Sharpening chisels

[Colarris]

I want to attempt this for the first time but really would like some advice or even better some form of walkthrough.

 

[Dangermouse]

Lots of video posts on YouTube, just put in a search.

 

[Blister]

Are you looking at carpentry chisels or wood turning chisels ?

 

[woodbloke]

I want to attempt this for the first time but really would like some advice or even better some form of walkthrough.

A veritable mine field is about to open up before you :lol: However, here's my two euros fwiw. If you've never done this before, use a cheap honing gauge. I used the Eclipse (or clone thereof) for years which is easy to set up and to use. Whatever your honing medium (oilstone, waterstone, diamond etc) you'll need a fine surface (eg a fine oilstone or fine diamond stone) which is flat (most important). Use some light gauge fluid as an lube (3in1, paraffin,WD40...not critical) Mount the chisel in the gauge to achieve a honing angle of 30deg (projection distances are usually on the side of the gauge) and then take say, six passes back and forth along the stone to achieve a wire edge on the reverse (or back) of the blade. Take the blade out and place the back dead flat one the stone (uber important) and again move back and forth to remove the wire edge. Once this has been done, the edge can be refined by spreading a fine abrasive metal polish on some mdf and carefully strop it bevel side down (only pulling the chisel back towards you) No need to remount it in the gauge for this bit. It does take a bit of practice so best done on an older chisel to start with - Rob

 

[Schtoo]

What Mr. Mouse said.

And what Sir. Blister said too.

For now, skip any ideas of "what to use" unless you already have something. Take a look at all possible ways of getting your tools sharp, meet up with someone if you can and let them show you how to get your tools sharp, and after all that, start thinking about how you're going to get them sharp yourself.

Just off hand, there's sandpaper sharpening/scary sharp, oil stones, water stones, powered disk sharpeners, slow speed grinders, stropping and diamond pastes. No one method fits everyone, but there should be something that fits everyone.

And when you do start sharpening, don't be afraid to use a honing guide. Better to get repeatable results than repeated frustration.

Stu.

 

[Harbo]

One word of warning on Rob's talk through is do not use oil etc if using Waterstones - only water!
David Charlesworth has some excellent paperbacks on sharpening which you can buy from The Book Depository etc. And Alf of this Parish has hand sharpening techniques on her Cornish Workshop Site.
A cheap way to start with an old chisel is to use some wet & dry, lubed and stuck down to a piece of flat glass with WD40. The Eclipse type guides are quite cheap on the Bay?

Rod

 

[Jacob]

If you must use a guide then the cheap Eclipse is the best by far.
The main thing is to make sure that you have brought up a burr across the whole width so you are sure that you are working up a new fresh edge right across.

 

[Harbo]

No Jacob it is not the best by far but a good cheap one to start with. It has to be modified to approach the best.

Rod

 

[woodbloke]

One word of warning on Rob's talk through is do not use oil etc if using Waterstones - only water!
David Charlesworth has some excellent paperbacks on sharpening which you can buy from The Book Depository etc. And Alf of this Parish has hand sharpening techniques on her Cornish Workshop Site.
A cheap way to start with an old chisel is to use some wet & dry, lubed and stuck down to a piece of flat glass with WD40. The Eclipse type guides are quite cheap on the Bay?

Rod

Forgot that bit about only water on waterstones ...quite correct, thanks Rod, but as Schtoo has said, there's loads of different ways to achieve that all desirable edge, but the cheapest way (if you're a newcomer to this game) is an oilstone and Eclipse clone gauge, or wet/dry paper (fine grit) is even cheaper. If you want to go down the diamond stone route, then Ax have some very reasonable 'own label' diamond stones (or they did the last time I looked) - Rob

 

[Colarris]

Thanks all
I did try YouTube but there were soo many of varying quality and others that were using a honning gauge I didnt have I just hoped someone here would have a link to a definitive one. I've had a quick go anyway now. Not sure if its any sharper but the end looks all buffed now anyway!!

 

[woodbloke]

Thanks all
I did try YouTube but there were soo many of varying quality and others that were using a honning gauge I didnt have I just hoped someone here would have a link to a definitive one. I've had a quick go anyway now. Not sure if its any sharper but the end looks all buffed now anyway!!

The problem is, there is no definitive honing guide or method of honing...hence my ref to a 'minefield'. It really is a question of asking lots of questions and then picking your way through all the information until you find a way that suits what you want to do. Some folk use this particular gauge and that particular honing medium and someone else will use something completely different and still achieve the same result. As I said earlier, try an Eclipse clone (around £6ish) and stick a strip of fine w/d silicone carbide paper to either a sheet of 6mm glass or an oddment of mdf (use double sided tape)
Any questions or problems...get back to us :wink: - Rob

 

[mtt.tr]

I hate to say this i really think honing jigs are the wrong way to go i think it is important to be able to sharen with out one also when honing i have the blade 10-20 degres from the edge off the stone removes anychance off saw teeth

 

[Anonymous]

i have never understood the degrees aspect of grinding and honing, i just do it until its sharp enough to take the hairs off my arm.

A honing jig is something i never used either; they were frowned upon during my apprenticeship, in fact i took one into work once and my charge hand threw it in the bin before i even got it out the packet!!!

 

[Karl]

Honing guides give constantly repeatable results; something which freehand can't give you without a lot of practice.

I use the Veritas Mk2 - takes 20 seconds to mount the blade and then you're away with the sharpening. I find that if you try and freehand, the temptation is to raise the angle of the blade in relation to the "stone", resulting in an ever increasing bevel angle. Result - an inevitable "re-grind".

Cheers

Karl

 

[Anonymous]

Honing guides give constantly repeatable results; something which freehand can't give you without a lot of practice.

I use the Veritas Mk2 - takes 20 seconds to mount the blade and then you're away with the sharpening. I find that if you try and freehand, the temptation is to raise the angle of the blade in relation to the "stone", resulting in an ever increasing bevel angle. Result - an inevitable "re-grind".

Cheers

Karl

Good job i've had lots of practice then isn't it :wink:

 

[jimi43]

There seems to be some "Rambo" thing about not using jigs and guides in the profession...

Blinkin' stupid IMHO.

There used to be a lot to be said for an apprentice learning how to grind and hone by hand in days gone by simply because there weren't many good guides and jigs but nowadays these are clever, quick and relatively cheap.

There is nothing to be ashamed of by using guides and jigs and it is a great thing to be able to do it by hand too. At the end of the day...if you get a sharp edge who the hell cares!

One thing I would say though is to get the grinding right...square and right to the edge and you will feel a burr over when this is right. THEN take the burr off...flattening the back and putting a secondary bevel on is child's play.

Jim

 

[Jacob]

There seems to be some "Rambo" thing about not using jigs and guides in the profession...

Blinkin' stupid IMHO. ....

It's just quicker and easier. Little and often. Also means you don't have to worry about flat stones quite so much.
I do occasionally (very rarely) have a go with a jig, basically as a tell-tale to verify the bevel. It shows up where the chosen angle (usually 30º) will hit the less than perfect hand done bevel, and I then can adjust my free-hand technique accordingly. More idle curiosity than necessity.

 

[woodbloke]

There seems to be some "Rambo" thing about not using jigs and guides in the profession...

Blinkin' stupid IMHO.

There used to be a lot to be said for an apprentice learning how to grind and hone by hand in days gone by simply because there weren't many good guides and jigs but nowadays these are clever, quick and relatively cheap.

There is nothing to be ashamed of by using guides and jigs and it is a great thing to be able to do it by hand too. At the end of the day...if you get a sharp edge who the hell cares!

One thing I would say though is to get the grinding right...square and right to the edge and you will feel a burr over when this is right. THEN take the burr off...flattening the back and putting a secondary bevel on is child's play.

Jim

Nicely said Jimi. The other thing that a guide will do, if used correctly (apart from a consistent, repeatable angle) is to produce a dead square edge, important for something like a very close mouth on a smoothing plane or in a shoulder plane - Rob

 

[Jacob]

.....The other thing that a guide will do..... is to produce a dead square edge, .....

Absolutely not a problem freehand. You might have to choose your stone though. That hollowed out trough, ideal for cambering a plane blade (whether you want to or not) would not be ideal, but there may be a flat bit on it somewhere! Or another stone, or resort to wet n dry on a bit of board.

PS it's not about Ramboism.
It's perhaps more a reaction to the attempt to reduce woodwork to precision engineering, at the expense of traditional hand and eye skills.
At the other end of the spectrum is the burgeoning green woodwork scene, with wonderful things being made from green wood with axes and other simple tools. Not a digital caliper in sight!

PPS Recent show here post573899.html#p573899 seems to be all about blokey engineering, with the odd (highly symbolic?) inclusion of a woman with an axe? Strange. :shock:
Bring on the women with axes!

 

[bugbear]

Nicely said Jimi. The other thing that a guide will do, if used correctly (apart from a consistent, repeatable angle) is to produce a dead square edge, important for something like a very close mouth on a smoothing plane or in a shoulder plane - Rob

Depends on the guide. Any of the guides that have a narrow wheel or roller don't do this - it's mainly up to the operator. However, the angle can be very easily controlled by leaning (a bit) on one side or the other.

The angle changes very gradually, and can be nicely controlled.

This skill is pretty much essential on things like rebate and shoulder plane iron which all too often need a not-quite-ninety degree edge, due to minor errors in manufacture of the low angle bed.

BugBear