I use 3M Stikit Gold on a flat granite reference plate to flatten plane soles, and for regrinding the primary bevel on plane irons and chisels. I also use it to flatten the backs of planes irons and chisels, but extra care and good technique need to be followed as not to “dub” the edges of the plane or chisel (more details later on). The coarser 80 grit is employed when I need to remove a lot of material quickly, and is the coarsest grit offered in the Stikit Gold lineup. It can remove metal quickly when needed. For flattening plane soles, I typically first test sole flatness in the 120 - 220 grit range, and then drop back to the 80 grit if the surface is too far out of flat to remove material faster. For new planes that are fairly flat, I will use this 220 grit as the first step, and many times that is enough, and then I follow it up with 400 or 500 grit as a final pass to remove scratches. However, any times older, vintage planes call for this aggressive grit. Note I use both the 2 3/4" wide Stikit or the 4 1/2 wide Stikit depending on what size plane I am flattening. For #6, #7 and #8 planes, the 4 1/2 wide works best as the 2 3/4" is too narrow. For planes #5 and under, the 2 3/4 inch works best. I have tried other methods and other brands of adhesive sandpaper to flatten plane soles, but the Stikit has worked the best. When flattening a large #8 jointer plane, you need a longer granite block, and flattening large planes can take a lot more elbow grease. The advantage of the Stikit is that it is reusable many times. The adhesive sticks just enough that you can easily pull it up when you are done, and then re-sticks multiple times. Other adhesive papers I have tried stick too well, and removal destroys the paper, rendering it unusable after one use. Plus, other methods such as like SC grit is too messy, and not practical for big planes. For establishing primary bevels on plane irons, the sandpaper method works great for fast metal removal, and the 80 grit is for when you are regrinding the entire bevel. Depending on the blade type and width I either start with 80 or 120 grit, but sometimes even 150 or 220 for very narrow blades or very soft steel. For chisels, since I am removing less material, I typically start with 150 or this 220- unless there is a serious nick in the chisel then I might call on the 80 grit paper. Many times if the edge is in decent shape, but has small nicks or the edge needs clean up I will use this 220 grit as the first step before going to waterstones. For flattening the backs of plane irons or chisels - I ONLY go to sandpaper if my 400 grit Sigma or 320 grit Cerax is not making progress fast enough, and the back needs serious metal removal. And many times this 220 grit is coarse enough to start for flattening. There are times when I buy a vintage plane iron or chisel and it needs sandpaper flattening due to be out of flat considerably. Most modern irons / chisels come flat enough to start on the stones. NOTE - whenever flattening and plane / chisel back, especially when starting with 80 grit, you need to be extra careful and have good technique. Take it slow, and keep even downward pressure across the blade, and straight / even strokes. Don't frantically move the blade back and forth with uneven pressure - you will regret this when you transition to the stones to begin polishing the back.... what happens is with bad technique you round the edges and bevel (dub) and create more work, and you also get an uneven grind which is deeper in spots and makes a lot more work on the stones. Note I always then transition to watersones after sandpaper to continue finer metal removal, progressing up through the watersone grits until I get a nice mirror finish on the back, or I get a mirror bevel. After progressing to 400 grit paper, it is a nice jump off point to move to something like a Cerax 320 or SP 400 stone to continue flattening or bevel setting. I hope this helps anyone thinking of trying sandpaper for faster metal removal when the situation calls for it. For further information and videos of Stikit Gold in action, go to lie-nielsen.com – Lie Nielsen also uses Stikit to perform primary bevel setting, and there are some good videos out there of Stikit Gold in use. They also sell Stikit Gold. Highly recommended, thanks for reading!
