An apprentice has just bought new chisels, sharpening?

[sigibbons]

Im 19 and doing an apprenticeship in site carpentry and have bought some Bahco 424P Bevel Edge Chisels. I heard good things about them and i really like the sheath that comes with them to protect them.

Now they say they are ready to use, but to me they dont feel very sharp, so im trying to find out whats best to do to them to get them ready for action?

Also what method of sharpening (touching up) would best suit a site carpenter to quickly get a good edge?

I have one of these

to use at home but i assume thats really just to get the angle ground onto the chisel/plane blade before honing?

Thanks, Si.

 

[MikeW]

Personally, I would recommend a couple diamond stones and learn to hone them freehand.

If honing freehand is an uncomfortable thought, consider getting a guide such as the inexpensive side clamp type based upon the Eclipse, or finding a vintage one.

The diamond stones are pretty rugged and thin, nice for on-site work.

Those are decent chisels, very comfortable in-hand.

Take care, Mike

 

[sigibbons]

Personally, I would recommend a couple diamond stones and learn to hone them freehand.

If honing freehand is an uncomfortable thought, consider getting a guide such as the inexpensive side clamp type based upon the Eclipse, or finding a vintage one.

The diamond stones are pretty rugged and thin, nice for on-site work.

Those are decent chisels, very comfortable in-hand.

Take care, Mike

Thanks for your help!
Im willing to try freehand honing as it probably is the easyest way on site.
At the moment im using a Stanley double sided oilstone for my old chisels and find i make really slow progress with that, and the fact i have to carry oil with me.

What sort of diamond stone should i be looking for and in what grades and should all i do is spend a bit of time on the stones for touching them up or do i need to strop etc?

Thanks,Si

 

[MikeW]

Hi Si...hopefully Philly or someone will be along for recommending stones available to you over there. That is, if you are in the UK.

I chose to purchase DMT brand stones. The DuoSharp series. I suspect Axminster carries them. I like them because one side is one grit, the other a different one. When I was doing on-site work, I just used the Coarse/Fine one.

If your work entails the need for finer work, the Extra Fine would be good to get as well. But if you are not doing something which requires a smooth, fine cut which will show, it may not be a worthwhile purchase. It also is a purchase which can be added after you know if you need it. I never did.

I still use liquid on mine. A thin honing oil. Just kept it in a small squeeze bottle that had a secure lid. I kept the diamond stones wrapped in a rag.

Take care, Mike

 

[Colin C]

Hi Si

Try Tilgear for the Eze-Lap daimond stones, a medium 6"x2" stone should do you for site work and you can get them for about £22- 24 + p&p or a fine will be under £20 + p&p.

They do start out a little ruff at first but I have two mediums, one for site and one for the workshop.

They dont have a web site but you can ring them on 01707 873434

 

[Colin C]

As Mike has mentioned the Duo grit ones Tilgear do them for £47 +vat and p&p and the size is 8"x3"

I have had my first one for about 10 years now

 

[Philly]

Hi Si
Axminster sell these diamond stones amongst others.Cheaper than the DMT ones and well worth a try to see if they work for you. For site work they are perfect-no need for honing oil.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[sigibbons]

Hi Si...hopefully Philly or someone will be along for recommending stones available to you over there. That is, if you are in the UK.

I chose to purchase DMT brand stones. The DuoSharp series. I suspect Axminster carries them. I like them because one side is one grit, the other a different one. When I was doing on-site work, I just used the Coarse/Fine one.

If your work entails the need for finer work, the Extra Fine would be good to get as well. But if you are not doing something which requires a smooth, fine cut which will show, it may not be a worthwhile purchase. It also is a purchase which can be added after you know if you need it. I never did.

I still use liquid on mine. A thin honing oil. Just kept it in a small squeeze bottle that had a secure lid. I kept the diamond stones wrapped in a rag.

Take care, Mike

Yeah i am in the UK. I'll take a look at the corse/fine DMT diamond stones, they may be what im after. I heard you can use water on diamond stones, bit of Spit maybe?

I just find my old chisels now get pretty beat up and the stanley oil stone i have really isnt quick enough to get them sharp again. I actually resorted to touching one of them with a hand held angle grinder that was laying about and that did a much better job of quicky getting them in shape.

 

[sigibbons]

Colin and Philly, do you think the diamond stones are ok just for touching up blunt blades Honing i think it is?

And should i use the Perform grinder i posted a pic of to set the angles on chipped etc chisels?

Thanks guys!

 

[Colin C]

Hi Si

DMT Duo sharp :shock: at the price ( I am not saying it is a bad product )
Eze lap Duo sharp and I think just as good but the choice is yours

 

[Colin C]

Si

That is what I do

 

[Anonymous]

Have you polished the backs of your chisels? That makes a tremenduos difference to the edge quality. If theres circular machining/grinding marks from manufacture, they need to be got rid of, I use emory paper on a piece of 6 mm float glass, (not toughened glass as toughened is never properly flat) and place the chisel on the emory and move it back and forth. Eventually you get a smooth back which is as bright as a mirror. Grinders are OK but noisy and fast (ie so fast they can over heat the edge and ruin it) so if you use a grinder you also need a water quench to cool the steel from time to time. I use a norton stone medium grit one side, fine the other and it is great for site job's. It depends exactly what you do on site but for shooting doors, adjusting scribed boards with a block plane, adjusting skirtings, chopping lock mortice's etc I found it perfectly adequate to keep those plane iron's and chisels in good order. I keep it in a wood box, it cost about £12 and no one ever wants to pinch it :wink: I have a little tin of oil also. In the shop I use japanese waterstones but they are too fragile to carry about.
PS dont forget to sharpen little and often then you dont need so much force to do the same work

 

[Philly]

Si
I don't do a lot of touching up of chisels on site-although I do have a double sided waterstone for this. They are messy and you really need a sink. The diamond stones are great-and yes, a bit of spit is always to hand :roll: :wink: And it works fine............. :lol:
A grinder for back in the workshop makes life a LOT easier for major work. The wet grinder you mentioned should be fine-no worries about blueing the chisels like a high speed grinder.
Best regards
Philly

 

[Clinton1]

If you need to carry honing oil/fluid around in the site toolbox and can't find a good, tough, bottle... the squeeze bottle type insect repellant or sunscreen bottles make excellent containers. Get the ones with a screw on cap.

Originally I needed a reliable bottle to carry around my rifle oil (for my military service) and required a bottle tough enough for scrabbling around in the dirt!
Since then they have become my favourite 'hard use' bottles. If the caps don't seem 'leak safe' enough for you, glue a thin rubber or leather disk in the cap. Safe, simple, free.

 

[sigibbons]

Have you polished the backs of your chisels? That makes a tremenduos difference to the edge quality. If theres circular machining/grinding marks from manufacture, they need to be got rid of, I use emory paper on a piece of 6 mm float glass, (not toughened glass as toughened is never properly flat) and place the chisel on the emory and move it back and forth. Eventually you get a smooth back which is as bright as a mirror. Grinders are OK but noisy and fast (ie so fast they can over heat the edge and ruin it) so if you use a grinder you also need a water quench to cool the steel from time to time. I use a norton stone medium grit one side, fine the other and it is great for site job's. It depends exactly what you do on site but for shooting doors, adjusting scribed boards with a block plane, adjusting skirtings, chopping lock mortice's etc I found it perfectly adequate to keep those plane iron's and chisels in good order. I keep it in a wood box, it cost about £12 and no one ever wants to pinch it :wink: I have a little tin of oil also. In the shop I use japanese waterstones but they are too fragile to carry about.
PS dont forget to sharpen little and often then you dont need so much force to do the same work

The backs are not polished and do have machining marks on them, although it looks like the chisel is laquered so polishing the backs may make them rust with moistiure etc on site?

Thats a good tip about sharpening little but often, i will keep it in mind.

The grinder i have is very slow and has a water bath so i expect it will be ok for grinding chips out etc. Then hone on a stone.

 

[sigibbons]

Si
I don't do a lot of touching up of chisels on site-although I do have a double sided waterstone for this. They are messy and you really need a sink. The diamond stones are great-and yes, a bit of spit is always to hand :roll: :wink: And it works fine............. :lol:
A grinder for back in the workshop makes life a LOT easier for major work. The wet grinder you mentioned should be fine-no worries about blueing the chisels like a high speed grinder.
Best regards
Philly

Great i think i have made my mind up on a Diamond Corse/Fine stone for use on site and use the grinder for getting the worst out.
Do you do alot of work on site Philly as i work in the Hants/Dorset area?

 

[Philly]

Si
I fit kitchens and bathrooms mainly-furniture and the finer side of wood is done in my spare time
Cheers
Philly

 

[sigibbons]

Si
I fit kitchens and bathrooms mainly-furniture and the finer side of wood is done in my spare time
Cheers
Philly

Ah i see.

 

[MrJay]

Not forgetting wet and dry paper.

If you've got a flat surface (like a sharpening stone/bit of glass/bench jointer) you can always stick a bit of whatever guaged wet and dry on top and get a whole new grittiness. I'd get as large a stone as you can bear to part money with. A wallet size stone won't accommodate a no.5 plane iron and 2" stone won't accommodate a no.7 plane iron etc etc etc - it's a shame to have to buy things more than once.

Honing jigs are worth their weight in gold. Twice.

There's also a distinction between a bench stone that you take the tool to and a little stone that you take to the tool. It's nice to keep a tiny size fine stone around your person for touching up router blades, secateurs, pen knives and the like.

(Also, hi)

 

[Anonymous]

the site carpenters who built my house look like they used a bit of concrete to sharpen their chisels on :lol: