<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <STYLE></STYLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=MailContainerBody style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #000000; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; PADDING-TOP: 15px; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Trebuchet MS; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; TEXT-DECORATION: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none" bgColor=#ffffff leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 acc_role="text" CanvasTabStop="true" name="Compose message area"> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Ugh,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Thanks for making my stomach shrink up.  I had a similar one with a chisel into the left index finger at the last knuckle a year or so ago.  Led to permanent, but not too serious damage.  Can't bend that knuckle but about 75% of normal, and pain in the last 1/3 of that range of motion.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>And Hey!  Let's be careful out there......</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Comments below:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Terry the Farrell wrote (where is Joe G, by the way):</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Maybe I'm not getting as perfect a back-side edge as I can. I don't know. I've always wondered about grinding the back side of a blade: can you really grind a  small thickness off the entire back side of a blade (I mean a normal human with manual methods)?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>I don't see why not.  As I mentioned before, I don't like doing it on a Tormek, but with a lapping plate and coarse paper adhered to the top, lay the plane blade/chisel blade/whatever blade, with it's backside flat on the lapping plate.  Move in circles, figure eights, whatever your fancy, until the entire surface has those coarse grit scratches, then start working your way through the grits of wet/dry paper as far as you care to go.  I find 2000 grit works well enough for me.  Forgive me if I've misread your questions and am telling you things that you already know very well.  Email, you know.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Seems to me you'll always have a small bevel on the back side of the blade. I know that is not optimal, but is it avoidable?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>I'd say yes.  Maybe we're not talking about the same thing here.  Why would there be a bevel on the back side of the blade??</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>William R. Monroe</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>