Preview: Sharpening Plane Blades, Part 1 – with Harry Bryan

9 Responses So Far to “Sharpening Plane Blades, Part 1 – with Harry Bryan”

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  John Wolf says:

  The really brilliant thing here is the little cleat on the bottom of Mr. Bryan’s oil stone box. I’ve chased stones around my bench for years, now the little cleat on my stone box rests against the edge of the bench and the stone stays put. Having the strop on the box top is a good idea too.

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  Richard Schneider says:

  Harry thank you for steering me in the right direction. I have always used whet stones for sharpening but in the middle of a project getting them out an setup can be a chore. I broke down bought an oil stone mounted it on my workbench and now have it always ready. So I have had really good results using this and a leather strop with I am happy. Thank you.

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  edward demarco says:

  hi..please do a video on installing engine beds and backing out / beveling planks ! cheers Ed

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    Steve Stone says:

    Thanks for the suggestions, Ed. Beveling and laying a plank will be covered in the new Caledonia Yawl series, and that part will be coming out soon.

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      edward demarco says:

      thanks..look forward to that! Cheers Ed

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  terry brower says:

  I also use a leather strop to finish off my sharpening. For the abrasive on the leather I use a product called “Yellowstone”. It is a dry clay base with the abrasive mixed in. To use the product a small amount is flaked onto the leather and the tool is dragged toward you as Mr. Bryan demonstrated. For my strop I just glued a piece of split leather onto a 2 x 4.

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  Vic Cano says:

  he makes it look so easy but I’ve always found it very difficult to maintain the angle. Even a little variation screws it up. Any suggestions?

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    Thomas Dalzell says:

    Use thick blades, hollow ground, and skewed a little so they have more bearing fore and aft.

    Try to move the blade with your whole body, less in the wrists, more in the legs and body, this will make it easier to hold the angle,

    Be sure you have the right angle, place the heel of the bevel on the stone, and rock the edge down, the lube will squirt out then stop when the edge come in contact with the stone.

    Keep a jig around. You will round some blades, the jig lets you get back to flat. Pros admittedly grind flat, but they also start out with good parts. The beginner will struggle twice, with the technique, and with the results the technique left the last time he tried. But regard the jig as a crutch. Learning to sharpen is learning to work with your hands. You will work faster and with greater freedom if you learn the freehand method. But the jig frees you to do that, knowing you can use it as a reset button when needed. Plus sometimes one needs to grind out a nick, or whatever, and the jig allows one to really work the edge. Since you will be grinding for a long time, it is an efficient technique, but it slows down routine sharpening too much.

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  Lorentz Ottzen says:

  I enjoyed Mr. Bryan’s sharpening video. It is so simple when you know how. One has to admire the Bryan Boatbuilding philosophy of leaving a low carbon footprint, and try to emulate same. By the way, my wife Beverly was thrilled to read in WB that her name suggestion, (Buttercup) has been adopted for the shanty boat.