Complete Guide to Sharpening

All the positive reviews made me want to know more, so I asked about it at a local woodworking shop and they said, "This is THE best book on sharpening."

It is essential to have sharp tools, I do all my work with handtools but the book goes into great detail on ALL tools, machines, different shapes of tools, the advantages of different techniques ... great detail, but it is also concise, VERY easy to read and understand, and has excellent placement of photos within the text - if you are reading about something on page 30 the pictures will be on page 30, not page 29, not page 35. Also the large pages are broken up nicely with tidbits of fascinating historical and scientific information. In parts, I actually laughed out loud!

There are electron microscope photographs of the edges of blades that have been sharpened using various methods. You can actually see the effects ... you will gain appreciation of lapping and rust prevention ... you will know how to select good tools, good sharpening aids ... you will learn about the structure of wood and how to cut with a blade.

Part of the way through it I thought, "this is great, but I wish it told me how to sharpen my kitchen knives" - wholah! in a few pages it did, it showed me how to use that stupid thing that came with the set of knives, and the method worked very well.

I could not be more pleased with this book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in sharpening, especially woodworkers, these are essential skills. Sharp tools will enhance your entire woodwork experience. You will produce finer work with greater ease, even if you use mostly power tools.

I give it 6 stars out of 5.

If it had all colour photos and was bound in leather, I would give it 10 out of 5 AND it would be a fantastic coffee table book as well (warning: that does not mean it is insubstantial, just that many non-woodworking visitors would very much enjoy it)


Full Coverage Of An Arcane Skill   August 26, 2004
Marc Ruby™ (Warren, MI USA)
59 out of 59 found this review helpful

This is genuinely the most exhaustive volume I have ever seen in the world of woodworking. Leonard Lee (who is the president of Veritas and Lee Valley Tools) has made every effort to leave out none of the minutia of the world of sharpening. I'm making fun a bit, but there is no question but that this is 'the complete guide ...'

Lee starts right out with the definition of sharpness, the physics of cutting wood, metallurgy, abrasives and equipment. Then he gets down to tools and techniques. Everyone expects chapters on chisels, planes, and knives, but Lee goes on to tweezers, Phillips screwdrivers, claw hammer claws and several other things that you may have never thought were dull.

For all the density of information, Lee's delivery is clear and he makes good use of illustration. And there is a great deal of pleasure to be gained from owning a book that really does live up to its title. Whether beginning or expert sharpener, this is certainly the text to own


AKA..SHARPENING FOR DUMMIES...   December 12, 2004
KRASSEL (SPANAWAY, WA USA)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful

This book by Leonard Lee (who also owns Lee Valley / Veritas tools) is probably the most complete book on sharpening on the market today. He covers metalurgy, composition, tempering and heat treating. He not only discuss's angles for sharpening but why these are the proper angles. Quite a bit of time is spent discussing diffferent edges or degree's of sharpness and why you want to achieve them. You begin to realize he is trying to take a somewhat dry and often confusing process and turn it into something you can fully understand from beginning to end. The fact that he is very passionate about sharp tools comes thru. I especially appreciate the wide selection of sharpening aids that he has included in the book. From the old standby oilstone to the ultra modern complete systems. He offers alternative methods and shows how to achieve that perfect edge.
I also have the cd/dvd companion to the book. It is almost as complete, with a lot of hands on demonstration.
I have always been able to get a good edge on my chisel's and turning tools (except the mini's, old eyes ya know), but was never happy with the edge I would get on my planes. Now they cut those beautiful "curls" everytime. His book makes it simple and easy for me to achieve this.
Recommend this book to everyone, woodworker or not, who needs to be able to get that "edge" on their cutting tools. Can't give it a high enough rating.
The cd/dvd rates way up there also.


A Sharp Book!   February 1, 2005
D. Steve Bottorff (S. Euclid, OH USA)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

I wrote Sharpening Made Easy, a good book on knife sharpening. Leonard Lee's The Complete Guide to Sharpening is a better book and covers more than mine does.


A great blend of theory and practice   April 22, 2002
mruseless (Highlands Ranch, CO USA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Leonard Lee takes an open-minded, scientific look at a subject that many woodworkers treat as voodoo. Lee presents photographs that detail the differences between "razor sharp" and truly hair-splitting sharp. He explains techniques for getting the keenest edge possible on chisels, saws, plane blades, scrapers, and a variety of other edges tools. He takes the time to explain edge geometry and how it will affect the steel based on some simple metallurgy. He also explains how different woods and types of cuts require different geometries.

This book has become one of my basic reference manuals in the shop.