I learned the importance of a sharp tool from my grandfather when I was very young. Grandpa was known in the family for the keen edge that was to be found on all of his edge tools. While no one in my family was ever a woodworker, most have done carpentry work but no furniture (joinery). Anyway, when I became interested in building furniture I abandoned what I had been taught as a boy by my grandfather and sought out what real woodworkers were doing. This was 20 plus years ago and the only information that was available was from a library book or magazine. Water stones and jigs, wet dry grinders more jigs, oil stone and even more jigs were all the rage. The ‘preferred’ method seemed to change with every new publication. And so began my long and expensive quest for the perfect sharpening method. It took me 20 plus years to come full circle and realize that I had learned it as a boy in my grandfather’s garage. It is as follows:
1. Carborundum stone double sided coarse/fine
2. Old leather belt
3. 3-in-1 oil
4. Pick and angle and stick with it
5. Raise a burr
6. Roll the burr from the flat side to the angled side on a single bevel blade
7. Strop the burr off and polish on the old leather belt
8. Should take less than 2min
9. Sharpen often
10. Sharpen often
My grandpa passed away a couple of years ago. Growing up he would chastise me and say, “your making it harder that it really is!”. The older I get the more I realize how right he was. Countless times during this series I have thought to myself, “that’s so simple, why didn’t I see that before?”.
Thanks @paul-sellers for showing the simplicity once again and for bringing back a vivid memory of my grandfather.

I go up to 8000 grit on my finest chisels and plane blades. 1000 grit on my marking knives. I once tried a 10,000 stone but I did not notice any difference from the 8000 stone so I sent it back to the store.

One thing I have found with a well-sharpened blade is that it stays sharp longer. So it may take a little longer to sharpen- perhaps 30 seconds?- but you get much more tool time in between sharpenings.

I can see Paul’s point but I don’t mind sharpening (it takes me very little time) and I do perceive a benefit from going up to 8000 grit. At that level of sharpness, I can plane birds eye maple and even the most nightmarish of woods such as ice birch. Mind you, I suppose Paul would reach for a scraper at that point.