I should have bought this before trying to sharpen anything!

Since jumping into this wonderful hobby, I have always dreaded one thing.

Sharpening.

Sure, I’ve read plenty of how-to on sharpening from scary sharp method to using accessories to good old fasioned oil or water stones. The methods out there are numerous and opinions even more so on which method is best for a beginner. It’s all just soo confusing and frustrating. A beginner can spend a lot of money and even more effort in trying to find a method that works.

I sent a plane blade out for sharpening at a local sharpener and the edge of the blade came back concave. Not from the side, but from the end. The sides of the blade were longer than the middle. Sigh. I won’t be going back there!

I tried scary sharp, I tried oil stones and I even broke down and bought a Worksharp 2000. My problem was that I didn’t understand what to look for or what to experience when sharpening.

Ron’s book changed everything. For the woodworker that is having problems with sharpening, I would urge you to beg, borrow or buy this book (I won’t recommend stealing it lol). Ron gets right down into the basics of what steel is, how rust forms, the properties of hardened steel and yes, of course how to sharpen your way through the grits and what to look for before moving onto the next grit.

Before reading this, I couldn’t shave end grain if my life depended on it and it was holding me back. Now I’m getting nice wispy shavings and am a happy sharpener! I almost can’t wait to start on my chisels and other plan blades.

The below are 1/2” wide walnut shavings taken using my Veritas BU smoother and my recently built shooting board.

-- Mike - Antero's Urban Wood Designs http://anterosurbanwooddesigns.com