In "Sharpening", he says "Very few craftsmen put paraffin wax on the sole of
their plane; the informed use an oil wick."
That's what prompted my question.

don



----- Original Message -----
From: "paul womack" 
To: "Don Schwartz" , oldtools@r...
Sent: Thursday, 17 April, 2014 2:01:51 AM
Subject: Re: [OldTools] wax or oil

Don Schwartz wrote:
>
> I always apply a bit of paraffin wax to a plane sole before planing, then rub
the plane back & forth a couple of times on a piece of sheepskin.
> In his sharpening book and planing video, Jim Kingshot inisists "the informed'
use an oil wick, a shallow wooden box he keeps on his bench with a large cloth
wick in it, which he charges with linseed, swiping the plane across it before
using. But he doesn't explain his preference. Does anyone have any comments or
preferences in this regard? Please explain.

I always understood him to mean that "the informed" lubricate planes, and "the
uninformed" don't. I didn't
think he meant the choice of lubricant.

Although (now you point it out) it's not fully clear.

Many teachers omit explanations of their recommendations for brevity and/or
simplicity.

Which greatly annoys the more analytical amongst us :-)

  BugBear