# Sharpening Chisels



## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

Hi all, total novice here. I have a collection of wood chisels that belonged to my great grandfather. They are in good codition but need sharpening and a couple of the handles have splits in them. Could anybody give me some advice about where to start with these. a) how do you sharpen (clean up) chisels, and b) any tips on repairing wooden handles? Thanks.

Chris.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

How to sharpen chisels is a debate as contentious as presidential politics. 

You can spend anywhere from 20 bucks to near 1000 for sharpening equipment. 

Your main three options in price order are 

1. Multiple grits of sandpaper from 220 to 2000 or more. Use either a piece plate glass or granite (I use a 12x12 granite tile I bought for 2 bucks at a big box home store). 

2. Sharpening stones. Anywhere from 100 bucks to a few hundred bucks for multiple grits. Price and quality vary


3. Electrical equipment like tormek..starts at a few hundred and goes up.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

As always, Marc spagnuolo to the rescue!

http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/my-sharpening-system/

That should give you the basics of getting an edge on those chisels. As far as the handles go, do you own a lathe?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I would start by sharpening the chisels on a grinder. From there I use natural Arkansas stones lubricated with water and polish an edge on the chisel. Start with a coarse stone until you work the initial bur off the edge of the chisel and then go to a medium stone until visually you start seeing a polished edge on it instead of all grinding marks. It also helps at that point you run the sharp edge against the end of your fingernail and see if it feels gritty or smooth. It should feel smooth before proceeding. Then hone the chisel with a fine stone until it begins to have a luster on the edge and feels sharp. Then do a thorough honing with an extra fine stone. It takes extra time because this stone is so smooth it's not taking much metal off. For the final treatment I have a piece of 1x4 with a piece of leather stretched over it. I load down the leather with a jewelers rouge and water and strop the chisel. If everything went right the chisel at this point should be as sharp as a razor. 

The handles if only cracked and there is no debris in the crack you can run a bead of glue over the crack and rub it in with your thumb. Keep applying glue and rubbing it until glue comes out the other side. Then clamp it and allow it to dry. If a handle is very bad you may need to make some new handles for them. Probably the reason the handles broke were the chisels were used with a hammer. You shouldn't use a hammer on a wooden handle chisel. It would be best to use a wooden mallet.


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## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

Thanks, lots of useful stuff there. No, i dont own a lathe. Just some old chisels, a mallet, a really cheap tenon saw that is missing teeth and a black and decker workmate that that only half works. But i made my first sucessful mortice and tenon joint yesterday. 

Are there any specific things to think about with a curved chisel?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Is this what you mean about a curved chisel?


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

You need to google it and find a method you can do and afford. I started out with some basic sharpening stones and then as I got better at it I added to my sharpening system. Learning to sharpen is something you will do as you work more in wood. 

Al


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

I'm going for popcorn.

Al


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Here is the famous D&S Scarry Sharp (TM) System article taken from rec.woodworking several years ago, it is an entertaining read even if you don't decide to use the system.

http://www.sawdustmaking.com/Chisels/scarysharp.html


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

*Water stone sharpening*

I use water stones for sharpening my chisels and hand plane irons. I also use the Veritas Mk II sharpening guide to get consistent results.

I started using the King brand water stones 35 years ago but since then I have upgraded to the new splash and go stones from Shapton and Nubatama. Both of these brands offer stones in a variety of grits and stone hardness to suit both knife sharpeners and woodworkers.

I like the Shapton Pro 320 grit stone for setting angles and repairing chipped edges. I also have the Shapton Glass 500 grit stone, the Nubatama Ume xxhard 1K stone, the Nubatama Ume 3K stone and the Shapton Pro 5K stone. I have finer grit stones that I use if I have the time but the 5K edge and finish is pretty nice.

If you want to refine the edge further, the Shapton Glass 8K stone will leave you an almost mirror finish.

The Veritas Mk II has a bevel setting attachment that allows you to get the same angle bevel time after time greatly reducing your initial grinding.

Jack


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## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

If ive done this right, here is a pic of the chisels. It is the middle one and the one to the right of it that are curved. Do they have a practical use other than carving patterns?


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## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

Ok, that doesn't seem to be working, but the pic is in 'my photos'. Also, having had a bit of a nose around you tube i found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8tt-VjwqI

thought i might start here as i can set this up quite cheaply. I like the idea of the veritas mk 2 but can't afford that at the moment, i did find one made by faithful though which is alot cheaper. Anybody have any experience of these ones, they look like just a bit of the veritas one.

Thanks again for all the advice.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

The Faithful honing guide was number 3 purchased on my long list of "not quite there" sharpening guides.

Every since I bought the Veritas MkII all of the others are retired. The MkII will allow you to quickly and accurately set the bevel angle to start your sharpening session (not just in the ballpark which means a lot more material removal and time).

Look at the price difference and save your money until you can afford the Veritas, it's that good and I've been sharpening my wood tools for over 35 years.

Jack


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## Paul_R (Nov 26, 2014)

Is it common practice to put a micro bevel on a chisel like on a plane blade?


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

It depends on the steel of your chisel, if I have a chisel hardened to RcH59 or so then I will put a microbevel on it. However, with some of my Japanese forged clad hardened to RcH 62-65 I keep the edge at the bevel grind (most hard steels need the softer steel behind for shock resistance)

Jack


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Paul_R said:


> Is it common practice to put a micro bevel on a chisel like on a plane blade?


I think adding a micro-bevel on anything is personal preference. Personally, ive never bothered with them, i find is simpler to jus to a plain old flat grind


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## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

Paul_R said:


> Is it common practice to put a micro bevel on a chisel like on a plane blade?


How would you create a micro bevel on a plane blade? Plane blades are so much thinner. Also, im still not quite sure i understand the use of a micro bevel?


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## chrishop (Jan 24, 2015)

Ps. Thanks jack09, i think your right, will wait till i can afford the veritas mk2, my next buy will be a decent tenon saw, but maybe the honing guide will come after that.


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## Paul_R (Nov 26, 2014)

chrishop said:


> How would you create a micro bevel on a plane blade? Plane blades are so much thinner. Also, im still not quite sure i understand the use of a micro bevel?


If you'll google the issue you'll find lots of reasons relating to enhanced performance but I'm too new at this to notice any difference there. For me the use is that resharpening is much quicker. Just a few strokes on the microbevel and I'm done. 

As to how, if a picture is worth a thousand words.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84924572&x-yt-ts=1422411861&v=BUdv7YOyCbA


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

I believe the use of a micro bevel is to reduce the friction effects of a convex grind on the primary bevel caused by free hand sharpening (or overly strong pressure fixture sharpening causing rocking).

The micro bevel is achieved on the Veritas MkII by a small offset button while the chisel is still in the fixture.

A similar situation can be achieved by using a slow 6" grinding wheel to create a hollow grind and then sharpening the two high points. I do this with chisels with steel hardened to less than RcH59 but with my Japanese chisels hardened to RcH62-66 I keep a single bevel for strength behind the primary edge.


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## banjopicks (Jan 3, 2009)

If the handle is missing a piece you can shave the area flat and glue a piece of wood on and reshape it with a rasp. That'll hold you over until you get a lathe. One the most fun woodworking tools on the planet.


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