Haron Multi Sharpening tool

[Sebastiaan76]

Hi there,
I need to sharpen some of my chisels, and don't have any sharpening equipment. I was considering getting this:

http://www.bunnings.com.au/haron-mul...ener-_p5820984

Has anyone ever used it? Is it a gimmick, and should i just buy an 800 and 1600 Wetstone instead?

Any other advice on a basic chisel sharpening setup that doesn't break the bank appreciated

Seb

[Ratbag]

Can't comment about the Haron, but the Plasplugs equivalent (a British tool) was (is) a bit of a toy.

Try DMTs Diamond stones. A fine & an ultra fine bench stone (about $60 ea. from the same store) will perform beautifully for years. At least mine has.

For the ultimate mirrored finish a Spyderco ultrafine ceramic stone is hard to beat for finishing too.

I have a Tormek too: a very old drill powered version. Personally I find it tiresomely slow (even with the stone grader). I much prefer a quick hand hone after use before putting a tool away. It's just simpler, easier and many, many times faster. I strop away the wire edge with the palm of my hand.

[bridger]

I'd recommend a coarse diamond plate for the kind of rough blade shaping that that device is meant for. It will likely cut faster, do a better job and last longer.

[Ratbag]

Further to my last post, please don't be tempted by the cheap prices of some East Asian diamond stones.

In my experience they're utter rubbish. The only diamond stones worth buying in my opinion are the American ones. These last for years & years. The cheap ones a few sharpenings at best. Plus they aren't flat - a major crime in my opinion.

[Poppa]

I normally use sandpaper on glass. I've got a couple of waterstones, but I find them fiddly and slow. Instead I've got 5 glass plates mounted in wooden frames (to stop the glass breaking) that I just spray glue sandpaper to. I use a Veritas honing guide and get pretty good results. And replacing the sandpaper is easy.

[Robson Valley]

$10 will buy you all sorts of fine automotive finishing sandpapers to 2k grit or smaller.
A tab of masking tape on a nice flat surface and you're good to go.
Monocrystalline diamond plates are all very nice but their only advantage is that they last longer.
But if you can't bear to rip off the tape and put down a fresh 1/4 sheet, so be it.

Freehand sharpening is something to learn.

Some day, you might need to do up something like the Stubai wood carver's adze
which has a left/right sweep and a front/back sweep.
At that time, you will realize that the diamond plates have very, very little use.