re: Sharpening

The strop works with the green compound. When I saw my cabinet-maker friend sharpen some British carving tools I bought from him, I was hooked. He sharpens saws and I’ve come to learn that really sharp tools are a dream to work with. I’ve learned two very important things this year, how to sharpen chisels and plane blades and how to sharpen saws. I used the Norton stones I got for the first time tonight and I was really pleased. They are a little messy but c’mon it’s only water. I got a flattening stone and used the pencil method to get them flat before I sharpened the first chisel. The kit came with a DVD but I did the flattening different than the guy on the DVD. I held them up and used both hands to rub the flattening stone and the working stone together. I also used water to lubricate things. After I did my chisels perfectly, I had black marks from the steel on all of the stones. I went to the sink in the kitchen and used the flattening stone again until the marks were all gone. Now, when I sharpen next, the stones will be ready. Using the flattening stone at the sink was a good idea and that’s how I will maintain the stones from now on. Do the flattening under running water. The black marks went away while the stones get flattened. The 8000 stone gave the perfect polish, shiny, and scary-sharp.