Anybody read this on Sharpening *LINK*

Re: Anybody read this on Sharpening *LINK*

Roger Nixon

>Brent Beach has done some great work on sharpening and an excellent study about edge retention on various blades.

I tried his sharpening method and it's what I use now. It is fast, easy and economical. I keep a lot of old 2" & 2 3/8" blades on hand so I can just change to a shprp blade or one with a different camber. Back bevels are a whole lot faster than flattening the backs on all of them.

I came up with a quickie jig for back bevels. It isn't necesary at all unless you want to put a specific angle on the bevel.


Back bevel jig

Well then why...

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>...does Garrett Hack specifically recommend against using back bevels in the latest FWW? I understand that to remove them would require removing a lot of metal. Is that it? I admit to ignorance here...

Back bevel every time you hone?

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>Hi Roger -

Ingenious! I saw your post on this on your website - thanks for the reminder and posting it here. Having spent a fair amount of time recently flattening the backs of blades, I'm quite intrigued by your back bevel suggestion.

However, I do have a number of question:

1. How big is the back bevel? Not the angle, the size/width of the bevel?

2. Do you have to put a new back bevel on your blades every time you hone? Or, if not, how often, generally, can you hone before needing to go back and put on a new bevel

3. With the single point of contact of plastic screw do you have trouble making sure your back bevels are square? That is, is there any problem with "rocking" the blade as you put the back bevel on?

4. Have you tried the back bevel with a block plane (i.e. any bevel up planes), and if so what were the results?

I appreciate your sharing this idea, and if you have the time to post answers to these questions, I'd be most grateful.

Regards -

Dave

Re: Well then why...

joel

>I haven't read Garrett's article but I can say that while the technique of back bevels have been documented for at least 160 + years in all the old tools I have examined I have never seen a back bevel on any of them.

There is no reason to flatten the entire back of the iron. Just flatten the narrowest portion of the edge so that you have a consistent flat at the cutting edge. With use and resharpening the flattened area will extend anyway. It's also really easy to round edges if you try to flatten the entire back (more often than not this is what I see in planes people show me where the entire back of the iron has been "flattened".

On a bevel down plane (BLock plane or LA) a back bevel doesn't work anyway.

Perhaps

Robin Frierson

>Hack hasnt had the benefit of seeing the wear bevel that occurs on the back of irons at 200 power. I have seen the wear bevel and have always thought that just a little time on the 8000 stone flattening the back would take care of it.

I like the idea of not spending an hour flattening new backs. And I wonder if Brents system could be adapted to waterstones or perhaps even the power sharpener.I dont think the power shapener allows for such a small angle back bevel though, but you could do 20 on the front, and 10 on the back.

Roger has really put together a nice site with some excellent reviews and lots of sharpening info.

Re: Anybody read this on Sharpening

Tom MacGregor, Vermont

>Does anyone have any thoughts on a back bevel on a non-adjustable mouth plane? It would seem cheaper & easier to back bevel a 45 degree infill rather than buy or build a whole new plane to get a higher pitch, but at such close tolerances would this decrease performance by opening the mouth? One infill. Three blades. Three pitches available. Could this work?

Re: Anybody read this on Sharpening

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I've investiated this in some detail, with both fixed mouth and adjustable mouth planes, including infills. The back bevel will definitely open the mouth, and though it will be slight if the back bevel area is slight, it is often significant on the more difficult to plane wood samples. If you are going to back bevel with an infill, for example, you need to shim under the blade to compensate. I use brass shim stock that covers the entire back. Just a thin layer of oil will usually provide sufficient adhesion between the shim stock and the blade such that the extra piece of metal doesn't become a hassle to work with.

Back bevels are one of the reasons to appreciate an adjustable mouth or frog plane. With wooden planes of the Steve Knight variety, you can shim under the throat plate.

Re: Back bevel every time you hone?

Roger Nixon

>I just use a tiny back bevel. If it gets more than 1/32" wide, it interferes witht the fit of the chipbreaker. I make sure the blade is pretty flat and the back bevel is just enough to take out scratches or tiny pits. That way it doesn't take much to remove the back bevel if desired.

If I put a finger on each corner of the blade, the blade doesn't wobble. If I am honing a blade that is cambered, I can put more pressure on one side then the other. So little material is removed, there isn't much chance of screwing up the blade geometry.

If I'm just honing the edge, I don't do the back bevel every time but it disappears if much material is removed from the front bevel.

I haven't tried this on a bevel up plane.

Anyone heard from Brent?

Bill Tindall, E. TN

>Last fall Brent left on a year-around-the-world bicycle tour. I think all those tests got to him and he needed a break. I asked to be put on his trip report list, but have not heard from him. May have been eaten by crocks or some such.

Re: Anybody read this on Sharpening

Dan Clermont in Burnaby

>I tried the Charlesworth method for sharpening using a micro bevel on the back side of the plane iron. I work mainly with Maple and find that by using a 5 degree back bevel I have essentially created a York pitch blade and can consistently recreate the same back bevel. I do this by using a steel ruler (my straight edge) on the right hand side of my stone and I slide the iron up and down a couple of times.

Works like a charm! Dare you to try it.

Dan Clermont in Burnaby