What/Who is Scary Sharp

[Chris]

Hi

The question is in the subject line

Tia Chris

[jerrybuilt]

It's a sharpening method for plane irons, chisels, etc. which involves using wet&dry papers of progressively finer grit to rub the blades on. People have been doing this for yonks, but a while ago some yank put up a website about it with a flash name, and more people know about it now. You don't really need the flour-grade papers, a worn 600 grit is good enough in the vast majority of cases.

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[Peter Ashby]

maybe for joinery but for cabinet work you really do need the finer grits for that ability to shave those hairs from the back of your hands and also the ability to dispense with a mallet for many things.

Note to self: put scary sharp chisels down unless actually using them, then you don't have to wonder where the blood is coming from. Yes, I have cut myself badly and only noticed when the blood started to drip in earnest on the work.

Peter

[jerrybuilt]

When was silicon carbide paper invented? Hmm, so there was no "cabinet work" before then, hmm? You *don't* "really need" the finer grits (and the mallet don't enter into it).

I hope you haven't any electric tools!

;)

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[Peter Ashby]

Once you have hit mate, then you *need* the finer stuff, damn those pushers of 1500 proof sheets, they have me hooked you know.

Hmm let me think, 1/3rd sheet sander, crap B&D jigsaw, OK B&D circular saw, hammer drill, 2 el cheapo routers, dust extractor.

Most used? that drill, followed by the router in the table.

Presently? enjoying the challenge of producing 10mm thick stock by cutting it off the edge of 40mm stock with a panel cut handsaw followed by a damn good planing with my old Stanley #7. And a cathartic experience it is too. I expect I shall use the router to cut some dadoes but might forgoe the sander for the cabinet scraper when it comes to finishing. But then I do this stuff for fun and don't care about hourly rate comparisons.

Peter

[jerrybuilt]

Er, yeah, like, but I've been avoiding them, but I was talking to a bloke in the pub who offered me a tester bag or two of Leighton Buzzard sand, and now I've gorn out and bought a float and a hawk and a mixer - I thought I was OK.. Just say NO!

Got one - the abrasive quality is very important, with cheap stuff they're useless. Not my preferred tool, anyway. Have been thinking of buying a belt sander, but I don't know whether I'd have enough use from it...

Bosh one, quite useful, keep old blades for very rough cutting of firewood.

I've a Toshiba that's done loads of work, got above sander free with it (was an expensive drill). Great. Need hard stone for sharpening TC bits.

1 small bosh, one T.

Cough.

You tell that to the youth of today....

Aaaaargh!!! Orbital sander finish!!! RUN AWAY!!!

Neither do I if it's for me.

[Mary Fisher]

And it causes the steel to rust ...

Mary

[Gnube]

You should never leave a chisel of that quality contaminated long enough for that! Always clean as soon as possible after use! ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[Mark]

Then you start on the velcro backing pads, soft, medium, hard etc. ;-)

Mark S.

[Andy Wade]

So the advantage of this method compared to 'normal' oilstone sharpening is what exactly? The wet & dry paper is used with water, with oil, or dry?

[Peter Ashby]

I use it dry, though you can use water. The advantages are several, firstly you get a wide range of grits for very little money, using a glass backer removes the need to flatten a stone periodically, wide plane blades can be honed with long figure eight strokes and finally, compared to a wheel there is no chance of overheating the blade unless you are superman.

Disadvantages: grinding, for eg removing a nick, takes a while. However I have made two skew chisels from straights (2 cherries) using scary sharp.

Peter

[Gnube]

Well some of the advantages are; very sharp, no channel worn into stone, no stone to clean the dross out of. There are probably points I missed, and others who know that can add them for you no doubt.

Using dry here and I think that's the common route.

Try a google search for Scary Sharp, you may like what you find out, enough to give it a try.

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[Peter Ashby]

Flat and smooth are the prime requisites, if you can achieve that without glass than fine. I have used thick mdf in the past.

Peter

[jerrybuilt]

I suppose that really one should use a piece of plate glass for real flatness. What I use is melamine-faced chipboard, i.e. surplus kitchen cabinate carcassing or whatever. You can get strips of this stuff at Jewsons or wherever if you need to buy it (cheap!). I wouldn't be all that keen on using a ceramic tile, they're probably rather wavy.

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[RichardS]

Think you can always tell an obsessive neander woodworker.

The swathes of missing hairs on the back of the arm are as telling as track marks and wild, staring eyes are in other spheres of existence....

And once the sharpening bug bites, the missus also begins to wonder why the kitchen knives will happily plough half the way through the chopping boards.

cheers Richard

-- Richard Sampson

email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

[Peter Ashby]

course.

Peter

[Mary Fisher]

And you have no idea of Spouse's quick acting blood.

Mary

Hold me back, someone ...

[Ben Blaney]

Of course, it's entirely possible that all my other knives are not very sharp, but I do find that cutting tomatoes with the tomato knife is very easy. The serration (sp?) seems to cut the skin of the tomato much easier.

[Phil Addison]

Re: What/Who is Scary Sharp

See FAQ page

It has a pointer to the Scary Sharp page.

-- Phil Addison The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

NO DOT SPAM with BIGFOOT DOT COM to reply

[Mary Fisher]

If you're so thick you'll be wrong.

Mary Over and out