Sharpening my memory

If I don’t remember the last time I did something, chances are good that it’s been too long.

I have a terrible habit of forgetting to make things sharp. Not hand tools – they tell you right away when they get dull – but with cutting machines. Hand tools just stop performing well when not sharp, and you can feel it in your hands right through the handles.

But machines tend to lose their sharpness so slowly, that you just don’t notice that their performance is beginning lag. Table saw and band saw blades are notorious for this, and I find that after a while I just simply begin to wonder when the last time was that I changed the blade or had it sharpened. And if I can’t remember, then it’s past time to do it.

With my band saw, I write the date of the last blade change on the inside of the upper door. Of course, I have to remember to look, which I don’t.

It’s even worse with knives in my planer and jointer. As it happens, I recently got an assignment to write a jointer article, and figured since it’d be in the photos I should clean and tune it. Cleaning wasn’t an issue, but when I got to thinking about the knives, I realized I had no idea when they’d last been sharpened.

I don’t use the jointer a lot for milling and tend to forget that even occasional use will dull those blades. So, naturally, I changed the blades. Simple to do, since they’re double-edged, to just flip them around. There’s no excuse for not having sharp knives.

When I finished changing them, I wrote the date down in the cutterhead gullet with a Sharpie. (I also immediately ordered a new set of knives, so I have them on hand.) After making the necessary adjustments to accommodate the new knife edges, I was blown away by how much better the jointer cuts – and how much quieter! You think I’d learn, but I’m betting I’ll be going through this whole process again.