Sharpening Veritas Apron Plane Blade?

[bobfog]

So, I bought the Veritas Apron plane a week or so ago and have been deliberating how to sharpen it.

It's PM V11 which I've never used before, so I'm unsure what the final angle should be. It is going to be used from everything from soft pine to difficult hardwoods.

What would you do?

 

[ear3]

Base angle is 25 degrees -- why not just a microbevel on top of that?

 

[jacko9]

The PM V11 steel sharpens quite nicely and retains its edge for a long time.  I use the Shapton Glass water stones to sharpen and micro-bevel.  I also use the Veritas MK11 sharpening aid and it has a quick step for the micro bevel.  I also bought a second blade so I can sharpen either high or low angle bevels to suit the work (end grain to soft wood).

Jack

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Bob

Have you tried lapping with 3M diamond paper? I have PMV11 in all my (brilliant) Veritas planes.

I made a two part video about it a while ago. I have not watched these for a while. If I used water when I made them then I have progressed to light machine oil as it is not so important to get every last drop up afterwards (rust) and it is better for the honing guide.

If you cannot get sticky backed paper do not worry. I have quite a lot without sticky and I just smear some oil on the glass and it keeps the paper in place by vacuum.

If you need to use some really coarse cutting with an old iron ten I found some old wet and dry which worked a treat, again with very light machine oil.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Peter

 

[HarveyWildes]

So, I bought the Veritas Apron plane a week or so ago and have been deliberating how to sharpen it.

It's PM V11 which I've never used before, so I'm unsure what the final angle should be. It is going to be used from everything from soft pine to difficult hardwoods.

What would you do?

After reading a review on PMV-11 I've been sharpening PMV-11 blades at a slightly increased bevel angle.  If I regrind, it's at ~28 degrees with a microbevel ~30 degrees.  Out of the box I just use a 30 degree microbevel.

I think that [member=4358]derekcohen[/member] wrote the review, and I hope he will weigh in on this one .

 

[Lemwise]

A 30 degree angle is a good all round angle for a low angle block plane. I always re-grind the full bevel to 30 degrees, I don't put a micro bevel on it. That way I have full surface contact with the bevel on my water stone for maximum stability. I also put a camber on all my blades and during sharpening I make a small rocking motion to maintain the camber. Once you have this way of free hand sharpening down you'll never need a jig.

 

[bobfog]

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping for a consensus, but as is always the way, I've basically had all the options I was considering reiterated in near equal quantity.  [scratch chin]

 

[bobfog]

[member=11196]Peter Parfitt[/member]

You state in your video above (thanks for posting by the way) that you didn't sharpen your PM-V11 blades because they came razor sharp, yet the little piece of paper in the box my blade came in stated it had been lapped and had a primary bevel, but would require final honing.

Is this a change in how the blade is supplied or did yours say the same, but was suitable for your needs and felt it didn't require sharpening?

 

[Stone Message]

[member=11196]Peter Parfitt[/member]

You state in your video above (thanks for posting by the way) that you didn't sharpen your PM-V11 blades because they came razor sharp, yet the little piece of paper in the box my blade came in stated it had been lapped and had a primary bevel, but would require final honing.

Is this a change in how the blade is supplied or did yours say the same, but was suitable for your needs and felt it didn't require sharpening?

No, I must confess that I did use them straight away and they were fine. I have since, of course, given them a tweak on the primary and created a secondary bevel.

The bottom line is that PM-V11 is a good choice. Those who watch my videos will see many clips of me using my Veritas planes and will be able to hear that sweet sounds of a near perfect skim.

Peter

Peter

 

[bobfog]

So I put a 30 degree secondary bevel on the blade. I did 1200 grit, 2500 grit and 4000 on a stone, is it advisable to go to 6000 or even 8000 to get the keenest cutting edge with PM-V11 or is it just a case of diminishing returns?

 

[Lemwise]

I do a few passes on a King 1200 followed by a few passes on a Sigma 6000 and that's more than enough. If I were you I'd skip the 2500 grit stone because you can easily go from 1200 to 4000 grit. I also don't see any need for you to buy a higher grit stone. Just do a few stropping passes at the end and you're good to go.

 

[bobfog]

I do a few passes on a King 1200 followed by a few passes on a Sigma 6000 and that's more than enough. If I were you I'd skip the 2500 grit stone because you can easily go from 1200 to 4000 grit. I also don't see any need for you to buy a higher grit stone. Just do a few stropping passes at the end and you're good to go.

Thanks.

 

[jacko9]

I commented above but, one thing that I left out was I purchased a spare PM-V11 blade so that I could sharpen one for low angle and one for normal angle cuts.  I do like the Shapton Glass and Shapton Pro water stones and the splash and go is a very nice feature.