This week ends WWing show sure put a hole in my checking account, the largest single hole being for a JoolTool Sharpening System.
I'd seen this thing at the woodworking show a year or two ago and dismissed it out of hand for two reasons - it looked like a toy and the person demonstrating it looked like one of those pretty girls who stand next to a new shiny swoopy looking car and points at it.
Dumb!
This time I watched her demonstration - rather than watching her, and this time I listened to what she was saying. What she said made a lot of sense. What she did with the tool was the proof. She took my bowl gouge, with a hollow fingernail grind the Tormek demonstator put on it, removed the hollow grind while keeping the fingernail shape - and handed it back even sharper and polished - inside and out - in maybe 45 seconds.
Now I'm somewhat of a sharpening nut, with a Tormek and most of its accessories, a dry grinder with Norton wheels and the Wolverine jig, a fair assortment of diamond plates, a collection of india and arkansas stones ( I used to do hand engraving ), a Scary Sharp (TM) set up (but haven't gone to the MicroMesh
12,000 grit level). a 1" belt sander AND FIVE japanese water- stones - through and including 8000. No one method does it all and the JoolTool is no exception.But for many turning tools and carving tools this thing may overcome THE major shortcoming of the other sharpening methods I have - I can see WHAT I'm doing WHILE I'm doing it. No more grind/rub - stop to see what I've just done
- adjust if necessary - grind/rub some more - stop and see where I'm at - grind/rub some more - etc., etc. etc., . . . and each stop oten means I've created a little faceting of the bevel. When I'm done I strop the bevel, stop and see what I've done, strop some more, stop and see what yI've done, . . . and then repeat the process for the "inside/top side".
With this thing there's no jig set ups to deal with - once you've got a shape that works for you (your preferred shape is probably different from mine) IT becomes your guide and you're the jig.
Because of my jewelry making experience, I've learned how to make my hands work together and with a tool. I imagine ceramicists who throw on a wheel have learned the same tricks (If you can get any part of one hand touching the other they'll both work together rather than chasing each other. If you can have some part of your body in constant contact with some fixed reference point for a tool or machine, you can position anything you're holding or touching with a surprisingly high degree of accuracy and control).
I don't know how well the JoolTool will work for handplane irons or wide bench chisels, but for many carving and turning chisels and gouges - especialy the small carving tools, this thing seems to be The Answer (ok so I could spend hours with japanese slip stones - I've got them - but I'm somewhat impatient).
Should have the JoolTool here by the end of the week. Will post first impressions and then review it after I've used it for a month or two.
Oh - if you see the pretty lady at the next woodworking show, watch what she does with the JoolTool and listen to what she's saying. Bring your most difficult to sharpen gouge or chisel with you - and be prepared to crow bar open your wallet.
charlie b