Thanks James! You made me feel a lot better about how I’ve been sharpening my chisels (I’m very much a beginner). The backs aren’t perfectly dead flat and my 1/4” isn’t perfectly square and I thought I was doing something wrong. Now I know I don’t need to stress about it.
I assume you sharpen plane blades the same as chisels. I was gifted with a Stanley Bailey #6 and I can’t get the blade sharp enough to shave hair on my arm. I have a set of diamond stones with the highest grit at 1200. I started by cleaning up the primary bevel at 25 degrees (using a guide) to remove the serrations it had with the coarse stone. I then continued to the fine and extra fine but couldn’t remove the scratches. So I eventually gave up and moved to 30 degrees and only used fine and extra fine. I also spent a lot of time on the back and it didn’t help. I’ve spent hours over several days messing around with it and can’t get it sharp. I just bought a 4000 grit water stone (because it was the cheapest “next step”) I could find. Does a couple swipes on a strop really take an edge from not sharp enough to really sharp? What grit is the rubbing compound? You spent seconds on your chisel. I don’t see what I could be doing so wrong that hours of effort with diamond plates and a quality honing guide can’t match your seconds of free hand work. Should I return the water stone (I haven’t used it yet) and get a strop instead?
Higher grit won't get you any sharper It will just polish the edge more. I'm not 100% sure what's going wrong. Sounds like you're right on with it. Yes, plain blades are sharpen the same as chisels. I usually sharpen my plane irons at 35° makes it a little bit easier and the edge lasts longer. The strop doesn't really make it much sharper. It's just an easy way to take the burr off and it does polish the edge a little bit more. It takes it up to a polish of around 8000
I'm an engineer and it bugs me if the back isn't flat. But I also know it will take me forever with my stones so I just don't check past a few inches...
Do you bother with putting a secondary bevel on your chisels? I think you just answered my question by responding to the question about your sharpening angle. I just bought some Narex Richter chisels. They came at 25 deg. I flattened backs, sharpened using their 25 deg angle and then put a 30 deg secondary bevel. They seem to perform very well with that setup.
I do not do a secondary bevel. it is just another step when freehand sharpening. if a chisel comes with a 25 degree I sharpen it with a secondary bevel of 30-35 untell the secondary bevel goes all the way back and it is a primary
I would have to take issue with the chisel being the quintessential wood working tool, I would say that the knife is and that the chisel is a short bit of knife on a stick.
Thanks James! You made me feel a lot better about how I’ve been sharpening my chisels (I’m very much a beginner). The backs aren’t perfectly dead flat and my 1/4” isn’t perfectly square and I thought I was doing something wrong. Now I know I don’t need to stress about it.
Thanks for all the practical instruction. I've learned a lot from
You ☺
That eye roll of Mrs. Wright's, must be universal. I get that from MY wife, all the time.
You can almost hear her roll her eyes ;)
can't believe you exposed their secrets, Big Chisel never thought anyone would dare to show the world the truth
You've made my day.
Norwegian heritage? Huffda! 😄
That's my biggest percentage.
I assume you sharpen plane blades the same as chisels. I was gifted with a Stanley Bailey #6 and I can’t get the blade sharp enough to shave hair on my arm. I have a set of diamond stones with the highest grit at 1200. I started by cleaning up the primary bevel at 25 degrees (using a guide) to remove the serrations it had with the coarse stone. I then continued to the fine and extra fine but couldn’t remove the scratches. So I eventually gave up and moved to 30 degrees and only used fine and extra fine. I also spent a lot of time on the back and it didn’t help. I’ve spent hours over several days messing around with it and can’t get it sharp. I just bought a 4000 grit water stone (because it was the cheapest “next step”) I could find. Does a couple swipes on a strop really take an edge from not sharp enough to really sharp? What grit is the rubbing compound? You spent seconds on your chisel. I don’t see what I could be doing so wrong that hours of effort with diamond plates and a quality honing guide can’t match your seconds of free hand work. Should I return the water stone (I haven’t used it yet) and get a strop instead?
Higher grit won't get you any sharper It will just polish the edge more. I'm not 100% sure what's going wrong. Sounds like you're right on with it. Yes, plain blades are sharpen the same as chisels. I usually sharpen my plane irons at 35° makes it a little bit easier and the edge lasts longer. The strop doesn't really make it much sharper. It's just an easy way to take the burr off and it does polish the edge a little bit more. It takes it up to a polish of around 8000
@@WoodByWrightHowTo Thanks James. So I guess it's good that I got the cheapest waterstone I could find. I guess I could try going up to 35 degrees.
To be honest the angle does not matter for sharpness. as long as the two faces meet (bevel and back) then it will be sharp.
I'm an engineer and it bugs me if the back isn't flat. But I also know it will take me forever with my stones so I just don't check past a few inches...
Do you bother with putting a secondary bevel on your chisels? I think you just answered my question by responding to the question about your sharpening angle. I just bought some Narex Richter chisels. They came at 25 deg. I flattened backs, sharpened using their 25 deg angle and then put a 30 deg secondary bevel. They seem to perform very well with that setup.
I do not do a secondary bevel. it is just another step when freehand sharpening. if a chisel comes with a 25 degree I sharpen it with a secondary bevel of 30-35 untell the secondary bevel goes all the way back and it is a primary
I would have to take issue with the chisel being the quintessential wood working tool, I would say that the knife is and that the chisel is a short bit of knife on a stick.
which came first axe head or knife?
neither is a chisel
The chisel is just a knife with the handle rotated 90°. They're the same tool, just a different application.
How does an elephant get down from an oak tree ??? It sits on a leaf and waits for autumn.
No, you don't get down from an elephant and an oak tree. You get down off a duck.
Bevel edge vs mortise
I would argue that everything is a cutting edge in a jig. A chisel being a cutting edge with a handle.
your out of focus again