My Tool Sharpening Kit
Just as sharpness can mean different things to different woodworkers, so too the ways in which we go about getting tools sharp are different. James Krenov, The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking , 1977 Sharpening, for me, is something that should be fast and easy. Over the last 25 years or so, I have tried and used several different sharpening mediums - Carborundum stones, wet/dry sandpaper on plate glass, Japanese style water stones, etc., etc., - some worked for me, some didn't. My sharpening system now consists of three different grit diamond sharpening stones, a vintage Eclipse sharpening jig, newsprint paper with green and jeweler's rouge honing compounds. The iron on my Stanley No.5 jack plane needed sharpening. I use the traditional sharpening angle of 25 degrees on this iron, and yes, I have used the "15 degree only" angle, back bevels and micro-bevels, but the angles that are recommended in the woodworking books from the turn of the 20th century wor