One of the biggest satisfactions you could experience when
you get interested in tools is taking a dull blade and putting a good sharp
edge on it—an edge sharp enough to shave a hair off the back of your hand.
The small piece of natural stone which each carpenter of the
eighteenth century brought along with him for putting an edge on his tools, as
well as the large mill-cut circular stone that was turned around using a handle
or a foot treadle, has gone out of style since we have learned to make stones
that serve our purposes better. The small bench stone, driven by a hand crank,
which some carpenters bring, is typically made of natural emery crushed to
varying grades of fineness. Artificial materials done in the electric furnace,
like corundum, alundum, and carbide of silicon, are crushed, sifted, molded,
and baked to form stones of every size, shape, and degree of fineness
necessary.
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For the novice, the common oilstone with a rough surface on
one side and a fine surface on the other is all that is needed. If, in the
course of time, you feel that the edges and bevels of your tools are worn down
badly, it may be essential to have them professionally ground so that you could
start all over again, unless you wish to buy or borrow a revolving stone where
in you do your own grinding.
The grinding of edged tools is best achieved on a tit
sandstone grindstone, since there is then no danger o burning or drawing the
temper from the steel. If a dry emery stone is used, the tool should be dipped
many times in water to keep it cool.
An improved slow-speed electric grinder having a special
wheel and an excellent control mechanism is available. This grinder is highly
satisfactory, though it uses a dry wheel.