Have any of you used one, and do you have one to recommend? I'd like the Lie-Nielsen but don't feel like paying that kind of coin.

There are a bunch of Chinese copy-cats out there, and some others as well.

I'm considering the Rockler as looking pretty good, but not going to break the bank.

Thoughts?

I have good sharpening stones, both oil and diamond. I just don't do it often enough to get proficient at holding a constant angle by hand.

I have this Veritas one from Lee Valley Tools. Top quality like all Veritas tools, but less expensive than Lie-Nielsen.

I really like mine. It is very accurate and sharpens evenly all across the blade. One caution tho - it only works down to 1/2" wide blades or chisels. They have a narrow version ($123 I think), but it only goes up to 1.5" so it won't work with most plane irons.

The Rockler one looks interesting but I havent actually seen one to compare. Rockler stuff always seems to be OK, but a little less than top quality. If it isnt perfectly square and solid, you'll get frustrated trying to get a good square edge.

Link

Oh, I agree with your statement about being square.

My father was a fine woodworker / cabinet maker, and could do irons and chisels by hand on a grinding wheel, then just finish them on a stone.

I don't have that level of practice, and as I am nearing 60, probably won't ever develop it.

I'm getting back into woodworking again now that I have a garage. I haven't ever really done much work with planes and chisels, but I anticipate more, so I've been doing a lot of research (well, watching YouTube videos mostly). Everyone has their opinions. Here are a few links to sharpening stuff. These are just copied and pasted from a note I've been keeping in a notepad app.

https://zenwutoolworks.com/pro...rp-sharpening-system

General video on sharpening planes: Tuning a plane Sharpening and Setting the Bench Plane | Paul Sellers www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE4yVgdVW7s

This guy does reviews of Asian tools, and comes up with a few goodies: https://youtu.be/WPCnaE8SAG0 It might be interesting for you to watch more of his channel (Hooked on Wood).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN9GHpwGnug (Stumpy Nubs talks about 3M Cubitron sandpaper)

Google this thingy, the videos I've seen are impressive for how cheap and fast it is: www.amazon.com/SHARP-SHA-001-E...-Black/dp/B00GC0TYIG (731 Woodworking did a good video)

It's (supposedly) important to have the back of your chisels and planes completely flat, here's one solution:https://taytools.com/products/chisel-back-flattening-kit


Good luck, it's quite a rabbit hole to go down!

Rob Cosman has a few sharpening videos you may want to watch. Here’s a link to his “32 Seconds to Sharp!” video: https://youtu.be/okLIEoz00v0?si=AlyR9ct4NXj147Km

Wow, things have gotten stupid expensive and complicated in the last 20 yrs.

Piece of plate glass, 400/800 grit wet dry sandpaper and something like this to hold the angle constant. 5 minutes for mirror polish shaving sharp chisels and plane blades.

https://www.amazon.com/ATLIN-H...Planer/dp/B07C9X3F98

quote:

Originally posted by ranger312:
I have this Veritas one from Lee Valley Tools. Top quality like all Veritas tools, but less expensive than Lie-Nielsen.

I have the Mk 1 of that. Still solid after a couple of decades, maybe a tad less fancy than the Mk 2.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
Wow, things have gotten stupid expensive and complicated in the last 20 yrs.

Piece of plate glass, 400/800 grit wet dry sandpaper and something like this to hold the angle constant. 5 minutes for mirror polish shaving sharp chisels and plane blades.

https://www.amazon.com/ATLIN-H...Planer/dp/B07C9X3F98

5,914 people can't all be wrong LOL that's the buy numbers on that Honing Guide. Seems like a good buy just to see if you can get the sharpening done with that kind of jig, if so, then invest in the higher level tools, might find this does what you need.

Amazing the things that come up here and the knowledge, if someone asked how to build a rocket we'd have an answer in no time...

I would absolutely buy that Atlin angle guide linked to on Amazon. That will get shaving sharp plane irons and chisels with wet/dry paper. The Veritas honing guide is around $40 and is an excellent guide as well. Both can be used on flat stones also.

Don’t get too hung up on picture perfect primary angle, just get it square. Your secondary angle should be nicely polished with just a few strokes on the higher grit stones/paper. Make sure the backs of the irons are dead flat and polished. Once it is, don’t use anything but your highest grit on the back when sharpening.

Once you establish a burr on the back along the entire edge length, finish by swiping the back of the iron and the secondary angle on the front 2-3 strokes to work the burr off the edge. A bit of green chromium oxide compound applied to a leather strop is perfect for removing that final burr.

If you want to invest in a machine to help, the Worksharp WS3000 is under $75 and does a great job of establishing a 20-25 degree primary bevel. It will get a sharp working edge with the finer grits.

Once you have a sharp edge and notice a decline in performance, a few swipes on the leather strop will get you going again until it’s time for a stone to touch up your secondary bevel again.

I used to waste a lot of time obsessing over perfect looking sharpening. Don’t fall for it. Watching Paul’s Sellers on YouTube is well worth your time. He will show you how quickly you can sharpen an edge and get right back to working.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
Wow, things have gotten stupid expensive and complicated in the last 20 yrs.

Piece of plate glass, 400/800 grit wet dry sandpaper and something like this to hold the angle constant. 5 minutes for mirror polish shaving sharp chisels and plane blades.

https://www.amazon.com/ATLIN-H...Planer/dp/B07C9X3F98

I had one of these. Using the bottom set of jaws for narrower things was a problem. Depending on the shape and thickness of the iron/chisel, the jaws didnt hold it securely, nor square. I got frustrated and gave it away. Mine was a different brand but looked the same -I assume they all come out of the same factory.

I chose to follow the Rob Cosman (32 seconds to sharp) system for sharpening, including buying his recommended Wood River brand plane. I practice free hand sharpening on some old planes with limited success. Rob's method along with the Veritas guide has given me very impressive results right from the beginning.