There are endless threads about sharpening tools here. Every day it seems someone posts a new one. But,sharpening is not an end in itself. I have seen more convoluted ways to sharpen than I care to recall! The worst is BUFFING your edges.
Sharpening is important,and it was the first thing I taught to the dozens of apprentices I taught over the years in schools or in the museum where I worked for 40 years.
BUT,there is something even more important to learn: GOOD TASTE. And PERSONAL SKILL. The first of these is the more difficult to develop. There is so much JUNK out there,it is difficult,I know,for a beginner to separate the wheat from the chaff. I have been dismayed by the utter garbage I have seen shown in woodworking magazines over the years. It isn't getting any better,either. Certainly it is not ALL BAD,but some of it is terrible,and should never have gotten past the staff,HAD THEY KNOWN BETTER! Incorrect information in articles really irritates me also. I wish the editors knew enough to catch these errors. But,they do not seem to.
Beware of newly done WRITTEN material. Just because someone writes a book,or has a blog does NOT,by any means at all, insure that they are master craftsmen. I have met many authors,and I can tell you that some people like to make things,and some like to WRITE things. Every little project becomes an article,and they make money at it. OLD material is better to study as a general rule. Pre requisites used to be TIGHTER! There are modern masters,but sorting them out can be a difficult,if not impossible job for the beginner. I saw a young man at a gun show pick up a TERRIBLE hunting knife with a LARGE,FAT,MISSHAPEN handle,and declare that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen! My journeyman Jon and I just smiled at each other. But,mostly smiles of dismay.
How do you learn WHAT is good design? I recommend studying OLD books on woodworking,some of which have been re printed. The books written in the WWI period are good ones to study. They have representative prints of carvings which are good study pieces. You can even get MOLDED pieces of carvings that are sold to be glued to projects. These molded bits are at least taken from OLD and TASTEFUL original carvings,for the most part. I mean the ones with acanthus leaves flowing gracefully in C and S curves.
I have a craftsman friend who has GOOD TASTE. She bought a few odd pieces of brass parts from the 16th. C.. at a gun show. Picked up in the muddy banks along the Thames river in London. They were not very expensive,being just bits and pieces. But,the engraving on them was valuable as study pieces. These were also coined in places,and a study of how they were made was also valuable.
Another good way to learn good design is to visit museums where they have 18th. C. originals to look at. Frequently,they offer books with pictures of their collections. I will leave out 19th. C. work,because as far as furniture is concerned,it started to go in all directions,with smatterings of design from here and there. Those "gingerbread" decorated houses are ridiculous in my opinion. And,mine is a learned opinion,developed over a lifetime of woodworking and metal working. And,a talent for it in the first place.
My favorite period for studying tools ,however,IS the 19th. C.. This is when tool making reached its zenith. The most artistic handles for saws were developed in the 19th. C.,and the development of "stuffed" planes also reached its zenith. Some atrocious planes can be found,of course,but for the most part,you will find well designed planes and saws made in the 19th. C..
When I was in the 8th. grade,I use to go to the school library and trace ink drawings of historic sailing ships. My favorite book was by Gordon Grant. I recently found a copy for my home library,after an absence from it of many,many years. Tracing these ships allowed my brain to absorb details and curves so much better than just looking at the pictures because I had to carefully draw every little piece. I am sure the good designs found in these old ships helped me to develop taste,among other things. Indeed,in Alaska,there was not much available in the way of cultural things to study! I always lived in the most out of the way places all of my young life. It is a wonder I learned anything.
What I am suggesting is learning to USE your tools. Not just how to sharpen them.
Next,if you are LUCKY enough to have a worthy teacher,be prepared to receive constructive CRITICISM without becoming angry. DO LIKE ME,and find out what needs improving,and BUCKLE DOWN and MAKE IT BETTER. THAT is how you get somewhere.
Originally Posted by george wilson
