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9th June 2015, 02:38 PM #31Member
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Some of us need a cane to walk. Nothing. Wrong with that. I was fearful , I started with a jig. One day I acquired 20 carving chisels. Next morning, took a deep breath and sharpened them freehand. Mind you, they were about 150 years old... man, and it worked. And it was faster - and better ! Since than I don't need a cane. I can walk. Take. A deep breath.
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10th June 2015, 09:54 PM #32
It's interesting that some people see a sharpening jig as a fiddly thing that is a time thief. Others see it as a necessary evil. I love mine. It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to set up and I can always find it. It's in the sharpening draw on one of my benches. In time I may graduate to hand sharpening but am not too worried. I gotta admit I spent over $100.00 on my jig so have some emotional investment in it
Getting good at sharpening does not make a person a better or even more efficient woodworker. It's how they use their newly sharpened tool that does it.
Just to diverge, I am still trying to saw a straight line with a variety of saws and find it difficult. My dove tails suck at a lot of levels, but I wont use a saw jig. I think it's because I can see the saw line and find it easy to adjust the saw as I wander. I can't see the point of contact with the chisel and the stone so wonder if this is the basis of my jig preference.
TTLearning to make big bits of wood smaller......
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11th June 2015, 12:38 AM #33
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11th June 2015, 07:00 AM #34GOLD MEMBER
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Getting good at sharpening has made me a better wood carver.
I've got the confidence to expect my tools to cut as I imagine they will.
I can fix them quickly when there's damage.
I've got the confidence to go exploring into the crooked knives and adze designs
of the Pacific Northwest native carving community.
I've still got the ignorance not to stop and consider the run-out path of an edge
to get whacked by a tool from time to time. At least, it 's always a very clean cut.
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11th June 2015, 08:57 AM #35
Nup not at all A lot of wood workers on this forum have stated over the years that they don't/wont sharpen their own saws. Doesn't seem to affect their work. In fact it gives them more time to do other stuff. I guess if you see the preparation of the tool as an essential part being a good wood worker then I could stand corrected. The master painters and sculpture's of the past used their apprentices to mix their paints and rough in their work before they took over. Of course they probably did their own apprenticeship before that.
I sharpen my own chisels, I just use a jig. I have the confidence that that tool I use is sharp, and applying that sharpened tool to the wood is where I'll improve.
TTLearning to make big bits of wood smaller......
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11th June 2015, 09:05 AM #36
I'm sure the intention was ...
"Getting good at sharpening does not make a person a better or even more efficient **amateur** woodworker"
I find it surprising given the amazing amount of sharing and generosity and goodwill that you see all the time in these forums that there such a lot of judgement here about this jig issue.
I *like* hand sharpening ... right from the beginning there was a classic website that I now can never think of when I want to ... about oilstones and stropping on leather and/or the palm of your hand ... and I always wanted to do that.
They also wrote about "not being able to see light reflecting off the edge" and for ages I didn't really get that line ... until I think I watched something on sharpening carving tools and finally *ding*. That was a huge help in getting good results.
But we all want to do different things. I'd be happy to spend 30 minutes chopping out a 1/2"x2"x1" mortice just to do it, because the first time it worked out well was magic. Other people want to get done building something already.
And other people are oriented less to the hand-tools than most of the people reading here.
Each to their own - we all agree it's a cool skill - but I think we can be more supportive of everyone.
Cheers,
Paul
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11th June 2015, 10:18 AM #37
Well, I can easily see where Rob is coming from. It's been stated several times in this thread that if you are earning your living with your tools, efficiency is important. You need your tools ready to work & be able to keep them working, with minimum downtime - that would have to classify as a 'no brainer', I think. For a weekend warrior, of course it's not really all that important, so if you are a 'process' person, and sharpen for the sheer joy of it, well, why not string the process out as much as you can, eh?
There does seem to be a bit of a generational divide, here. People of my vintage grew up just doing the best we could with the limited tools we had. Things like sharpening jigs were very low on my priority list, in fact I didn't know such things existed for a very long time, & by the time I did try one, I didn't find it helped me at all. I don't think I was particularly good at any aspect of woodworking to start with, but a long 'apprenticeship' (apprenticed to myself, which wasn't very instructive, much of the time! ), and perseverance got me to a level of skill where I can do most jobs with reasonable speed and accuracy. I was lucky enough to spend some time with older blokes who'd spent a lifetime doing repetitive tasks, & saw what skilled hands can do, so I have goals that I know are achievable. Well, maybe, someday.....
Chers,IW
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11th June 2015, 12:53 PM #38
I don't want to sound unsupportive or judgmental to what ever people want to use .
I admit the way I have been approaching this is a little bit on the abrupt side .
I have always thought of the whole Jig for stones thing as inefficient.
Ian you sum things up so well
It's not all that important any way. We all must have fun in our workshops .
That's about the most important thing.
I love wasting some big time on all sorts of things , Jigs is one of them, for cutting things.
My problem is storing them all , and then finding them when I need them
Rob
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11th June 2015, 08:23 PM #39
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12th June 2015, 09:44 PM #40
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13th June 2015, 12:47 AM #41Member
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BTW - yesterday I just had to sharpen 2 hatchets, an axe and a froe. of course, freehand. Try that and you will see that any plane blade and chisels are a simple joke. Seriously - I am trying to help you here.
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13th June 2015, 05:20 PM #42well aged but not old
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I think that the reason this simple question has drawn so many opinions is that it gets to the heart of why we make stuff. I don't need furniture. If is was simply boxes and tables and cupboards I wanted I could go out and buy them any day. I make things for the pleasure of it and part of that pleasure is the development of skills. (I have been known to go out to the shed and just plane a bit of timber for the fun of it.)
Now if you have spent the time and effort to develop the fine motor skills required to sharpen tools without the use of any jig it is right and good that you feel well pleased with yourself. Any any upstart like me who even questions whether or not the skill is necessary deserves whatever horrors that can be inflicted upon him. It is nearly as bad as asking a new mother if her baby was really necessary or useful.
I am suspicious about the arguments made based on time and efficiency. They may be true but I have not tested this. Tomorrow I will conduct a little experiment to see.My age is still less than my number of posts
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19th June 2015, 02:20 PM #43GOLD MEMBER
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As if they were reading this thread and "honing in" (get it?) on our commentary about the inability of a honing guide to handle narrow blades... Lee Valley just dropped this:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...68&cat=51&ap=1
It's a retrofit to the existing Mk2 honing guide that specializes in narrow blades.
As an American, I never thought I would say this, but... those Canadians are a clever bunch.
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19th June 2015, 05:09 PM #44
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19th June 2015, 11:46 PM #45
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