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The Marcou® S15A - Honing the blade |
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Written by Dave Trusty
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Being now obsessed with The Shiny Thing, I decided to test your honing by re-honing the blade with my now standard approach of Tormek honing paste and Carmelia oil, on a bit of nice flat MDF and on a leather strop. I noticed that the blade "out of the box" and after my first test-play wouldn't shave the hair off my arm (my usual sharpness test), so I had-at the blade-back and at your micro-bevel with the paste et al.
In 10 minutes I had an inch of polished back and a gleaming microbevel: an edge that duly took off the arm hairs. I think you made the perfect blade-edge geometry but didn't go as far as to polish the surfaces making up the edge to a mirror finish.
I took the plane with the re-honed blade back to that difficult Afrormosia chunk and planed it again, against the grain, using a minimal blade projection and tight mouth as before. Lo and behold! No tearout whatsoever and superfine 0.04mm ribbons of Afrormosia!
Afromozia board planed against grain.
Of course, the ladywife thinks you will now send a crate of blades (collect) for subjection to Trusty's Final Honing Process. I said I hoped so as when returned one or two would unaccountably go "missing". (Or even four).
This little experiment shows that (1) the plane will work well with 99% of timber even with a less than perfectly sharp blade; and (2) perfect sharpening is worth the few extra minutes if the timber is a swine, despite what the catechisms of Brass Crank might specify in his 1641 book of Ye Olde Woodbodgers Tule Teqneake.
Perhaps you always intended the customer to hone perfection on the blade. After all, it is our duty to polish and otherwise keep perfect the functional attributes of our tools (woodworking or otherwise) if they are Items of Great Beauty and Functional Capability.
The blade you supplied in the plane was so-configured (i.e. curved) so I think you did hone it. But I think (from my small experience with sharpening over the last 6 months) that a mirror finish on the (properly flattened/beveled) edge-forming surfaces does make a difference when it comes to those nasty woods and grain types. Remember, it was only that last sample that proved problematic and the (minimal) mirror polishing fixed it. As to my arm hair - it is tough stuff like the rest of me...!
I have disassembled the plane, cleaned off the fish oil you use (it was driving the cat mad) and re-oiled with Jade oil then waxed everything (including the sole) with paste wax when the oil dried (Jade oil is very light stuff but seems to leave a protective coat - I use it on all cast iron within the shed). I was careful with the wood surfaces of the knob and tote, naturally, so they are just as shiny as when they left your mint. If this is not best practice for preservation and protection of The Great Beauty And Its Gleamingness, you will tell me off (with "Ay yip ayes" or other Zimby cries of dismay) and give me the requisite "Verboten" list of dos and don'ts.
I will not go so far as to be building an S15A alter, though, like one of those shown on your new website. I have only one Goddess and she is a jealous Goddess (with many sharp gardening tools of the loping kind).
David Trusty
08/13/2006 |
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"... It is a plane to visit, take down and make a few gossamer shavings before retiring for the night. It is a plane about which to say to the progeny “someday this will be yours”. It is a plane which, when acquired, will demonstrate once again that men are as romantic as women, and for that reason alone it was a bargain."
"The engineering, finish, design and feel of The Instrument speaks of its high quality, on all my receptor channels.