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Re: [Shop-talk] Sharpening a woodworking chisel?

To: "Peter J. Thomas" <pj_thomas@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Sharpening a woodworking chisel?
From: David Scheidt <dmscheidt@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:40:04 -0400
On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 3:35 PM, Peter J. Thomas<pj_thomas@comcast.net>
wrote:
> Matt Trebelhorn wrote:
>>
>> I seem to have lost the knack.
>>
>> Actually, I haven't tried to sharpen a chisel in maybe 8 years. B The
B one
>> I did back then is still pretty good, but I can't sharpen the B rest of
the
>> set very well. B I have the same stone I used back then, B and I use a
little
>> bit of oil on the stone... any tips or suggestions?
>>
>
> The above suggests most of the chisels are as they came from the
> manufacturer. B Out of the box, most chisels won't hold a decent edge, so
you
> need to flatten/polish the backs. B Google "Scary Sharp". B One addition,
make
> a leather strop from the tongue of an old shoe glued to a flat piece of
wood
> and charge it with fine polishing compound. B Wipe the back and bevel on
the
> strop after sharpening and often while using the chisels.

I'm not a big fan of scary sharp.  It's not that it doesn't do a good
job, it's just that it's a pain, and sandpaper is very expensive.
Plus he says he's got stones, so it's not as if he's starting from
scratch.

But you're almost certainly right that the chisels have a substantial
amount of belly on the backs.  Cover the back with sharpie marking,
and run it across a stone, and you'll see where the high and low spots
are.  Get it nice and smooth, and then sharpening it is easy.  For
most of mine, I use the primary bevel whatever the maker supplies, and
then put a secondary at about 20 degrees more obtuse than that.
That's the edge I touch up during use, usually.


--
David Scheidt
dmscheidt@gmail.com
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