on the matter of travishers

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Lowell,

While Mike Dunbar "popularized" the sandpaper sharpening system known as "Scary Sharp" it had been around a long time before. The folks on the Old Tools List actually coined the name "Scary Sharp" and had used it for some years before Mike adopted it. It had been around even longer than that. My day showed me how to use sandpaper as a down and dirty method (and it was dirty in the days of flint paper) over 50 years ago. I think my grandfather showed it to him as a means of sharpening when out in the yard or on a construction site.

[lowell holmes]

I have oil stones, water stones, diamond stones, but I will often go to sandpaper on granite when sharpening a large edge. A Duelen jig will make short work on jointer knives on the granite.
I do have a jointer which I sometimes use, mostly for house repairs. If I have a large malformed board, I will joint it also. There will be fine shavings from my Bedrocks before I'm through.