Iggy is one sharp dressed monkey. He's always checking himself out in a full-length mirror before heading to the shop. "Does this toolbelt make my tail look too long?"
How vain can you get? Shesh...
The only things Iggy likes sharper than his appearance are his tools. Nothing is more pleasant to use than a plane with a sharp iron, a finely honed chisel or saws that cut - instead of mangle - wood.
Before he started combing out his back hair for today's shop session, Iggy handed me this week's list - his five-step program to get finely honed chisels and bench irons:
- If it works for you... it works. There are mountains of information out there boosting one system over another. Water stones are for fools, oil stones are for the exceptoinally patient, diamond stones are for fools who want to be parted from their money... Don't get caught up in the hype. If you use one particular system and it gets you great results, stick with it.
- Guides are good. Sure, we would all love to be so expert with sharpening that we could do the task blindfolded in a dark room using only a common household herring as a sharpening medium. But, there's nothing wrong with using a guide to ensure a razor-sharp edge if that's you are most comfortable with.
- A mirror-shiny bevel gives you a convenient place to admire your 'do while in the shop.
- Of Coarse you can start rough. Most inexperienced sharpeners can't wait to try shaving arm hair with their freshly-honed blades - so, they may try to skip grits and go finer faster. This only makes you work harder. Once the coarse grits do the grunt work of flattening the back and shaping the bevel, you can progress much more quickly with the finer grits.
- Practice, practice, practice. Get in the habit of sharpening everything you used after you complete a project. The practice will make you more proficient, and the chisels and planes will be good to go once you break them out for the next woodworking adventure.
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