Miraculous freehand conversion

[David Ragan]

It finally happened.

What has bothered me forever is that despite all the jigs on the market, when you set up any jig, it may not be exactly what the bevel was ground the last time.

I have traditionally favored the MK II. Once you set it up, sometimes, it is not spot on. The microbevel roller mechanism, although ingenious, only does so much.

Regardless of pros and cons of the Mk II, whatever jig or system one uses, you have to do all the set up and dial it in every time-and then see if that particular set up will precisely give the exact grind where you want it.

So, today after about 2 hours in frustration, playing with it, and grinding and grinding off more steel (no use grinder or Tormek) of a 2 3/8" blade to re-establish the bevel.

Then....in total frustration-I thought....hey, what do I have to loose, I took the blade out of the dang jig.

I marked the edge with a black magic marker (again) held sideways with my left hand/fingers applying pressure down @ the edge, the right hand rocking the blade till the bevel sat on the stone--in this case 80 grit carbide wet paper. Moved the blade sideways up and down the stone. Just a few strokes. No big deal. Too easy.

In this very simple way, I was able, by just afixing my arms/elbows/wrists/fingers rigidly to my trunk, etc, and rocking to and fro with my legs slightly, was able to get the exact edge I was seeking.

One thing (for me) is to not look directly @ the blade/stone--I keep it all in peripheral field. Somehow, this is another level of awareness on keeping the angle exactly where it needs to be to grind precisely.

The very best thing???? It only takes 3-4 swipes at each grit And, you can see the scratch pattern refine as you go--no black marker needed.

So, I went right on up my grit system till I wound up @ 16K (I know-overkill)......did a couple swipes on leather.

Then the test---no light reflection from the edge, and (my fave) the hair on my forearm jumped off ahead of the blade.

Let me tell you----if you have never had the confidence to try freehand sharpening, give it a try. It only takes a few swipes at each grit and is soooo much easier, and faster.

I'm sure narrow blades are harder, and severely dishing the stone is possible if you dont move laterally.

I am a convert. Thanks for your attention.

[Brian Holcombe]

I usually rely on jigs for bevel setting, but I have a few chisels that cant be jigged (easily) so it's a worthwhile skill to have, IMO. I had to set one recently that is a fishtail chisel which was 45 degrees from the smith....and bring it down to about 30 degrees, a bit tedious but I managed to do so with only a minor curve to the edge (hamaguri).

I know some people can keep the edge perfectly flat, but I'm not there yet. A hamaguri edge is super strong (good for heavy chopping) but not ideal for paring chisels.

[lowell holmes]

Try placing the hone cross ways with your body, positioned in front of your body. Place the chisel on the hone with the bevel flat on the hone.
Stroke the chisel on the hone laterally in front of your body, locking your elbows and wrist. After a number of lateral strokes lift the but of the chisel very slightly for 3 or 4 strokes for the micro bevel. With your elbows and wrist loacked, you do this by rocking your body back and forth sideways.

The bevels on my chisel are absolutely flat using this method. I have a Norton cd that shows this method. I also saw a Mike Dunbar video where the showed the same technique. It was where he demonstrated the scary sharp system.

The Norton Video is available at the link below

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...t.do?pid=56082

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Lowell, I'll give it a shot.

[lowell holmes]

I found the video. It is the joel moskowitz sharpening video. It is available on Amazon and also Tools for Working Wood.

I am serious, it is the best video on sharpening I have seen.

[Jim Koepke]

So, I went right on up my grit system till I wound up @ 16K (I know-overkill).

David,

If you can now freehand up to 16K, it isn't over kill, it is a skill, a skill well worth having.

Welcome to the club.

jtk

[Walter Barbier]

I've encountered problems lately, even using jigs. Your method sounds pretty good, definitely will give it a try. Thanks.

[James W Glenn]

My boat work set up has been a worn 220 diamond plate, one or two restored Arkansas stones and the shattered parts of a magic translucent stone epoxied to a apiece of mahogany plywood.
General sharpening is done free hand with the bevel adjusted to the wood and the work. A jig is occasionally used with the diamond plate to redefine a bevel that has become too convex to grind out free hand. The stones are given a frequent rub on the diamond plate to keep everything very flat.
I have parring chisels and a "fine" plane blades that have a deep convex cut into the bevel with a Dremel tool. This gives a solid bevel register for free hand sharpening and greatly reduces the amount of metal that needs to be honed away to sharpen. This really helps when sharpening "modern" aftermarket blades on oilstones.

[David Ragan]

Correct about potentially putting a convexity on the bevel (not meaning camber).... This occurred to me yesterday as a possible complication. if/when this happens its Tormek time, right?
From what I can tell the one great use for a hollow grind is for registering the bevel for freehand sharpening

[lowell holmes]

Not to be redundant, but if you will try the system described, I think you will eliminate the issue.

If you are stroking from right to left, place your left forefinger on the back of the bevel and press down so the entire face contacts the hone, the face will be flat.

Actually, regardless whether your strokes are back and forth away from you, or cross ways, your finger on the back of the bevel should eliminate convexity.

[Brian Holcombe]

Unless you work with Japanese blades, then a hollow grind is not recommended.

[Christopher Charles]

I had the Joel / Norton video as well. Started with that method, works well for me. The key as noted above is a combination of hollow grind for registration and moving from the core of one's body.

Brian, curious, why do you state a hollow grind is not recommended for western blades?

[Jim Koepke]

Unless you work with Japanese blades, then a hollow grind is not recommended.

Brian, curious, why do you state a hollow grind is not recommended for western blades?

This threw me for a bit, then I realized Japan is to the west of us.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Christopher, it's my understanding that there are multiple reasons, including that the shape will be less than ideal for this sort of laminated construction with a very hard edge. The edge remains intact because it has the soft steel to support it, with that partially removed it would be more prone to chipping.

Many of my hard use chisels are purposefully made with a 'Hamaguri' shape to the edge, this is a very strong shape.

This photo applies to knives, the idea is the same, but the particulars (angles/sizes) are different;



My lament above is for paring chisels or light chopping where I prefer a flat edge with very very very minor microbevel (like 3 swipes on the finish stone).

I expect that a large slow wet wheel followed by removing the hollow on flat stones would probably be fine, and I would not be shocked to find that there are people who are doing that with success.

What I would definitely avoid is grinding with a high speed grinder, the extremely hard edge will be damaged by that in many cases. Some chisels are tempered as low as 100C, so it's important not to build heat at the edge.

[David Ragan]

Thanks for participating, as I try to get my head around this whole freehand thing, now that I see it is attainable to a part-timer.

this morning, the blade on the 112 scraper was harder to keep registered with its narrow 45* bevel. However, by not deviating from my original posture and motion, everything went well. I go front to back, maybe a little skewed to accommodate better wear pattern on the stone. It does require complete concentration.

Jim Matthews suggested in a PM to try the figure 8--am not there yet.

The most common error I'm making is letting the back end of the blade drop a little, and grinding the heel of the bevel. this happend only with the very narrow beveled 45* blade today.

I dont have any Japanese blades.

Have never taken a cutting edge to a regular grinder. Scary stuff.