The Complete Guide To Sharpening by Leonard Lee, Taunton Press 1995 ($22.95 US/$32.95 CN)

Thanks for the information Bob.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

This is a great book and has everything you need to know about sharpening everything from axes to camping knives! Well worth the money.

-- --Chuck

I got this book for Christmas. Totally agree – this book is the the one to read about sharpening. If you have hand planes – and you actually want to use them – then you need to know how to get them as sharp as possible. After reading this book you will be able to – and planing is then a real joy.

Thanks for the review

-- Rick - OC, CA

This is a must-have book if you are serious about woodworking.

If you don’t learn how to sharpen your tools you’ll never
be able to do good work quickly.

My woodworking is all based on sharpening skills. It took
me awhile to learn to sharpen plane irons. It’s best to
have somebody show you how to do it.

Understanding the metallurgy of cutting tools and how “chips”
are cut will actually improve your woodworking. You’ll find
yourself using hand planes with more sensitivity because you
understand what is happening in the cut.

If you want to know how to get better results on troublesome
grain like Birds-eye maple you’ll want to track down Brian
Burns’ “Double Bevel Sharpening” as well.

Definitely a good book. I agree with the reviewer and previous posters here. I picked up this book a couple of weeks ago and find it to be very useful. Everything you want to know at face value. He discusses just about anything you could want to sharpen. Very thorough. He plugs his tools in it, but also mentions the conflict of interest there too. Hey, if you think your tools are the best and it is your book, by all means. He does so in a manner that is not offensive and very honest IMO.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama