# Chisel edge



## scrapwoodscotty (May 3, 2012)

So,I began flattening the back of my chisels today. And the first and only time I used em, fresh out of the box, I ran into a knot. Today I noticed the tip got a bit chewed up. How do I fix? The edge is jagged. I'll add photos when I get back home. Oh, and FYI I have no grinder. I'm using glass and sandpaper. 100 and 220 grit. Then buying a 1000 wet stone this weekend. Followed by a 4000/8000 combo. Both by Norton

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## Bonka (Mar 24, 2011)

*Chisel*

How chewed up? If it to the point you would spend a long time redoing the edge by hand I woud take it to a sharpening service that does saw blades and such, tell them the angle and don't burn it.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

First off, you're likely going to want a rougher grade of sandpaper to flatten the backs of those chisels. That is a tough job with 60 grit paper.

As to the jagged edge on that chisel, I will wait for the pictures before offering specific advice. BUT, I have bought some used chisels pretty cheap that had edges that were rougher than a cob. The first thing to do is just grind the damage off and square up the end of the chisel. Then you flatten the back and then grind the bevel you want on the face side. The only part of the job that you probably not want to do with sandpaper and/or stones is grinding off the damaged edge. I have a little bench mounted hand crank grinder that I use for that, but I suppose you could use a file if you were careful.


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## scrapwoodscotty (May 3, 2012)

HandToolGuy said:


> First off, you're likely going to want a rougher grade of sandpaper to flatten the backs of those chisels. That is a tough job with 60 grit paper.
> 
> As to the jagged edge on that chisel, I will wait for the pictures before offering specific advice. BUT, I have bought some used chisels pretty cheap that had edges that were rougher than a cob. The first thing to do is just grind the damage off and square up the end of the chisel. Then you flatten the back and then grind the bevel you want on the face side. The only part of the job that you probably not want to do with sandpaper and/or stones is grinding off the damaged edge. I have a little bench mounted hand crank grinder that I use for that, but I suppose you could use a file if you were careful.


I'll be taking photos of the chisel in question tonight. But when I was at my local True Value, I noticed that for $5 I could have a chisel sharpened. Does that seem about the right price? And should I worry about them over heating my tip?

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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

For the five bucks, do you get to watch? That's the only way that I would even think about going for that. I also would not agree to sharpen somebody else's chisel for five bucks.


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## JQMack (Sep 24, 2011)

You could just stick with the sandpaper and glass. I've done it with some pretty chewed up chisels. Takes a few minutes, but not too bad. The worst ones I wore down flat on the paper and then created a new bevel. It's made a couple of cheap chisels much more useful, I may have changed the bevel angle, but they certainly hold an edge better.

And it was a good way to learn sharpening skills.


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## 65BAJA (May 27, 2012)

I just bought both the 220-1000 and the 4000-8000 norton stones. With the 220 stone (or 220 wet/dry sandpaper on glass) you should be able to get the back flat easy. Might take a little time but it's totally do-able. Just for kicks I flattened and sharpened a cheap gasket scraper chisel. Came out with a mirror finish on the back and the edge. Made nice thin shavings in seasoned end grain oak.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Mike, what brand / model of chisel is it? Did the edge bend/tear or did it chip?

I wouldn't strt with nothing courser than 150 to flatten the back but as a general rule start with 400 and to see just how off it is. As a side note the back doesn't have to be flattened all the way to the tang. An inch is more than sufficient.

As for fixing the initial bevel. I'd suggest wet sandpaper on glass with MS as a lubricant. A guide will make this easier. You likely won't spend much time to grind it back. If it's really bad I start on a belt sander first.

You will find, in general, that. Micro bevel will make for a more durable edge on the chisel and reduce the chances of nicking it up again.


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## scrapwoodscotty (May 3, 2012)

firemedic said:


> Mike, what brand / model of chisel is it? Did the edge bend/tear or did it chip?
> 
> I wouldn't strt with nothing courser than 150 to flatten the back but as a general rule start with 400 and to see just how off it is. As a side note the back doesn't have to be flattened all the way to the tang. An inch is more than sufficient.
> 
> ...


Brand is Wood River. I'm not sure what happened, all I know is I needed to shear out a little space so that I could get a socket onto a nut when I was building my bench. I pulled it out of the brand new box. Wacked it a couple times, pried it out and Wallah! Jagged little edge! I'll be posting a photo if/when I ever get home tonight.

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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

All I can say is "whacked it" is open to interpretation. The wood rivers are suppose to be decent at best and my only guess is that you were taking a large bite with a bevel chisel that was not even remotely sharp and you did so with a metal hammer. All the odds against ya on that one, then throw in that it was on a knot. 

Try just going with wet sandpaper on granite, glass or clean MDF with MS and see how it goes. I would start at 400. If that's too fine drop down to 220 then work back up to 1000 on the primary bevel. 1000 then 2500 in the micro bevel followed by stropping and you should be able to slice hairs in half.

Good luck.

ps, if my guess was correct, make or buy yourself a wooden mallet or carver's mallet. Also remember bench / bevel edge chisels are for light cuts little more than paring.


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## scrapwoodscotty (May 3, 2012)

firemedic said:


> All I can say is "whacked it" is open to interpretation. The wood rivers are suppose to be decent at best and my only guess is that you were taking a large bite with a bevel chisel that was not even remotely sharp and you did so with a metal hammer. All the odds against ya on that one, then throw in that it was on a knot.
> 
> Try just going with wet sandpaper on granite, glass or clean MDF with MS and see how it goes. I would start at 400. If that's too fine drop down to 220 then work back up to 1000 on the primary bevel. 1000 then 2500 in the micro bevel followed by stropping and you should be able to slice hairs in half.
> 
> ...


Whacked was humor. But yes it was fresh off the shelf and used a rubber mallet

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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

IrishMike said:


> Whacked was humor. But yes it was fresh off the shelf and used a rubber mallet
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


I have a set of Wood River chisels. They ARE paring chisels and, as Firemedic implied, should not be struck. (if you are planning to "whack" a chisel, you want firming chisels or mortise chisels.)
Anyway, they are really nice paring chisels but they are NOT ready to use out of the box. The backs are not as flat as they need to be and the bevels need work before they can be used. The bevel angles are wrong and they come from the factory "sorta sharp".
But once you have done the work to tune them up, I think you will be very happy with them. There may be better chisel sets out there, but they are way more expensive.


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## autre (Jul 12, 2011)

At $30 on sale for a set of four, I got the WoodRiver butt chisels. I absolutely love them. At that price you can have two sets, and the prep and sharpening isn't that much work for decent chisels.

I like the "butt" chisels because they are easier to manipulate for me (you wont want to take a hammer to them so quickly either).


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## scrapwoodscotty (May 3, 2012)

So lighting not great, but you can see the jagged edge

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## WillemJM (Aug 18, 2011)

firemedic said:


> Mike, what brand / model of chisel is it? Did the edge bend/tear or did it chip?
> 
> I wouldn't strt with nothing courser than 150 to flatten the back but as a general rule start with 400 and to see just how off it is. As a side note the back doesn't have to be flattened all the way to the tang. An inch is more than sufficient.
> 
> ...


+1

The only thing I can add, is those chisels probably came with a 25 degree angle. If you are going to punish them with a mallet, you may want to go to 30 degrees and then add your micro bevel.

Don't pay anyone $5 to do this, important that you learn the skill. With the right tools you can sharpen in seconds, if you only have paper and stones a little longer.


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