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The Taunton Press

The Complete Guide to Sharpening: Comprehensive guide to sharpening knives, planes, chisels, and edge tools like a pro.

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Description

Transform your woodworking experience with The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Say goodbye to the frustration of working with dull tools. This comprehensive guide consolidates a lifetime of study into the most practical reference on sharpening techniques, methods, and devices. Whether you’re a seasoned woodworker or a beginner, you'll discover the most effective ways to sharpen all your tools, from chisels to drill bits. The Complete Guide to Sharpening empowers you to achieve precise, clean cuts every time, allowing your creativity and craftsmanship to shine. Don’t let dull tools hold you back—equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to sharpen your tools to perfection. Key Features:Expert Techniques: Learn from tool expert Leonard Lee, who shares his wealth of knowledge and experience in sharpening methods that yield better edges than most razor blades. Versatile Applications: This guide covers a wide range of woodworking tools, equipping you with the skills to sharpen everything you’re likely to encounter in your workshop. Simple Principles: With easy-to-follow instructions and simple principles, you’ll learn to shape your tools for optimal cutting performance, ensuring they stay sharp longer. Essential Equipment: Discover the basic equipment needed for sharpening, making it accessible for woodworkers at all skill levels. Practical Reference: This book serves as an invaluable resource for maintaining the longevity and effectiveness of your tools, improving the quality of your work and the enjoyment of your craft. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Taunton


Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 23, 2003


Edition ‏ : ‎ 22nd


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 2


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 52


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.81 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.5 x 10.8 inches


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Will get you sharp.
Format: Paperback
Learned sharpening from watching my grandfather and father. This book gave a whole new view on sharpening. Knew there were different grades of sharpening stones and have had a few diamond and ceramic sharpening stones, small pocket size, but never really looked at the bigger ones. Japanese wet stones were known of, but they were Arkansas stone users, and that's what I used. Finally broke down about 40 year's ago and bought a set of ceramic sticks and used them till I dropped them and one broke. Great for final hone. Of course, got another set. Then bought a small diamond stone and have added 3 more large ones. This book explains a lot that I was not aware of when it comes to sharpening wood working tools. I recommend it for any person learning to sharpen knives and tools. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2025 by wayne l walters
    • The book is great…. Condition not so great
Format: Paperback
So this is a shop book that seems to have every conceivable tool with a bevel and how to sharpen it…. The first chapters are good explanations of sharpness, how wood is cut by a beveled tool, different abrasives for sharpening and then chapters on the sharpening of common tools you use everyday. Well written for those interested in the mechanics of cutting wood and sharpening. Other chapters on, for me some less used tools. Recommended for those interested in how their woodworking tools do their work. The book appears to be new, but the back cover and three index pages were cut with a knife, probably when the books were unboxed. Most would return it, but it’s a shop book and so¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what’s the point. Tape and it’s good enough for me. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2024 by Keith Quirolo
    • A toolworker's complete book, but ....
Format: Paperback
You have to admire the author. He is very experienced and he packs a huge amount of detailled and easily read information in this book. The electron photomicrographs, showing various sharp (and not so sharp) edges using various abarasives are excellent. Leonard demonstrates how to sharpen metal tools to a higher degree of sharpness than Wilkinson Sword razor blades. (about 0.4 micron edge thickness if you are technically minded - that is 0.0004 millimeters thick at the cutting edge.) This is SCARY sharp !! Mr Lee also seems to know everything there is to know about the history of steel making, and abrasives. There are excellent chapters on just about every kind of woodworking tool imaginable, with plenty of excellent photographs. If I were a woodworker I would regard this book as being the one and only complete reference and how-to-do-it text. BUT... my personal interest is in sharpening kitchen knives. And the chapter on knife sharpening is the least informative in the book, and really tells the reader nothing new that is not already available on many web sites. In fact the Mr Lee actually says he only included this chapter because nobody would take his book seriously if it didn't have a chapter on knife sharpening. As a result, the chapter is too brief, and in fact contains some wrong advice. eg using plastic book binders as edge guides: - Sorry Mr Lee, but flimsy, floppy lightweight plastic strips along the back of a knife as edge guides just don't work. For a complete KNIFE sharpening book, you would be far better off with Chad Ward's new book "An Edge in the Kitchen". I don't mean to disrespect the author, or this book. But it is really for woodworking tools, not kitchen knives. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2007 by Doug Longmire
    • A Novice Sharpners 2 cents
Format: Paperback
I bought this book pretty much not knowing a thing about sharpening other than knowing I needed to know how to sharpen my tools if I intended to keep them fine tuned. In the past, I've used hand held kitchen gadgets and bench grinders. Little did I know the damage being done with a bench grinder. Since I knew next to nothing, I started at the beginning. It gave me a very good understanding of the "how's" and "whys" to the shapes and angles. The chapters are laid out for specific tool sharpening, so if you wanted, you could go straight to the section your most interested in. If there is something you need to be aware of, handy references are inserted in the text to point you back to important topics. I like that, the author assumes you don't wish to read the whole book at that moment, and makes sure you get the information you need. I don't know if this guide is the end all book of all sharpening guides, but its been a 5-star to me. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2011 by Mike Morgan
    • Best overall sharpening book on the market
Format: Paperback
Covers all the basics of sharpening tools in depth and detail. Starts with the basic concepts of sharpening steel - then goes into a very detailed coverage of the different types of abrasives ( diamond hones / wet stones / oil stones / natural stones / etc ) with their advantages & disadvantages. Finishes with thorough techniques for sharpening the various types of tools 1 by 1 - including jigs. As far as one book that covers everything - this one has about everything you can ask for. There are probably soem specialty sharpening books that could expand on one topic but this one covers most that's out there. The only thing lacking was scary sharp sandpaper method which wasn't covered much in the book. I use sandpaper primarily b/c it's inexpensive - but having read this book - I no longer question what to use for sharpening handtools - what grits to use - or - why? ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2007 by Kindle Customer
    • The most complete book on sharpening I've seen.
Format: Hardcover
There was an inadvertent glitch when I paced my order, and the seller resolved it faster than I could have imagined (within < 24 hours). The ordered book was described as "Like New" and when I received the book, it was in perfect condition. The book is incredibly thorough, covering all aspects of sharpening all types of equipment (drills, saw blades, chisels and other woodworking tools, knives for cooking and other uses, etc.). It also discusses the different types of equipment needed to achieve the sharpest edge possible. Paul R. Paquin ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2022 by Paul R. Paquin
    • Never have to suffer from dull tools again.
Format: Paperback
Tool sharpening is one of those things that it is extremely worthwhile to take the time to learn to do correctly. You can master the basics of knife sharpening in an afternoon and never have to suffer from dull kitchen knives again. This book goes into the finer points of sharpening any tool you might have in your home, not just basic technique but theory. It's one of those books that describes the art as well as the science. Highly recommended. Got it for me, then got another copy for my dad for Christmas. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018 by Amazon Customer
    • Excellent concepts, great practical solutions
Format: Paperback
Fantastic book on understanding how "it all works" in the field of woodworking. It tells you what are the common mistakes, why things don't work the way you want it to and most importantly what needs to be done differently. The electron mircroscope pictures really show what "burr" actually looks like when you are sharpening a tool or knive. He backs it up not by what works for him, but actual scientific data, looking at the minutest details of both material and tool, and what is happening to them when they come in contact with each other. No doubt some of the details about angles, forces working on the tool are above my head. The reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because it doesn't go in great length how to sharpen kitchen knives. That was my one primary area of interest. For those who are interested in sharpening knives with hand on a stone, especially japanese water stone, watch the DVD "The Chef's edge" not available on Amazon so far. It is very very good. It tells you about stones,how to use a stone fixer, how to sharpen western style knives and japanese knives. And the common mistakes people make in sharpening. I practiced the techniques and I GOT THE RESULTS. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2004 by Asad Khan

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