tool shapining

Google scary sharp and it will give you the info and materials needed. It’s either Woodcraft or Rockler that sells a scary sharp set.

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

SS is good. Alternatively, a soft Arkansas stone and oil. I started out with that, and by golly, it worked. Then I got a WorkSharp 3000. :D

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--

Everyone has their favorite method. I’ve switched from scary sharp to waterstones – just worked for me better. To get started with waterstones as cheaply as possible you would need:

a basic honing guide to hold your chisels/plane irons at the correct angle ($5-15)
a 1000/6000 combination waterstone ($30)

That is really all you need to get started. Eventually you might need:

- a way to flatten the waterstones (they get gouged over time). This could be done with a diamond stone ($30), but I’ve even heard of people recommending taking the stone outside and flattening it by grinding on the sidewalk, lol.

- a lower grit stone for rougher sharpening and removal of nicks (e.g. 400 or 800 grit)

- a 8000 grit stone for even finer honing ($70-90). The 8000 grit are expensive stones.

HTH and good luck!

-- Optimists are usually disappointed. Pessimists are either right or pleasantly surprised. I tend to be a disappointed pessimist.