Spent two years frustrated with hand planes before someone showed me I was sharpening wrong. Night and day difference once I fixed it.
Why Sharp Matters
A dull plane fights you. Tears the grain instead of slicing it. You push harder, it chatters, results look terrible. Then you blame the plane when the blade’s the problem.
Sharp blade whispers through wood. Gossamer shavings. Almost no effort. It’s actually pleasant.
The Basic Setup
Waterstones or diamond plates – either works. I use diamond plates because they stay flat. Start coarse (400 grit), work up to at least 1000, 4000+ if you’re fussy.
Honing guide keeps consistent angles. Freehand is a skill, but guides work fine. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s cheating.
Back Flattening
New blade? Flatten the back first. Just the first inch or so. This is tedious but you only do it once per blade. Work through grits until it’s mirror polished.
Skip this step and nothing else matters. The back IS the cutting edge.
The Bevel
Primary bevel around 25 degrees. Then a micro-bevel at 30-35 degrees – just a few strokes on the fine stone. The micro-bevel is what actually cuts. It’s tiny but it’s everything.
Testing
Arm hair test works. Light catches dull edges, not sharp ones. Best test: shave end grain on a scrap. Sharp blade makes clean slices, dull one tears.
If it doesn’t feel right in use, it probably isn’t sharp enough. Takes less time to resharpen than to fight a dull blade.
