Hey everyone! I just got into woodworking and picked up my first spokeshave. I'm currently working on sharpening the blades using sandpaper, but I'm a bit unsure about the best grit to start with. I started with 60 grit for one blade, which I managed to get into decent shape, but I'm wondering if that was too rough. What grits do you usually recommend for sharpening? Thanks!
1 Answer
Starting at 60 grit is a bit aggressive. I generally recommend using 220 as the lowest grit for sharpening unless you're resetting the angle of a blade. If you're just honing it, starting with 400 grit is better. Also, make sure that the sandpaper is perfectly flat while you're sharpening; if it's not, you'll struggle to get clean edges.
I get what you're saying. I have a 400 grit waterstone that doesn't seem to do much for me either. But I found that starting at 60 and then going to 400 did work for getting one blade back in shape. What could I be doing wrong?