I've never been able to sharpen chisels and planes very well at all. Even simple things, like restoring a good edge when a blade would dull slightly with use, often escaped me, necessitating a quick trip "down the Shore" to see my woodworking (and tool sharpening) friend Kevin.

A few days ago, I really wanted to re-edge the block plane, spokeshave and several chisels before tackling the next stage of our latest VOLKSKAYAK, which involves rounding down the shearline considerably. Gave up trying to use the stone (it's old and cheap, and grooved up) in frustration, and I didn't really want to show up at my Harley-riding friend's with a bagful of edgeless tools on a nice sunny weekend afternoon either. Good stones are a long way away from here,and very expensive - so what to do???

In frustration, I dug up a few files I had long ago downloaded on the ScarySharp approach, got an old sheet of glass, three sheets of sandpaper and some spray contact cement - and it works!!!! Boy, does it work - after an hour, I had the plane, spokeshave and about 1/2 dozen chisels, some quite battered, sharpened far better than I've ever done before. Everything cuts cleanly and with little effort, and keeping the edge touched up is child's play. If you haven't tried it but want to make sharpening as simple and effective as possible, it's well worth a trial run.

Now if I could just figure how my buddy does those "shave with it" edges freehand, without the little jig I use to keep the angle constant and to cut the microbevel...