Found a cheap trick to sharpen my plane blades with sandpaper and glass

Keith Harris · 2026-05-31T10:50:04.109318+00:00

I was getting frustrated trying to get a mirror edge on my old Stanley plane blades with a $40 diamond stone that kept wearing out. Tried sticking wet-dry sandpaper (220 to 2000 grit) to a piece of 1/4-inch plate glass from the hardware store, total cost maybe $8. Has anyone else found a way to make their sharpening setup work on the cheap without buying those expensive jigs?

anna9834mo ago

Glass works but you gotta make sure it's perfectly flat first, most hardware store glass is actually a little wavy.

8

angela433mo ago

Yeah @wright.kevin is exactly right, the flat glass is really the key here. I'd add that you should check your sandpaper too because some cheap brands have uneven grit that'll mess up your edge. A little spray adhesive helps keep the paper from lifting mid stroke which was driving me crazy at first.

7

wright.kevin4mo ago

Oh man, that's the secret right there. I've been doing the same thing for years and it works just as good as the expensive stuff.

2