Hey all, newb here. I’m building my first workshop in my basement with hand tools only (might add power tools later) and looking for some advice.
I’m still undecided on a sharpening setup, so wondering what other people like. How fussy are water stones, and how do you manage keeping them true? Do you have any cool tricks or things you want to show off?
It’s funny how one hobby spirals into another, innit? You can’t really be a wood carver without also learning about sharpening and honing.
I’m a spoon carver, so I hone my blade every 5-10 minutes of carving with a piece of leather hlued to a block of wood (store bought, not home made) with some honing compound (green waxy stuff) rubbed on. For honing my hook knife (for carving out bowls of spoons) I rub the blade against a wooden dowel, again with honing compound rubbed on.
When I actually need to sharpen a blade, I use a two sided sharpening stone and some water. Works on everything from hatchets to scissors.
Carving is what got me into wood working.
But yeah, it’s different going from honing blades with a compound to needing to sharpen them.
I don’t mind the process of sharing, but I’ve never really been exposed to it and I don’t know much about it.
This is personal preference, not religion. Sometimes people start to act like you will go to hell for using the wrong system. You won’t.
Sand paper on a flat coutertop is cheap to get started with and works well. A pack of 2000 grit (auto parts store has them) will get you are sharp as you need. However sandpaper wears out fast, so this quickly becomes the most expensive option. Still keep this in mind as sometimes you are in the middle of nowhere without supplies and need a quick sharpen.
I personally have settled on oil stones. They work well for me. Just a little oil, sharpen, and wipe the oil off.
I have some waterstones, but I don’t use them: they are not hard enough to sharpen some of my tools (this is specific to the stones I have, not water stones in general). I never found dishing to be a problem when I was using water stones: I just use the whole stone and so they wear evenly. I sharpen outdoors in winter, and water freezes and this can wreck water stones if they are wet: this makes me afraid of water stones.