Reply by Tom Godfrey

I guess I am old fashion, don’t own a worksharp and don’t want to own one. For the most part I keep all my tools sharp by using different grits of sand paper. I have a board made of a hard surface, have no idea as to the material. You can use glass if you prefer.
Now you can make jigs if you prefer where you can set a certain angle out of a piece of scarp wood or even medal depending on what you want.
I made a jig for my planner a couple of years ago and still use the same jig. It does a great job. Make take me longer to sharpen a planner blade but I can get get the edge I want every time and it works great. I got tired of buying planner blades and now I haven’t purchased any blades in a long time.
I also sharpen my hand chisels the same way with sand paper. I don’t use a jig, I have learned the proper angle that works for me. The trick is never let them get so bad it take a lot of work. After each use take a few seconds to touch them back up where they are ready the next time.
Wood turning tools. I made a jig to use with my bench grinder but it seem I was spending a lot of time putting that edge back on them over and over. I fixed that problem. I purchased turning tools with carbide tips and never have to worry about it being sharp. These things will last for ages. That is compaired to my other turning tools. I plan on writing a tool review within the next week and tell others of these tools. It’s not your standard tool but its made along the line of (EASY TOOL) but a lot cheaper to purchase..
In my opinion you would be better off to make a couple of jigs and use sandpaper to keep your cutting tools cutting.

-- Tom Godfrey Landrum South Carolina (tom@thcww.com)