I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Don Dando

On Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:21:47 GMT, "Don Dando"
wrote:

I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

The "tried and tested method" with the additional step of stropping on
your shoe or belt should be giving you a razor sharp edge.

How long the edge holds up depends on the steel, the heat treat, and
the angle, not on the sharpness. But the sharper it starts off, the
longer it takes to dull to a point where you feel the need to sharpen
it.

Don Dando

On Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:21:47 GMT, "Don Dando"
wrote:

I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Don Dando


My first sharpening attempts were with oil stones -- almost made me swear
off woodworking because I honed and honed and honed and never got anywhere.
Maybe I just didn't have the right grits (it is a two-grit artificial
Arkansas stone), but I sure wasn't impressed. The waterstones work a whole
lot faster.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Mark & Juanita writes:

Maybe I just didn't have the right grits (it is a two-grit
artificial Arkansas stone), but I sure wasn't impressed. The
waterstones work a whole lot faster.


It is truly Arkansas?
I have a two-grit Carborundum stone, and it's grey.
Arkansas stones are usually white or black.

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Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
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On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:00:12 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Barnett
wrote:

Mark & Juanita writes:

Maybe I just didn't have the right grits (it is a two-grit
artificial Arkansas stone), but I sure wasn't impressed. The
waterstones work a whole lot faster.


It is truly Arkansas?
I have a two-grit Carborundum stone, and it's grey.
Arkansas stones are usually white or black.

"Arkansas" in terms of the fact that it is composite arkansas stone (ie.
reconstitited from dust, I believe). It was a two-stone combination, one
side is black, the other white. I think carborundum would have cut faster
and probably better -- or I didn't use the right technique; I just know it
took a very long time to get very mediocre results.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Despite what has often been said about arkansas stones, they are finishing
stones only. For initial sharpening, something else is needed. I use
diamond.

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...

"Arkansas" in terms of the fact that it is composite arkansas stone (ie.
reconstitited from dust, I believe). It was a two-stone combination, one
side is black, the other white. I think carborundum would have cut faster
and probably better -- or I didn't use the right technique; I just know it
took a very long time to get very mediocre results.




+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+

On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:23:31 GMT, "CW" wrote:

Despite what has often been said about arkansas stones, they are finishing
stones only. For initial sharpening, something else is needed. I use
diamond.

You're right- I keep just saying Arkansas stones, but the set I got
only has two Arkansas stones, and a course grey one that does the
initial sharpening that is very different. There was no particular
label on that one.

On Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:47:08 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:00:12 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Barnett
wrote:

Mark & Juanita writes:

Maybe I just didn't have the right grits (it is a two-grit
artificial Arkansas stone), but I sure wasn't impressed. The
waterstones work a whole lot faster.


It is truly Arkansas?
I have a two-grit Carborundum stone, and it's grey.
Arkansas stones are usually white or black.

"Arkansas" in terms of the fact that it is composite arkansas stone (ie.
reconstitited from dust, I believe). It was a two-stone combination, one
side is black, the other white. I think carborundum would have cut faster
and probably better -- or I didn't use the right technique; I just know it
took a very long time to get very mediocre results.

Not sure if that counts, but I'm no expert on stone naming
conventions. My Arkansaw stones are quarried, not composite- and that
may make a difference.

Could be my course stone is carborundum, I have no idea with that one-
it's similar to my wakisha stone, though.

"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
Not sure if that counts, but I'm no expert on stone naming
conventions. My Arkansaw stones are quarried, not composite- and that
may make a difference.

Could be my course stone is carborundum, I have no idea with that one-
it's similar to my wakisha stone, though.

If you've got the three on the cedar triangle setup they sold, the coarse is
carborundum, but at least my other two others show signs of being natural
stone with the proper markings rather than "reconstituted."

"Prometheus" wrote in message

Not sure if that counts, but I'm no expert on stone naming
conventions. My Arkansaw stones are quarried, not composite- and that
may make a difference.

Could be my course stone is carborundum, I have no idea with that one-
it's similar to my wakisha stone, though.

"Arkansas Stone" is novaculite, and is quarried primarily in Hot Springs and
Garland county Arkansas where the Ouachita-Orgenic Belt, a very deep
geologic formation until it gets to AR, that runs from Mexico though Texas,
then outcrops in Arkansas.

(I once spearheaded a big Oil & Gas leasing operation along this formation,
from Mexico through most of Texas, for a consortium of oil companies acting
on the advice of one of the best "big picture" and plate tectonic geologist
that ever lived, and a fine gentlemen and one of those folks who was a
privilege to know and one you'll never forget, Hunter Yarborough ... RIP,
Hunter!)

Dan's Whetstone, in Pearcy, AR has a good description of novaculite, and
also happens to sell some of the best "Arkansas stones" for those
interested.

http://www.danswhetstone.com/novaculite_101.htm

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 2/07/07

"Don Dando" wrote in message
t...
I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that
my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Grit is grit. Doesn't matter what it's part of or stuck to, it makes
scratches in proportion to its size. Razor sharp doesn't necessarily follow
from shiny. It just means there are smaller scratches that you eye can
discern along the edge, assuming you hone across the bevel. Durability
depends on the task, the material, the bevel angle, and your knowledge of
when to slice and when to press. Ball bearings are very shiny.

I said I was going to get some waterstones when the others got dished out or
gummed up. Perhaps twenty years ago. Guess the kids will inherit Arkansas
and Ceramic, because they last and last. Make a good edge, too. Though the
best way to keep it is still to hone before it gets too dull, not to wait
and start afresh. No real need to screw around with jigs on a tool you'll
be hand-holding anyway, so save it for the plane irons and hone the chisel
before each use.

"Don Dando" wrote:

I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Don Dando


I agree with your conclusions, if not your reasoning. You probably
don't want as small an angle on a blade for most wood working as you
would on a razor, but that has nothing to do with the sharpening
medium. And how refined an edge should be will depend on the task--a
file will provide a perfectly acceptable edge for an axe, but if you
want to take .001" shavings with a smoothing plane, you better use a
stone or other sharpening medium that allows you to get a razor-sharp
(if higher angle) edge.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

On Feb 5, 9:21 pm, "Don Dando" wrote:
I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Don Dando

I never understood the whole scary sharp business in practical use.
It is a wonderful way to kill an afternoon on 3-4 chisels, but I would
rather be woodworking.

I have some small carving tools that need the best edge I can get on
them, so they are run through the grits and polished on an old piece
of a heavy leather belt.

I cannot even describe how ****ed off I was years ago when I scary
sharpened a couple of chisels and went out to hang a red oak door.
The chisels didn't make the first mortise (of four) before they were
really dull. In about three or four good whacks with a hammer the
edge had become a wire bead.

Yes, they were good chisels. The Marples grade that was just under
their wood handled "classics", not the blue handled crap they sell now
that wouldn't make a good screwdriver. I spent more time keeping that
edge up than I did working on my contract work.

I knew then I needed to work, not sharpen. I keep one chisel in the
truck that isn't used for anything but fine, light work, and the
others I keep as sharp as possible for practical use.

And of course, there isn't anything quite like hitting an embedded
knot or occlusion you couldn't see with that super fine edge. It
makes your chisel face look like Alfred E. Neuman's.

Robert

On 6 Feb, 03:21, "Don Dando" wrote:
I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving!

I'll shave with a blunt stick and the arse end of a badger, but I'm
fussy about how well my chisels work.

People look at my woodwork, no-one looks at my ugly mug.

On 6 Feb 2007 09:54:12 -0800, "Andy Dingley"
wrote:

On 6 Feb, 03:21, "Don Dando" wrote:
I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving!

I'll shave with a blunt stick and the arse end of a badger, but I'm
fussy about how well my chisels work.

People look at my woodwork, no-one looks at my ugly mug.

If you've been shaving with a blunt stick and the arse end of a badger
I'd expect your beard to be getting tangled in the work by now.

On Feb 5, 9:21 pm, "Don Dando" wrote:
I've read and considered the Scary Sharp concept and it occurs to me that my
tools are for wood working not shaving! I've wondered with a razor sharp
edge, just how well they would hold up. So I too stick with the tried and
tested method, several different grit stones.

Don Dando


Ha! The old guys may have been right about the proper way to sharpen
a chisel, but a smart young woodworker only uses chisels when they
can't find their slotted screwdriver to hack out some waste.

The smart young woodworker uses a router or other power tools. A good
power tool will ably substitute for a great deal of skill, training
and practice Kinda like the 4th Gen programming languages.

D'ohBoy

wrote:

The smart young woodworker uses a router or other power tools. A good
power tool will ably substitute for a great deal of skill, training
and practice Kinda like the 4th Gen programming languages.

D'ohBoy

Mind my asking where you found a router bit that can cut a square
(inside) corner?

IMHO there really IS no room for tool snobbery on either side of the
Neanderthal / Omega Man divide.

This from a guy who has two routers rated for more than 3 hp, two
lathes, 0-6" .0001 micrometers, an 18" x 24" two-ledge granite surface
plate (Starret, of course) -- and a drawer full of sharp chisels.

Bill

--
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one
rascal less in the world.
Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)
http://nmwoodworks.com


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On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:32:09 -0500, Bill in Detroit
wrote:

wrote:

The smart young woodworker uses a router or other power tools. A good
power tool will ably substitute for a great deal of skill, training
and practice Kinda like the 4th Gen programming languages.

D'ohBoy

Mind my asking where you found a router bit that can cut a square
(inside) corner?

With a 1/16" bit you can come pretty close.

IMHO there really IS no room for tool snobbery on either side of the
Neanderthal / Omega Man divide.

This from a guy who has two routers rated for more than 3 hp, two
lathes, 0-6" .0001 micrometers, an 18" x 24" two-ledge granite surface
plate (Starret, of course) -- and a drawer full of sharp chisels.

Bill