Sharpening finger plane blades

**bulldog** · May-07-2007, 10:15am

OK, I admit Im green, but could someone tell me how to get a good edge on these blades? Im using a sandpaper system on everything else, which is working great. But these little 10mm blades are murder. Any thoughts?

**P Josey** · May-07-2007, 12:12pm

I use wet stones to sharpen finger planes but I'm sure different sanding grits will do the job. I don't move them back and forth in front of me like a regular flat chisel, I move them #side to side#and follow the curve of the blade as I go. I find I get a smoother edge without flat spots. I do gouges the same way.I hope this makes sense.

**amowry** · May-07-2007, 1:00pm

I do it just the way Paul describes-- side to side. I'm fond of Japanese waterstones, up to 8000 grit.

**Jim Hilburn** · May-07-2007, 1:36pm

If your like me and dont trust yourself to make consistant passes by hand, you can go to your nut and bolt box and make this guide in 2 minutes.
It's a 1/4-20 with 2 nuts and 2 fender washers and a smaller washer used as a spacer so the fenders clamp the end of the blade tightly. Fully adjustable and it allows you to roll the blade across the stone in a very controlled manner.

**amowry** · May-07-2007, 1:59pm

Great idea!

**buddyellis** · May-07-2007, 3:33pm

I presume you are talking about the curved sole ibex types. The trick to these things, especially if they are new, is to get the back laser flat on them, then work them similar to how I would a gouge, with a side to side rolling motion. (example here, its the second method that I use: http://www.norsewoodsmith.com/ww/oilstones/edges3.htm ) 'pushing' into the paper tends to cut into the paper, so you can't really do that. I don't have a super fine oilstone so I have to hone using the sandpaper method.

Honestly once you get that back really flat, it doesn't take much work to get an edge on them that will literally peel hair off your arm. I work the back with 400 grit wet/dry paper till I get the area near the cutting edge of the blade super flat (I have a large marble tile specifically for this purpose, put some water on it, and the sandpaper will stick) after which I polish it out down to 2000 grit.

I then work the front side with 1000 grit 3M paper using the 'rolling side to side motion' (again, presuming this is a curved bottom plane, of course, but all of mine are), and finish with 2000 grit 3M with a slightly higher angle to create a 'micro bevel'. Make sure when doing this that you don't round over the edges too much, although typically from the factory they need to be a little bit more round so they don't cut in on the edges, for me. Anyway, after that, I buff the back side (keep it flat, flat flat!) with micromesh 8000 grit and maybe one or two runs across the front side with the same side to side rolling motion on the 8000 grit. As you plane, keep your sharpening station handy, especially when working with spruce or high curled maple.

When it starts 'grabbing' re-hone just as if you were doing the finishing out previously with the high count paper, and then hone the micro bevel on the front side a couple times. You should be able to 'tune up' the edge on the thing quite a few times before you really need to work much on it. Also as you work, you'll learn how the grain of the wood goes, and what direction you need to be heading in order to be able to get it to cut well. Generally, for me, 'going down the hill' cuts best, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes you have to go down the hill in certain directions to avoid chatter.

I'm a newb, too, but there's nothing cooler than a well tuned plane pulling gossamer ribbons off of spruce. Oh and wrap your fingers in athletic tape (once you get working, you'll find out where). Blisters impede your planing effectiveness.

**sunburst** · May-07-2007, 3:54pm

I like Jim's carriage bolt honing guide, but I don't use one.
I grind and hone the back of the iron flat, then grind the bevel a little wide. I hone with progressively finer stones and finish with a narrow secondary bevel on a hard Arkansas stone.
What I mean by that is; I sharpen the bevel at a lower angle on the earlier, coarser stones, then lift the back of the iron to a higher angle to hone the very edge to a razor. I roll the iron from side to side to maintain the curved edge as I push it over the stone. When it dulls, I can go back to the hard Arkansas stone and touch it up until my secondary bevel starts to get too wide. When that happens, I go back to square one and grind a new bevel.
I find that the back of the iron wears pretty fast, and my flat back is gone well before I have to grind a new bevel, but I can still get the iron sharp.

**bulldog** · May-07-2007, 7:18pm

Thanks for the advice guys, Ill be working on it soon. While Im here though, I have a few plates that wont work for an F, but if you cut the scroll off, and the points, would they work for an A model? I dont have plans for an A but they look similiar enough. I traced my 1924 AJr but it is a good bit larger than the plates I already had for the F5. Im thinking of getting the A plans from Stewmac, but Id like to know if the plates I have as F model discards would work. Otherwise its the fireplace for them
thanks

**buddyellis** · May-07-2007, 8:47pm

A or a 2pt should work fine.

**Brett Moore** · Mar-13-2009, 10:44am

the link has expired that illustrates the "rolling side to side motion" buddy describes. could anyone better illustrate it? some people are just visual learners... :-)