I have some A2 iron in the shop, there I've said it and I'm so ashamed. But the truth is the truth. I've some LN mortise chisels for two reasons, the first is the square profile and the second is the Hornbeam handles. I've a set of Japanese mortise chisels with square profiles as well, I'm not sure which will end up being my go to set when a square profile is needed and the decision may end up made over sharpening.
Because of the A2 I was looking on the web for sharpening advice and ran across this video, It has nothing to do with sharpening A2 but is the best freehand instructional video I've seen. I've just a small quibble with the secondary bevel portion but that can be overlooked. The video is from Norton hosted by Joel from TFWW with a demo of how to freehand cutters. Norton video
There is so much misinformation on most sharpening threads it can be
like playing “Whack a Mole” to correct ‘em. That’s the bad news, the
good is in the end almost anything will work.
ken
I will have to watch for schist when hiking in NH.
ReplyDeleteSteve,
DeletePlaning on starting a mine?
ken
Just for personal use.
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter was young there was a place known for quartz crystals at the other end of the White Mountains so we grabbed a rock hammer and went exploring. It's indescribable what an acre of land that has been picked at by the rock hound masses looks like. Mounds of coarse broken rock and holes that looked like human sized termite mounds.
The hiking guide book mentions the rock types on some trails. I suppose I could stumble on some schist for a stone but the trouble would hardly be justified.
Some years ago I have been using the un-glazed ring at the bottom of a tea cup to sharpen the big kitchen knife wit good results. The blackening disappear in the dishwasher. My wife never objected. I now use a sharpening iron.
ReplyDeleteIn case of necessity, the flat bottom of a ceramic oven plate might save your day.
Sylvain
Personally... I don't read anyone's opinion on sharpening ever. I follow your blog, but didn't read your sharpening articles! My sharpening setup is super simple, no jigs, just diamond plates, a strop, and occasionally a freehand grinding session, and back to work!
ReplyDeleteJeremy,
DeletePretty smart move. Find something that works and then make furniture. My problem is I'm endlessly curious but after giving it a go I almost always go back to the basic system; a grinding stone (Norton India or 1000 water), a honing stone (Washita or Tsushimi Nagura) and a natural polishing stone (Black Ark or JNat).
ken