When you receive a Lie-Nielsen blade, we recommend honing before using it. This video shows you how to put a secondary bevel on a new blade—whether it's a replacement blade, or a blade installed in a new tool. Honing a new blade will increase performance, help achieve a razor edge quickly, and improve edge life in hardwoods.

Our blades come ground with a primary bevel of 25 degrees, which allows you to use a secondary bevel for ease and speed of sharpening. Here you can see Liz using our Honing Guide and Angle Setting Jig to sharpen a 35 degree secondary bevel on a new No. 60 1/2 blade.

Start by setting a secondary bevel on the 1000 grit Ohishi waterstone, note that she begins with a few pull strokes to make sure the edge does not gouge the stone. Then polish the bevel on a 10,000 grit waterstone and remove the burr created using the ruler trick to dress the back of the blade. When using the ruler trick remember to push the edge slightly off the stone so that you do not round the flat back of the blade.

Next, Liz flattens the waterstones, which we recommend doing after every blade to keep it a quick process. It is important to lap your stones on a surface specifically designed for this purpose, this will ensure that your stones are kept properly flat.

The blade is now ready to use. Place it carefully in the tool, tighten down the spinwheel, and enjoy!