James
At 11:55 it is your elbow rather than wrist that compensates for shoulder swing. Otherwise, yes muscle memory is the key to success.
Just how much coffee do you drink?🥴
LOL not enough!
I grind my finger tips off when I freehand. 😞
That is not happy.
A rounded bevel is not a good thing for me. It means there are times during sharpening that you are not grinding the leading edge, which means it actually takes longer to get the edge I need. Grinding a flat bevel means the leading edge is always in contact and being worked, making it quicker. I have 4 notches cut out on the top of my sharpening station as stops for 25 and 30 degrees. I like to cut wood, not grind metal, so the 5 seconds it takes to throw the iron/chisel into an Eclipse 36 style jig and butt it up to my stop is worth it for me, then I go into auto-pilot to sharpen it, all I gotta do is keep consistent pressure :) I do not enjoy sharpening in the slightest, but it is an evil I will live with to work with hand tools...... my jig will have to be pried from my cold dead hands hahah :P now only if I could find how to jig up a way to sharpen beading and small router cutters, id be set
I know ive basically disagreed with everything youve jus said, but as we know there is no right or wrong way, and I do appreciate your time and effort to make this video...... Thank you James :)
What I would say is DON'T use a jig. Because it's a MASSIVE faff. It's bad enough having to break the plane down, sharpen it, then re-assemble it, and set it up again. If you add to that ANOTHER set up, in a jig, it all adds up to a big dis-incentive for a learner to actually sharpen their tool. I would say, understand the mechanics of sharpening, then IMAGINE YOU ARE A MACHINE. A machine that keeps the chisel/iron rigidly in place at the correct angle. That way, you'll be learning how to sharpen QUICKLY from day one.
So wait… you need a jig to use a jig??
only when you dance the jig!
Gettin’ jiggy wid it
Good explanations but I don't think that someone who is starting can buy a $130 plus shipping for a jig to sharpen stuff. May be a video on buy the cheap jig and make it workable?
Where are you looking. It is $65. you can usually pick them up used for around $50.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo I was looking at leevalley, but you are right I was looking at the deluxe version.
You had me worried. I know prices have been going up but I had to go check.
A single molecule? Atoms? You're trying to imply that the edge of your plane iron will reach the smallest basic chemical elements? Wow! Try again!!
That's why I use the word if. Not when
Dude, no.