David C sharpening course

[andy]

9finger said:

royclarke said:

Is there any way to stop these animated avatars? They are fairly naff anyway IMO, and Andy's is positively dreadful.

Why not just turn off the the avatar display in your profile if you don't like them?

Bob

Don't tell them that
I had got a list of avatars planed just to p**s them off ;D

[andy]

tonyw said:

Andy, looks like you are getting a much better result than me. I think I will have to trade in the eclipse jig for the Veritas. ;D

To be truthful the eclipse jig held the pencil much more positively but didn't make such a good photo ;D

[paulchapman]

dom said:

Both sides of the lead

But do you put a micro-bevel on it........ ;D

[lynx]

Andy, I hope the worksurface onwhich to sandpaper is resting has been calibrated too

[andy]

lynx said:

Andy, I hope the worksurface onwhich to sandpaper is resting has been calibrated too

so do you think I should have used plate glass

[Sgian Dubh]

pj said:

.... turn into one of those long winded debates on the merits of sharpening! Where's Mr Grimsdale and Richard Jones Philip

It's obvious you don't me around to enliven this thread Philip.

I'll just stick to my sloppy arsed sharpening methods thanks-- I call it the sharp'n'go method.

Sharp'n'go works and that's good enough for me.

Unlike Jacob however my stones of choice have morphed over the decades from oilstones to ceramic stones. The technique's still the same though. Slainte.

[mrgrimsdale]

I call my system "verifast"
Well I'd like to up-date my stones but I want to get my monies worth out of them and it looks like they'll see me out. I've still got the first one (Woolworths, 5/- or so) another one cost much more - about £3 (car boot) and the 3rd I found in a box.
I've just made a major investment in sharpening technology however - £3 on a jewellers eyeglass. It's really interesting to see whats actually happening at the sharp end.

cheers
Jacob

[mrgrimsdale]

andy said:

this is my preferred method



snip

Phooaar, look at the brass knobs on that

cheers
Jacob

[modernist]

Looking at the grinding marks on the lead it appears to have been honed by a squirming motion. This can only lead to premature and uneven roller wear or even a Murray Walker flat spot!

Clearly with paper of that grade it is intentional to produce a wavy edge. How do you match this with the other side? Is there a difference if the waves cancel or augment? If they augment you would achieve a varying line thickness as the tip wore down. I can forsee circumstances when this could be advantageous. You could have a range of pencils at various stages of wear depending on the line thickness required.

Did you bother with final polishing?

[mrgrimsdale]

That's what I thought too.
Do you give lessons in pencil sharpening by any chance? I'll start saving up now.

cheers
Jacob

[mailee]

Andy don't you find with the Veritas jig it can sometimes slip on the pencil if it is not flat and give a angled edge to the point. I find that this method only works on truly flat carpenters pencils but using a Faber Castel is not recommended. ;D

[andy]

modernist said:

Did you bother with final polishing?

I don't bother with any final polishing as I've usually dropped the pencil point first on the concrete floor long before I've worn the edge down ;D

For some reason they don't fit securely behind my ear does any one else have this problem

[mrgrimsdale]

I have same prob due to wearing glasses. Answer is to put one up each nostril - which comes in handy for drawing parallel lines.

cheers
jacob

[andy]

mrgrimsdale said:

I have same prob due to wearing glasses. Answer is to put one up each nostril - which comes in handy for drawing parallel lines.

cheers
jacob

now that I've got to see ;D

[Scrit]

mrgrimsdale said:

I have same prob due to wearing glasses. Answer is to put one up each nostril - which comes in handy for drawing parallel lines.

And to think the Japanese need a special tool to do that....

Wibble

Scrit

[bigdave]

I have Mr C's DVD's and can highly recommend them. It explains quite clearly and consistently the methods involved, and the process is very quick. It's not expensive to setup either, and the jig he recommends is very simple and cheap, you can setup on his methods for about £40 or less. (two waterstones and a £5 jig). Once you have your primary bevel in a good state, it only takes a matter of few minutes to hone and re-hone as you work.

His courses are however more involved than just sharpening, it's all about tuning an old plane to get it to work correctly, and chisels of course.

However in your situation as a working man who stands to lose a lot of money, get the DVD's, watch them in the evening and you'll quickly get up to speed.

[Bumberclart Man]

I woner why Mr C himself has not taken part in this thread?

Greetings

Bumberclart Man

[paulchapman]

Why should he There's no need for him to justify what he does for a living. He offers training courses, details of which are set out on his website. If people want to attend them, fine. If not, that's also fine.

Cheers

Paul

[Keith]

I'm sure that when people go on a course like this they come away with a lot more than a few sharpening skills. I've thought about going myself and my tools are sharp already; forget 1 thou shavings, my tools will subdivide flavours of quarks ;D