SHARPENING Tuition SESSION with Mike

SHARPENING ESSENTIALS - A SHARPENING SESSION WITH MIKE

We’re offering a one-on-one 2 HOUR HANDS-ON SHARPENING SESSION WITH MIKE AT VINTAGE TOOL SHOP, 549 High St Northcote 3070 - tuition designed to teach the art of precision sharpening using oilstones and strops. 

Learn step-by-step techniques to achieve razor-sharp edges on your woodworking tools - chisels, hand plane blades & spokeshave blades.

Explore the fundamentals of setting up bevel angles & micro bevels, flattening backs, maintaining, and using oilstones and strop effectively, ensuring your tools are honed to perfection for precise woodworking results.

Sharpening is fundamentally straightforward & anyone can learn it, I’ve been sharpening woodworking tools for 35 years & will teach you my methods of getting tools sharp.

• You are going to learn a skillset that will last you your lifetime.

• We will discuss the basics of sharpening- getting two lines to meet at the correct angle & ensuring that the burr breaks off evenly & cleanly. Diagrams will be drawn and discussed.

• We will discuss flattening the backs of blades, the different bevel angles for softwoods & hardwoods. Discuss the benefits of micro bevels on the blades.

• We will discuss progression of grits, refining the abrasive scratch patterns in steel & working through grits to get a keen edge.

• We will talk about diminishing returns & sunk cost fallacy in sharpening - how long do you want to spend sharpening vs how long do you need to spend sharpening

• We will discuss the importance of using a pasted STROP to refine the edge & polish for a scary sharp blade & use strops on the day.

• We will discuss synthetic vs natural OILSTONES, the pros & cons. Talk about maintaining stones - flattening & cleaning when blocked up, discuss the best mineral oil to use & why. Discuss storing stones correctly to avoid damage and dust.

• Discuss the difference between water stones & oilstones, oilstones being used in our workshop & the fundamental reason why we don’t use Japanese waterstones in our workshop.

• Discuss honing techniques, honing guides vs freehand, try out both techniques on the day.

You will be using a slow speed Swedish TORMEK water cooled grinder on the day, you will also be using a selection of our oilstones, synthetic & natural & also diamond plates, honing guides & leather strops.

Plane blades & chisel blades & spokeshave blades can be provided on the day & you are also welcome to bring your own chisels & plane blades to sharpen also.

For those of you who want to try out some natural stones including some unusual & hard to find stones, please specify this option when booking, we have the following stones available to try: Washita, Black Arkansas, Translucent Arkansas, Turkey stones, hindostan, Tam O Shanter, Water O Ayr, Lyn Idwal, Charnley Forest, La Lune, Coticules.

Please wear enclosed footwear, be aware that your fingers & fingernails are going to get dirty & bring your plane blades & chisels & spokeshave blades if you want to sharpen them on the day.

**NOTE: depending on the condition and type of your blades some may not be suitable to sharpen - for example: rusty, heavy pitting, bent, I recommend that you send a photo of what you intend to sharpen on the day if you are bringing tools with you.**

We will be using a food grade mineral oil on the stones, if you have sensitive skin or an allergy to mineral oil, please contact us prior to booking.

Looking forward to sharpening with you!

Cheers,

Mike

info@vintagetoolshop.com.au