I've been having some difficulty using the "scary sharp" system to sharpen with sandpaper on glass. Specifically, I find that plane blades and worse yet chisels tend to catch and tear the sandpaper, even though I am using a Veritas jig. I think I am using a reasonable amount of pressure, much less than I do on a stone. I have had some luck trying to sharpen on the pull stroke, rather than the push stroke, but this does not seem optimal. Any suggestions on how to avoid this problem?
Thanks,
Patience, patience, patience -- and an extremely light touch. It sounds like my first experience not so long ago.
You're probably doing fine. I wrecked a few pieces of sandpaper before developing a touch for it.
Make sure you get wet/dry sandpaper with "tough backing" some makes worked better than others.
TAS - Try it And See method for sandpaper types...
snipped-for-privacy@colostate.edu wrote:
I use an "Eclipse" guide, and reverse the blade so that the handle (in the case of chisels) is pointing away from me, with my thumb tips near the edge of the blade, and my finger tips on the blade on the other side of the guide. Push away, with pressure on thumbs, and pull, with pressure on fingers lifting the blade edge off the paper. I also use the same method for honing on a leather strap. Good luck Steve L.
And whatever you use under the sandpaper has to be perfectly flat.
I do it, donwanna pay a mountain for good stones myself and this method seems to make much more common sense to me because of the great area to work on and for the cost of paper from time to time.
My glass is 3/4" thick float glass. This is expensive to buy new unless you have a local junk shop that has a conscientious owner who knows what to stock, so I paid $10, 18"x18". It is very very FLAT! I just wish it didn't have 1/16" beveled edges.
I use Norton and generic aluminum oxide papers and 3M super 77, slightly sparingly so there are no rises in the surface or weakening wetness, it dries quickly. When I lay it down, I do it so that it is entirely and evenly flat but the most important part of that is first (as well, after use) I use cheap paint thinner ($2.97/gal @HD) and paper towels to clean the glass thoroughly of previous dried super 77 which would otherwise cause lumps.
With all that, I never tear into the paper, maybe I have about twice the whole time I've been doing it but every little common detail adds-up to it. And I'm not so supremely light on the touch either, I do some hard grinding when needed.
I still rip the paper some, but not so much. Problem seem to be thickness variations (paper or glue) that are invisible until too late. I found that the sharper the blade, (finer the grit) the more likely it is to tear. Especially when doing the microbevel.
I found a light touch works wonders, after all you're just polishing the blade. When I kick the angle up for micro bevel I do the first few strokes backwards.
I don't think there's a need for a heavy touch on this method. Why work harder than you have to? Let the abrasive(s) do the work and roll the jig along as intended. I use a long piece of jalousie window glass which I pull the abrasive sheet around and tape it down to the backside. Cheap $4 piece of glass, and nicely flat. I'm also inclined at times to use a wet sheet which will cling to the glass nicely.
bill otten
Sideways has its uses, but beware of leaving microscopic scratches parallel to your cutting edge. I'd agree with the parent poster to, say,
600 grit, but then I'd suggest sharpening normal to the blade edge.Whether or not you subscribe to the notion of the weakened edge, you can sharpen at slightly different angles with different grits. This makes it very easy to tell when you've removed the scratches from the previous grit.
Keep a loupe or hand lens handy.
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