Reply To: Budget Sharpening Stones
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I use sandpaper stuck to cheap ceramic tile with Super 77. I work through 220 – 400 – 2000 – 2400 and strop on a strip of balsa wood charged with green honing compound. I used Paul’s method so the base for the sandpaper doesn’t need to be exactly flat. I was surprised what a difference the stropping/honing step made. I had always heard of being able to shave the hairs of your arm with a chisel, but could never do it. Well … now I can – and have.
I was half way through a dovetail template when I stopped to sharpen my chisel. When I went back to work I accidentally plunged the chisel deep into my knife wall. Until then I hadn’t realized how much I was pushing harder to force my dull chisel through the wood.
My plan is to replace the sandpaper with the diamond plates one at a time, starting with the finest grit and working back to the coarsest. I may replace the balsa wood with leather, but the balsa is working pretty good.