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Took me 3 hours to figure out the grain direction on a reback because I kept second guessing the feel
Spent 3 hours last Saturday on a simple reback of a 1920s ledger because I couldn't tell if I was feeling the grain or just fooling myself with the drag test, and it turns out the board I cut was cross-grained the whole time, so now I want to know if anyone else has a trick for telling grain direction by feel that actually works.
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the_kim16d ago
Wetting the edge just a touch with a damp sponge saved me from that same mess. The water raises the fibers a little and you can watch them lift in one direction, like little hairs laying down. Once the board is wet it looks darker along the grain too, so you get a visual check along with the feel. Now I do the drag test and the water test together and they almost never disagree. If they do disagree I trust the water every time, the drag test lies to me when my hands are dry or tired.
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