Scary Sharp on a Budget

When you first get into woodworking, you realize really quickly you need to learn how to sharpen your tools. Dull blades just won't cut it. Sharpening is a skill that has to be learned just like anything else but it also comes with a cost, possibly a big cost. In this article I want to go over a cheaper option for sharpening that yields great results. I really shouldn't say cheaper, but lower initial cost because since this is a disposable system, in the long run may become more expensive depending on how much you need to sharpen. I would not recommend this system if you need to sharpen on a regular bases, I probably sharpen my two plane irons and 6 chisels once a month maybe even two so I think this will be a good setup for me.

Step 1: Picking Sandpaper

What to buy:

options, options, options. There are so many choices of sandpaper out there, its really hard to decide what to buy. I'll share with you want I decide on but I’m sure there are other great options out there. First I went to Canadian tire to see what I could find local. They actually didn’t have to much to pick from for metal so I grabbed what they had which was 3M wet/dry sandpaper 800, 600 and 400 grit (aluminum oxide) which was 5 bucks for 5 sheets. Next I went to the internet to find some higher grits for the final polish. Lee valley tools was having there usually free shipping week so I went there and order some 3M™ Aluminum Oxide Films which is specifically made for Sharpening. This Stuff is a lot more money but I think it may be worth it because it should last longer and it also has an adhesive back for easy mounting to a piece of glass. I chose the 9, 3, and 1 micron which is equivalent to 1200, 4000, and 8000 grit. This stuff is about 3-4 bucks a sheet.

Step 2: Hard Flat Surface

Now that I have the sandpaper, now I need something to mount it to. I didn’t want to buy anything so I looked around the house to see what I had laying around and I found a shelf to our fridge that wasn’t being used. frame This makes a pretty good option because its temped but ideally something thicker like 3/8” would be better. Something granite would be good as well.

Step 3: Sticking the Sandpaper to Your Hard Surface

The sandpaper from lee valley was easy, I cut it into 2.5” strips (which will give me three strips per sheet) and just stuck it on. The stuff from Canadian tire on the other hand needed an adhesive so I went with carpet tape. Spray achieve would also work well.

Step 4: Flattening the Back

Ok our system is ready to use. My first test is with my plane iron, which is and A2 alloy (harder to sharpen buts holds an edge longer). When you first get an iron the first thing you need to do is hone the back. This is done by going through the whole grit progression till you have a mirror finish. Once this is done you never have to do it again. Some people only polish the edge of the back by not laying the iron flat but rising it up slightly so its on an angle. This is much faster but has to be done ever time you re-sharpen your blade. My iron has already been polished on the back to 4000 so I’m just going start at 8000 to take it that little bit more.

Step 5: Setting the Angle

This iron has 25 degree primary bevel and a 30 degree secondary bevel. This is probably the most common angle for a plane iron but 38, and 50 are also used on bevel up planes. Lee valley has a good article about the iron angle. To make sure I consistently sharpen the iron at 30 degrees a prefer to use a honing guide. I set the angle buy using a digital angle block on my table saw but you can use a protractor just as easy.

Step 6: Honing the Angle

My iron has already been sharpened before to 4000 grit but has been used a lot since its last sharpening and is quit dull so I’ll start my re-sharpening at 600 grit. Using water to carry away the swarf, I run the iron over each grit about 10 times, making sure I get an even new surface finish in-between each grit.

Step 7: Checking Results

Its always hard describe how sharp is sharp but for me, if both sides have and even mirror finish, than your probably good. A few swipes with it mounted in the plane confirms.