Thread: Oh... that's what sharp means...

Like most woodworkers here who are still on the journey to woodworking perfection, I've spent a couple of years trying different sorts of sharpening methods. I only get a few shop hours even in a good week, so it's taken me a while, but today, I think I finally sharpened a plane blade to a standard I can be confident of. It's not sharpened to within an inch of its life with a 4000 water stone, but it did cut a fine shaving from the end grain of some tas oak.

All it took in the end was a DMT Duosharp fine / extra fine and a leather strop with some green honing compound. It's a shame it took me a couple of years to justify the $300 it cost. Hopefully someone else will not have to waste so much time (and money) trying other methods.

For a woodworker at the start of the journey, with a small capacity for repeated practice due to time constraints, diamond stones offer some advantages, and the disadvantages can be deferred to later in the journey.
The advantages are:
*ease of use
*lack of maintenance
*high stability
The disadvantages are mainly the upper grit limit, in my case DMT's extra fine is 1200 grit, although they do a 8000 now too. Long term, if I can justify it, I'll add a waterstone, or three, and use the diamond stones to flatten them, but for now the lack of maintenance is a distinct advantage.

Obviously, my solution won't suit everyone, but I hope it helps a few others on their journey.