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i attended howard bond's 'unsharp masking' course, and found it useful on several levels. first, the unsharp sandwich (the mask with the original negative), has a density range that is lower than the original negative. this allows the use of a higher grade paper or filter for your printing. you get more punch and local contrast in the print. second, the 'edge effect' is due to the step off between the original negative and the mask you make; i.e., the film to make the mask and negative are not contact printed emulsion-side to emulsion-side, but rather are seperated (this is the "unsharp" part"), by putting the contact print together emulsion-side to non-emulsion side, and are seperated (i think) by about 5 mils. i think the technique is great, and use it on all my negatives. the drawbacks are that it takes time to calculate and make a mask, and you have to get a feel for the strength of the mask to make given your negative. it is not a replacement for good printing, and should be used in conjunction with other darkroom techniques.
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