Honing abrasive article in the August 2002 issue of Fine Woodworking

[Cliff Stamp]

In the August 2002 issue of Fine Woodworking there is an informative article on sharpening abrasives (p36-41) by Aime Fraser. Included are Arkansas stones, DMT diamond plates, wet/dry sandpaper, waterstones (natural and synthetic japanese, and Norton), diamond paste (9,6,3 and 0.5 micron), the Tormek, and CrO buffing compound. Two plane blades were sharpened with each abrasive using an angle jig to give consistent results. The sharpness was evaluated using high magnification to examine the edge (700x), and then both planes were used on wood in various ways using the ease of cut and finish to rank the finish.

The upclose pictures of the edge would be of enough interest for me to seek it out, there are also high magnification shots of the abrasives which are interesting. The only downside to the article is that there are several biased conclusons reached. For example the CrO buffing compound is rated as giving a much lower finish than the diamond paste which isn't an accurate representation of its abilities when used optimally. Looking at the magnification shot the CrO polished edge does indeed show a much more uneven finish, but this was because it was prehoned with a 1200 grit DMT hone. The diamond paste on the other hand was stepped down in grits. To see the true ability of CrO you need to prefinish with a very fine hone, such as Lee did in "The Complete Guide to Sharpening".

The article also ranks CrO on leather as giving a worse finish than the Norton waterstone when again the CrO should be used after the waterstone as it is intended as final step to a finely honed edge. The Tormek is also classified as giving rough edges for similar reasons, but it is not clear if the grading stone was used before buffing, or if extended buffing would refine the finish as it has several irregular spots in between highly finished areas.


Ref :

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/wvt049.asp

-Cliff

 

[Jimbo]

I'm going to have to read that article! The first question that comes to mind after watching the video presentation is the cost of the diamond pastes and sharpening guide.

I've heard good things about better wet/dry paper as here:
wet/dry
Any information on better grades of wet/dry sold in Canada?

 

[Roger Blake]

That was a good article. However, they trunkated or edited down for space considerations. This is noted in the corrections section of this months FWW, No. 158. Shame too, I would like to see the entire article.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Lee Valley sells high quality 15 and 5 micron SiC sandpaper and 0.5 micron CrO paper. I have asked them about the DMT paste and they are checking into it through the special orders department.

-Cliff

 

[marty123]

Thanks for the tip on thge article, Cliff. I just took out FWW 157 from the library.
And, thanks for your critique of the author's methods and bias.

 

[Roger Blake]

Cliff,

The author states that she followed manufacturer's instructions on using their system and stayed in the same system for each trial. Also, FWW has a web site. You should post your message their as well.