Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their tool for the gift guide, our standard retort would be: “Why don’t you poop up your own butt?”) This is stuff we use and love. We have 11 offerings this year, and will publish one a day until we’re done. – Chris & Fitz
Veritas Mk. II Power Sharpening System
This accolade is long overdue. I bought one of the Veritas Mk. II Power Sharpening Systems when they first came out. I liked it, but it took some getting used to. The fact that you are working on a flat plate requires some practice because the outside rim of the platter sharpens faster than the interior. This makes a difference on wide blades, especially.
After mastering the hand motions to get the results I wanted, the machine slowly wormed its way into my heart. And my stationary dry grinder started feeling lonely.
For the most part, I use the Veritas as a precision grinder. The #80-grit platter rarely leaves the machine. And recently, I’ve infected Megan with the machine’s charms.
Why do I love it so? It’s so easy to get a dead-straight grind on tools that really need it, such as blades for shoulder planes and rabbet planes. It’s not as fast as my dry grinder, but that’s a good thing. It’s just fast enough to be convenient. And just slow enough that I don’t trash my blades by accident.
The other thing I love about it is that it allows me to grind short blades, such as my spokeshaves, without any fuss. It has a separate setting for short tools that comes in handy.
Finally, I like grinding gouges freehand on the machine. It’s easy to rest the gouge on the tool’s crossbar and grind away.
When grinding, be sure to keep a cup of water handy for cooling your tools. They will heat up quickly. After dunking your tools, shake them off but let a few drops remain on the blade as you return to grinding. As the drops heat up and boil away, you’ll know you have reached 212° F. And that it’s time to cool the tool again.
I don’t use the Veritas much for polishing. I prefer to use my Shapton waterstones for that. But for grinding tools, it’s my first choice. Made in Canada, the Veritas Mk. II Power Sharpening System is extremely durable and continues to run well despite more than a decade of built-up swarf. – CS