- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
HH, I've learned so very much from you over in the maintenance forum, I'm so happy to see you following your passion, it benefits us all.
I use my phone for 100% of my forum usage, if you have a signature I can't see it, (one of the downsides to using Tapatalk), I believe you may have a link to this thread in it, but I just stumbled upon it while surfing.
Without boring you with why, I can't watch videos at this time. Am I right to assume that the stroke is edge trailing exclusively? I imagine given the nature of the substrate that this is the case. I'm a huge strop fan anyway (I realize that the WB is not simply a strop), but I'm curious.
Strig, it is mostly edge trailing. Since it works with sandpaper, lapping film, and paper to finish, any edge leading has to be done very carefully, even if the paper is pulled very tight over the plate. You can do a for and aft stroke when working down to a thinner bevel, or thinning out or flattening the back bevel. One can actually (with practice) get right down to the apex with a fore and aft pass because you can feel the orientation of that edge so well. Once it comes down to working at the cutting edge I recommend switching to edge trailing, with just a few light edge leading passes to deburr - if needed - and it usually is. For the finish work on paper its all trailing edge. The surface is extremely hard, if you tap it with the side of your knife it clicks, so a minimum of deflecting into the surface (almost zero). If you're working on a convex or Scandi, or FFG that you like to keep worked thin, you can use a fore and aft stroke anytime you're no longer right on the apex, even when working with plain paper for a final deburr/burnish. I'll use it to polish the entire face of the blade and finish off with trailing passes on the apex.
I didn't like to use sandpaper anymore, but once I started using it on the Washboard, its about all I use now. Was originally conceived as just for finish work, but its like having an easy button on your freehand stone, so works very well for all sharpening. The video where I do a machete shows a bit of its extra versatility. And in keeping with a lot of my philosophy over on MT&E, its simple to use and understand, and there are easily explained reasons for this.
When you get a chance to watch the videos give em a try. I go into a fair amount of detail not just about the WB, but some aspects of sharpening in general (not that you need any primers).
Thanks for taking a look, and let me know about the videos if you get a chance to watch. I'll be adding one to the series where I do my Fiskar's hatchet, am going to convex and thin it way up the sides, will need some 120 grit for that...
Martin