Galoots Assembled, In the 21st century, sharpening chisels and planes is
big business andin some quarters approaching cult status. There are many
and variedmodern-day approaches to sharpening planes and chisels, with
adherents to eachmethod employing a wide array of hand and electric
powered abrasives. Todaythere is an almost obsessive concern with bevel
angles, back bevels,primary and secondary bevel angles, grinding, grits,
honing, and polishing. Books, magazines, and videos sometimes suggest to
contemporary woodworkersthat with the right plane, tuned carefully, and
with a blade correctlycambered and sharpened, a well-planed finish will
require little or no sanding andis ready for final finish. Furniture
makers of today can purchase stonesup to 30,000 grit, use diamond paste,
or automotive chrome polish on glassto achieve surgical sharpness on
chisel and plane blades.
My particular interest is in 18th century furniture making and
relatedmaterial culture and technology. Furniture from the middle to the
end of the18th century is often held up as the pinnacle of the art and
craft ofwoodworking, is the focus of countless books and articles, is
collected anddisplayed in museums, and commands breath-taking prices at
antique auctions. Against the context of our modern-day obsession with
sharpening, the broadquestion I am trying to answer is this: How did
18th century professionalfurniture makers in England and colonial
America sharpen their tools? Morespecifically, how did they sharpen the
planes and chisels used in finefinish work? What sharpening tools and
processes did they use to bring asurface to the point where it was ready
for scraping, or sanding, orapplication of the final finish. To begin to
answer this question, I turned to documents from the period: books,
images such as engravings and paintings, newspaper
advertisements,account books, invoices, and photographs of artifacts,
including thefollowing.
Gaynor, J. M. and Hagedorn, N. L. (1993). Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth-
Century America. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Hummel, C. F. (1968). With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen
of EastHampton, New York. Charlottesville, VA: University Press
of Virginia.
Mercer, H. C. (1960). Ancient Carpenters=E2=80=99 Tools: Illustrated and
Explained, Together with the Implements of the Lumberman, Joiner and Cabinet-
Makerin Use in the Eighteenth Century. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
Pennsylvania Gazette, October 26, 1749.
Rees, J. and Rees, M. (1997). Christopher Gabriel and the Tool Trade
in18th Century London. Mendham, NJ: Astragal Press.
Sheraton, T. (1970). Thomas Sheraton=E2=80=99s Cabinet Dictionary, Vol.
II. NewYork: Praeger.
Stiefel, J. R. (2001). Philadelphia Cabinetmaking and Commerce, 1783-
1853: The Account Book of John Head, Joiner. APS Library Bulletin,
Winter2001, n.s. Vol. 1, No. 1.
It is apparent from these sources that an important tool for
sharpeningwas the grindstone. Appearing in 12th century illustrations,
the grindstoneis a tool we would all recognize. The grindstone makes an
early appearancein colonial America when Captain John Smith reports in
1607 in Jamestownthat the Indian Chief Powhatan asked for one. Mercer
cites probate recordsfrom 17th century Massachusetts indicating
grindstones were imported from England. The John Head account book (1712-
1753) shows that he bought from Mr. Branson a grindstone along with
lumber and hinges. Also, in the mid-eighteenth century the Pennsylvania
Gazette (1749) includes an advertisement from Joseph Trotter for
=E2=80=9CNewcastle grind stones. . .to be sold. . .Verycheap for ready
money.=E2=80=9D A photograph and description of the later 18th century
Dominy grindstone (1770-1800) appears in Hummel=E2=80=99s book, With
Hammer in Hand. Toolmaker Christopher Gabriel in an 1791 inventory shows
two grindstones in the yard. Like modern grindstones, the 18th century
grindstone wassandstone and probably used for coarse shaping and initial
sharpening. Byitself, it would not have been sufficiently fine for
putting a sharp edge onchisels or plane blades. As is the case today,
this would have required afiner sharpening medium.
With our focus squarely on the 18th century, we can eliminate
manmadeabrasive stones and the many types of Arkansas stones as 19th and
20th centurysharpening tools. Based on period documents, it=E2=80=99s
clear that the primaryfinishing stone used for final sharpening was the
Turkey stone (Turkeyoilstone, Turkey slate). Like many imported minerals
in the 18th century, itwas so named because it was quarried and imported
from central Turkey. Turkeystone is a very fine-grained siliceous rock
. Period references to Turkey stones are common. In a list of a chest
ofjoiners tools imported in 1760 from England by William Wilson,
ofPhiladelphia was =E2=80=9C1 Turkey Stone Clear of Knotts.=E2=80=9D
An invoice for a set of Englishjoiner=E2=80=99s tools obtained by
Falmouth, Virginia, storekeeper William Allasonfrom storekeeper James
Bowie of Port Royal Virginia, Mary 31, 1768 ends withan entry for
=E2=80=9C1 fine Turkey Oil Stone.=E2=80=9D The 1797 Benjamin Seaton
toolchest also contains a Turkey stone. The accounts of toolmaker and
merchant Christopher Gabriel reveal that in1787 he had 55 =C2=A3
accounted for =E2=80=9Coilstones & &.=E2=80=9D In Gabriel=E2=80=99s
accounts in1788 he specifically notes over 42 =C2=A3 =E2=80=9CIn
Turkey Stone.=E2=80=9D In 1791, theaccounts of property on hand
includes =E2=80=9CSaws, Turkey Stone, Edge Tools, and madeup
Work=E2=80=9D to the value of over 304 =C2=A3. Transcriptions of
Gabriel=E2=80=99s 1791inventory include =E2=80=9C30 lbs. Waste Turkey
Stone,=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CCwt 1 =E2=80=93 1 Qtrs 15 lbs=C2=BD (140
=C2=BD lbs?) cutt Turkey Stone; 2 =E2=80=93 1 =E2=80=93 11(236 lbs?)
Ruff ditto; 125slips of ditto; and, 28 lbs of Blue Stone=E2=80=9D
(probably slate according to Rees &Rees); =E2=80=9C3 Oilstones
Cased=E2=80=9D (Rees and Rees note that =E2=80=9CPopular opinion
isthat no workman would buy a case for an oilstone so these must have
beenintended for the gent=E2=80=99s trade =E2=80=93 or were
they?=E2=80=9D). Finally, in his 1800inventory, Gabriel shows
=E2=80=9C84 Turkey Slips.=E2=80=9D Thus far I have found no
periodreference to sharpening stones other than those noted here.
To summarize, it appears that in the 18th century furniture
makerssharpened their chisels and planes using grindstones followed by
Turkey oilstones. Slips of Turkey stone were distinguished from other
kinds of Turkeystone, and this is not surprising given the number of
molding planes used in theperiod. Did period furniture makers go beyond
sharpening their bladeswith Turkey stones? I have not yet found period
references to stropping,although they certainly had the materials and
techniques as evidenced by theuse of razors and the need to sharpen
them. Did they use honing compounds? I have not yet found references to
this practice although we know fromSheraton=E2=80=99s Dictionary that
Tripoli was available and used to finish wood. Wecan also assume that
given the nature of jewelry making of the time that itis likely that
polishing rouge or compounds were available, though again, I=E2=80ve
not yet located any period reference to their use in
sharpeningwoodworking tools.
Some of the questions that remain for me include, what was the likely
gritvalue of Turkey Oilstones or Blue Stone=E2=80=94and how does this
number relate tomodern sharpening stones? Are natural Turkey stones
still availablecommercially? Are there period documents describing
sharpening woodworkingtools that involve the use of strops or honing
compounds?
Cheers, John
John M. Johnston "There is a fine line between hobby and mental
illness." Dave Barry
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