THE BEZEL SIDE
The blade comes from the factory with a rough ground cutting edge that’s not sharp. Most plane irons are factory ground to a bezel angle of 25 – 30 degrees. If the iron has even the slightest nicks on the leading cutting edge, the bezel needs to be ground (sanded). You want a cutting edge that is at an exact right angle (90degrees) to the sides of the iron. Use a small square to make sure the edge is straight across the iron, not at an angle to the sides. If your cutting edge, called the primary bezel, is cleanly ground, squared, and straight you can begin honing the secondary bezel. However, if the primary bezel edge needs “grinding” or trued up, this is where the honing guide jig is really handy.
Secure the iron in the guide. If you use the Veritas guide, adjust the wheel at the lowest position. It’s really important that you take a few minutes and make sure the blade is set and adjusted at the correct angle, squared up, and firmly set secure in the guide. For those of you who understand bevel grinds, if the iron has been “flat ground”, the entire bezel rests flat on the glass surface. If the iron has been hollow ground (on a wheel), the front and the back edges of the bezel will rest on the glass with the slightest, almost microscopic, hollow between.
Proceed on the first coarse grit paper the same as you did when flattening the back side. You’ll slide the bezel edge side to side across the paper keeping adequate pressure on the front of the iron to make sure it stays flat on the surface. Keep pressure down on the center of the blade and don’t let the corners dig in and tear the sandpaper. After a few seconds, take a look at the edge. The fresh gloss sand marks from the sandpaper will tell you if the bezel is adjusted square and at the correct angle. Now is the time to make any adjustments before proceeding. The nice thing about the guide jig compared to doing it free-style, is that each time you lift up your iron to inspect or change grit papers it remains set at the correct angle.
Note: The wheel on the guide jig will be damaged if you slide it across the sandpapers as mentioned above. My solution is a piece of paper or masking tape along the leading edge of the glass over the papers, on which to slide the guide’s wheel side to side. The guide wheel stays on the paper or tape while the iron slides on the sandpaper. The primary bezel only needs to be sanded to 100 or 150 grit because you’ll put the actual cutting edge on the secondary bezel (micro bevel).
SECONDARY BEZEL
The secondary bezel is actually your true sharpened angle. It is set by adjusting the iron up by 2-5 degrees from the previously set primary bezel angle. So, if the initial primary bezel is ground to 30 degrees, and you raise the angle 2 degrees for your final sharpen or secondary bezel, the actual sharpened angle is 32 degrees. I’d suggest you keep the sharpened angle between 30 – 35 degrees. A sharp thin angle under 30 degrees becomes too brittle, but an angle more than 35 degrees won’t cut effectively in a block plane. The Veritas jig has an adjustment knob that you simply turn to raise the angle either one or two degrees without having to re-adjust the iron at the new angle in the jig. The reason for the secondary bezel is simple. There is no reason to waste the time to sharpen and polish the entire surface of the bezel angle face because the wood only comes in contact with the very leading edge of the iron. So it just makes sense to put the polished perfect surface only on the tiny leading edge. This also makes it very simple to come back and periodically hone the cutting edge as it dulls. The secondary angle at two degrees up from the primary angle will leave a new bezel along the width of the edge that’s about 1/64” wide (see photo). Again, this is far easier in practice than it sounds as written.
Once you adjust the iron at the secondary bezel angle, skip the coarser grits and begin on the 400 grit paper with very light passes in the same side to side motion. Because there is so little of the iron’s surface in contact with the sandpaper, it should only take a few seconds. Continue through the remaining grits to the final 2,000 grit using lighter and lighter pressure - slow and easy. You will notice the tiny mirror edge on the tip of the iron’s bezel.
BACK OFF
You’re almost finished. You may not notice it at first, but at this point there should be a burr or a tiny flake of metal along the cutting edge. Avoid the tendency to break it off with your fingers. Remove the piece of paper or tape from the sandpaper that your jig was sliding on. Turn the iron over (still secured in the jig), and very carefully lay the back side of the iron dead flat on the same finest 2,000 grit paper you just finished with. With just enough finger pressure to keep the iron dead flat on the paper, slowly slide or draw the iron toward you a little (just once). Don’t let the iron roll off the edge of the paper. Keep it flat! Use great care and be super gentle so as not to even slightly tip or nick the cutting edge.
Now flip it back over with the bezel again on the finest paper and take two super light side to side moves as you did previously (don’t worry about the wheel on this fine paper for only a few slides). Turn it back over again to the back side and ever so gently with finger pressure keeping the blade dead flat on the paper, lightly draw it toward you again as before. Repeat this procedure two or three times. I can’t stress enough how important it is here at the very end to protect the razor edge by gently setting the iron down slowly on the paper and keeping it dead flat. The idea is to slowly and carefully allow the burr flake to roll off and break off cleanly on its own. This is called “backing off” the edge. It will only take two or three of these ever so careful flip-flops to remove the burr. You’re done!
HAIRY SCARY!
It’s now time to get the young children and faint-prone women out of the room because now things get frightening. If anyone is around I always have fun doing the arm hair test. I run the blade up the inside of my forearm and often leave a smooth bald area behind an iron loaded with a pile of hairs. We’re not talking about finding a few hairs, but a full-on shaved arm with a “pile” of hairs. Unless you are used to doing this, I don’t recommend it for fear you will cut yourself, so I must say, don’t do it! You may not get the exact results you want the very first time, but if you do the procedure correctly your blade will at least be sharper than you’ve ever seen it. With just a little practice you can get your plane blades frightfully sharp – sharper than you ever imagined, as sharp, or even sharper than other “secret” methods, and much more quickly with no mess. “Gentlemen, begin planing your stringers!”
I hope this helps you enjoy your planing and helps take your shaping craftsmanship to a new level.
Richard McCormick
www.mccormickfinewoodworking.com
[img_assist|nid=1050052|title=Blade sharpening: Holding the blade in the jig and sliding it left to right across the paper.|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=319|height=345]
[img_assist|nid=1050053|title=Blade sharpening: The secondary bezel (microbevel)|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=504|height=434]