Handling stanley

My main useful activity of the day was handling a couple of tools, a hand axe and a small hammer. I have a couple of record or stanley type spokeshaves that I never used to use. If you ever buy these or if you already have them, do yourself a favor and buy a nice fine toothed flat metal file. The blade adustment and everything works fine on these tools, but the manufacturer fills the mouth where the blade passes through with gunky paint. You take the file and flatten off the bottom lip of the little froggy mouth part so that the blade will be clamped down flat on it by the thumb screw. This little adjustment gives the tool a whole new feel. Without it the tool jumps and chatters like an idiot, but as soon as you get that blade held firmly all you need to learn is the grips for pushing and pulling until the time comes around to sharpen the blade. The reason you need two spokeshaves is that one has a flat bed and the other a slightly convex one for diferent degrees of curve. You need two grips so that you can change direction according to the grain you are running into without having to change the position of the work. There is nothing special about the grip, but you have to feel where the blade is biting and keep that happening along the cut as you work. I put the handles in the vice and pop a stick or block underneath so that they are held poking up from the bench.