Reply To: Sharpening plane iron: several newbie questions
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@hugonotti: I’ve sharpened a drawknife to the point where it got actual shavings from end-grain pine. They weren’t 12-inch-long shavings or anything, but they were shavings.
In fact, the sharpening class I took used that as the acid test: If a tool can cut shavings from end-grain pine, that tool is sharp, and you can stop worrying about sharpening and get on with the rest of your craft. If the pine crumbles to dust, the tool could be sharper.
That said, we performed this test on Eastern white pine, not oak. I have yet to try shaving end-grain oak. I also have yet to sharpen any plane blades to this standard, but at least I now know it is possible!