[Dennis Taylor]

Seen several posts from you recommending the use of sandpaper as a sharpening medium over both the diamond & ceramic stones..you said you use 4 grits of paper....can you elaborate a bit...I read the "scary sharp" posts on the goggle search you recommended....I have sand paper & 1/4 inch plate glass, and the process worked EXCELLENT on my bench chiesels, but for a knife, a chip knife in particular, I used some water to keep the paper to the glass, but with a knife, it will be right at the edge, and the paper won't hold so well there...can you post your procedure for the sandpaper usage and your set up...if you don't mind someone copying the idea...I think the sandpaper was great on the chiesels, and want to make sure I got a set up ready before I ruin my chip knives, and can't restore them....Dennis

[Just Carving]

http://carverscompanion.com/Ezine/Vo...NFTN/NFTN.html

Sharpening With Sandpaper

As always, different ways to sharpen is always a hot topic. Thomas Horton
wrote about this method on the Woodcarver's List. Check it out;

I have begun to use sandpaper tacked with spray glue on a piece of old TV
glass. Any piece of glass is about the flattest thing around. If the tool is
in rough shape, I will start with 80 grit and work my way to 2000 grit
(available from Pep Boys, any auto paint store and Lee Valley Catalogue).
No, I don't use every grit in between 80 and 2000. Usually, start with 120,
240, 320, 600 and jump to 2000 and then hone on a piece of bass wood using the dark green honing compound available from practically any on line
catalogue.

On the wet and dry sandpaper, I will use water. To hold my angle the same, I
will sharpen from side to side. This helps a whole heap in keeping the same
angle on the blade. Uses up more sandpaper but it's not that expensive.

This system has been used by Mike Dunbar, Windsor Chair guru in Hampton, NH. for years and he refers to it as the Scary Sharp method.

http://woodcarvingillustrated.com/fo...?t=2013&page=3

I saw a demo at a Carving show, the demo was put on by Mr Ellenwood.
He used MDF board and glued a piece of 300 grit sand paper to it and then sharpened all his tools on that. Then laid 500 grit over that 300 piece and fine tuned the tools. He then honed them on the cardboard from a tablet with some white abrasive rubbed on it. All tools including V's, gouges, knives....

The MDF was not turned or in a circle, it was the size of a piece of sandpaper. The whole process was very, very simple and it would be a very good (cheap) system for any new carver.

It does take some time to sharpen a tool, but is certainly cheap. I did buy his video, because I was very impressed with his sharpening method. (Even though I do also own a Burke Sharpener)
The sand paper method would be very good in a class or seminar situation.
Now that is probably more info than you needed.

[Just Carving]

For your review:

Sharpening for dummies!

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

They all work and work well. It's all personal prefereance.