Sharpening question

[kiwioutdoors]

Is there any difference between the stitched cloth buffing wheels and the felt wheels in terms of their function? which is please correct me if I am wrong is to remove the wire burr that forms as a result of the sharpening process on the stone. Some people use a leather strap for this. Can someone please direct me to a good sharpening post for straight blade intiially as the new search function sux.

Cheers

Andrew

[scooter]

Here's some for yer :)


Best of the best (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=16776)
Stu's power strop (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=38451&highlight=sharpen)
Bob Smalser's (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=12148)
Long thread (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=34405)... particularly Lignum's sharpening disc (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showpost.php?p=336652&postcount=156) post & the next couple of pages.


Cheers...............Sean

[sinjin]

Maybe a silly question, but why do people buff of strop their blades. just about every pic i see of blades done this way are rounded over to some degree. And it seems that every sharpening or rehoning process that follows would only compound the rounding over. I try and go out of my way to get all my blades along the bevel dead flat but i do agree this can take some time.
sinjin

[IanW]

Maybe a silly question, but why do people buff of strop their blades. just about every pic i see of blades done this way are rounded over to some degree.

Nope, not at all a silly Q., Sinjin. I wouldn't think of taking a buffing wheel to any blade when you want the back dead flat, or the bevel-edge at a constant angle. Rounding the end of the bevel on a plane blade will play havoc with clearance angles, and rounding the back of a chisel is a recipe for frustration.

But it seems to be traditional and ok for carving tools, for e.g.

For everything else, if you have a progression of honing grit sizes, the wire edge is worked off before you get to the final stage. After a regrind, I use a fine diamond stone, followed by a soft Arlkansas, followed by a hard (white) Arkansas. It takes about 25 strokes on the soft Arkansas to bring any wire edge to the point where a dozen strokes on the back, (on the finest stone) will remove it. I always watch carefully for it, and wipe the fluid away as soon as it parts, 'cos if it gets under the blade it can score the metal. Then the last step is to flip it over, raise the blade off the bevel slightly, and lightly hone/polish the bevel for 20 strokes or so;over for a final polish of the back, then finish with a few light strokes on the bevel side again. Shaving edges every time! To rehone, I skip the diamond plate, clean up the bevel on the soft Arkansas and finish on the fine stone as before.

But how many w'workers are there out there? Well that's how many sharpening techniques there are! :D

Cheers,