Work Sharp Sharpening System - Manual (Page 32)

left by the grinding wheel. Before and
after cutting tests on the lathe again con-
firmed just how much better this tool cut
with just this light P400 dressing. From
here I took the tool to a proper flat bevel
with P400 and polished it with P1200 to
the state in which I use it today.
I should note that the “before” bevels on
these two tools were not hacked out by
hand on a blue-light-special grinding
wheel. They were cut on a quality fine
grinding wheel using a well known lathe
tool jig intended for cutting such surfaces.
While that jig works to establish a good
bevel profile, the concave cutting edge
left by even a good grinding wheel is no
match for a finely honed, flat bevel left by
the Work Sharp.
The ability to see directly through the
spinning slotted disk lets you follow the
desired bevel angle with great preci-
sion no matter how it curves or how
double bevel angles interact. You
move the tool watching the old scratch
marks disappear while the new, much
finer edge is developed.
If you do have trouble seeing this ac-
tion, try coating the bevel with machin-
ist’s blue or red layout dye, or just run
a felt tip marker over the edge before
you begin. The edge formed by inter-
action with the Work Sharp slotted
disk will shine clearly while the dyed or
marked portion will remain dull.
Here are two shots of an insanely
sharp laminated Japanese mortis-
ing chisel. I had to reinsert scratch
marks into the bevel and back to
take these photos. I wish you could
see this one for yourself!