# What is a good sharpening setup for chisels and plane irons?



## Metz12 (Feb 13, 2015)

So I recently got a set of planes and some chisels from my cousin that he didnt need anymore. Some of the chisels he had just sharpened and some needs to be sharpened. Also the planes need to be sharpened too so I was wondering what should I get that will not break the bank? I looked around the forum but couldnt find an answer. And there are millions of different things on the net so I figured I'd ask my new friends! Thanks for putting up with all of my questions! Have a great night. Also If you are also getting snow tonight and tomorrow, good luck!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

After grinding I just use Arkansas stones to sharpen my plane and chisels.


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## Metz12 (Feb 13, 2015)

No angle guide? I think that is what I may need. I tend to round over my chisel I carry in my belt for work that is basically a beater chisel.


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## asevereid (Apr 15, 2012)

My set up was cheap cheap. 
The slab is an off cut from a local counter top fabricator, the wheel guide was $5, I got lucky on the angle set at a garage sale (also $5), and the different grit papers were $0.60 each.


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## Metz12 (Feb 13, 2015)

I found this one on ebay. Would this work? Or would I have to get something to set the angle of the chisel?


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Metz12 said:


> I found this one on ebay. Would this work? Or would I have to get something to set the angle of the chisel?



Which one?


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## cave62 (Feb 16, 2015)

You know "this".


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

I like it.

Great pic's,

Dale in Indy


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## tom d (Oct 23, 2013)

Make sure to lap the back "till shiny prior to sharpening. The above was a Lee Valley I think. There are a hundred ways. google it up and pick one. You don't need fancy jigs though. You need something dead level (glass or granite), various grades of sandpaper, spray adhesive for lapping. You can build an easy jig to set your bevels.
Mark Adams has a slick way wherein he sharpens with a belt sander upside down in a home built jig followed by polishing on a wheel with diamond paste. amazingly easy.
I would look into that or buy some good stones, but a much higher investment.


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## Nick Sandmann (Oct 24, 2014)

Anything that gets your tools sharp.

You didn't mention anything about price so I'm not sure if that's an issue. Sandpaper on a flat surface is a cheap entry, but in the long run you will go through a lot of sandpaper and the price of a set of stones is going to not seem so expensive unless you don't use your tools much and therefore rarely need to sharpen them.

Asking what's the "a good sharpening system" is like the Chevy vs. Ford debate, or the Mac vs. PC debate. Each option does similar things, each has pros and cons, and often it winds up being a personal decision based more on what you're familiar with than anything else.

The main players for you choose from are:

Sandpaper
Water Stones
Oil Stones
Ceramic Stones
Diamond Stones
Diamond Paste
Power Sharpening Systems(tormek, grizzly, etc...)

I'd say do your research, pick the one that sounds best to you, and stick with it until you can get your blades razor sharp using your chosen method. Any of those should get you sharp, it's just a matter of getting used to your chosen method of sharpening.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

Ceramic water stones; 320, 1000, 3000 and 5000-8000 grit stones with the Veritas Mk II sharpening guide. I would also recommend the Atoma 140 diamond plate to keep the stones flat. I like the Shapton Glass or Shapton Pro stones but, Nubatama and a few others are very good as well.

Jack


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Steve Neul said:


> After grinding I just use Arkansas stones to sharpen my plane and chisels.


^^^ That's been working for me for 30 years.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

After years of refinement, this is my sharpening kit for chisels and plane blades. The adhesive is for sticking wet dry sandpaper to a flat surface. Cleans up with mineral spirits. I use the paper to establish primary bevels, flattening backs, removing nicks and refurbishing older tools. I do my secondary bevel on the water stone with a guide, then polish on the leather, still using the honing guide. 

The difficult part of sharpening is the initial work establishing a flat back and primary bevel. Once those are done, you don't have to do them again for a very long time. 3 or 4 strokes on a fine water stone should be all that is needed from time to time to re-sharpen as long as the tool doesn't get misused or damaged. 

You can spend a ton of money on sharpening equipment. Some folks are obsessed with it. I think everyone has to go through the learning process and it can take some time. The key to sharpening is the sharpener, not the stuff. Learn to look at the edges you sharpen, this will tell you all you need to know. Keep it simple, that's where you will end up eventually, so you might as well start there.


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## Metz12 (Feb 13, 2015)

Im honestly thinking about getting the worksharp 2000. Cheaper then the 3000 and it looks to be quick and easy. Still on the fence.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

Its not just the stuff you need, its more about the technique.

The biggest thing is you need something dead flat because if you can't get the backs of chisels or plane irons flat, you can't get them properly sharpened and honed.

Personally I use a combination of diamond and water stones, but to each his own.

Its not a bad idea to start with sandpaper its cheap and you can "hone" your skills.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

I've tried oilstones, sandpaper, and diamond plates, and diamond plates are far and away my favorite. Search for my username under Tool Reviews to find my thoughts on the set I use, which is a 3-in-1 set from DMT. Sandpaper is cheap in the short run, so it's a good way to get started, but I started thinking about long term cost and decided to switch.

I've tried home made jigs and side clamp jigs, and I decided I don't like any of them. If you do, great: I highly encourage people to try all the methods and find one that works for them. What worked for me is the method Paul Sellers uses: there's a video of him sharpening a plane iron here.

The short version is, learn to hold the tool at the correct angle, and don't worry about the fact that the bevel is slightly convex: It gives you roughly the same effect as a secondary bevel if you're using one of the jigs or machines.

But seriously: try as many methods as you can. What works for me may not work at all for you, and what works for you might drive me crazy.


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## bridger (Aug 9, 2012)

If you sharpen to do woodworking what you need is two stones, a bench grinder and a strop. learn to sharpen freehand. Jigs slow you down. Get the stones first, then the strop, then the grinder. Whatever sort of stones you fancy, coarse and fine. A strop of hard wood with polishing compound on it will finish up after a stone of about 1000 grit. For the coarse stone get something really coarse, 100 to 400 grit. I recommend diamond stones for your first set. When you start getting edges that need more work an your coarse stone can do in a reasonable amount of time, get a bench grinder. The stock grey wheels are correct. Use the damn thing with care- it removes metal very quickly.


If you sharpen because sharpening itself is the interesting work the sky is the limit. There are dozens of powered sharpening machines on the market geared toward woodworkers, dozens of jigs, hundreds of stones and potentially thousands of possible combinations of abrasives and polishing compounds applied over various surfaces. Get a microscope to Look at your edges. Log notes about different steels, honing angles and performance in different materials. Post your results here.


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

I'm in the same camp as Hammer1. The Eclipse style guide with the correct projection give me all I need.
Inexpensive, and it works.
Bill


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## Stevebo (Nov 11, 2014)

My 2c:

Get a honing glide, a 12"x12" granite tile from home depot/wherever and sandpaper grits 150, 220, 400, 800, 1000 and 2000. 

Wet the back of the sandpaper and it'll stick to the granite well enough to grind and sharpen your blades and requires no clean up. IMO adhesive is overkill.

Grits 800+ require a few drops of water on the paper.

It's as cheap as it gets, requires minimal maintenance, you can switch between grits in seconds, the base never hollows out and you'll be able to shave with the resulting blade.


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## Nick Sandmann (Oct 24, 2014)

Stevebo said:


> My 2c:
> 
> Get a honing glide, a 12"x12" granite tile from home depot/wherever and sandpaper grits 150, 220, 400, 800, 1000 and 2000.
> 
> ...


I'm going to disagree on the "cheap" part of this. Initial investment, yes, it's cheap. If you aren't sure woodworking will be a long term hobby, then yes, go this route.

Over the long haul though, you will burn through a LOT of sandpaper doing this and the price of oil/water stones, diamond stones or paste won't seem too bad compared to what you'll spend on sandpaper.

My advice is get 3 stones(water, oil, or diamond, everyone has an opinion on which is better, just pick one and go with it). Get them around 1,000, 4,000, and 8,000 grit and you'll be good to go. Keep your eye on craigslist. I got my 1st set on there(4 stones: 800, 1200, 2000 & 6000) for $75, far cheaper than buying new, and save the granite/sand paper for flattening your water/oil stones. I did later buy an 8,000 grit stone new for my smoothing plane.


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## EWerner (Oct 14, 2010)

Metz12, you have opened a can of worms here Experience will be the teacher here as you try different methods and other than power sharpening machines they are not overly expensive. But at the end of the day a sharp tool will be a pleasure to use. Good luck and the sharpening method best suited for you will come to you.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I have both straight edged and curved edge/sweep wood carving tools. I can think of 1/2 dozen different "methods" which all come together with the one, single result.

Every one of them needs to be learned. My advice is to pick one: sandpapers, diamond plates, water stones, etc and figure it out.

Me? I was taught freehand sharpening. All the unwritten tricks as well. I have done a lot of repairs and tune-ups for other people, even a carving tool vendor.

There's no such thing as "expert." I am competent to tackle just about any edge.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

The Veritas MkII Honing Guide System is an excellent tool and now that they have added the narrow blade head, it's even better. Set up is quick and easy and repeatable. Use with the stone or sandpaper of your choice.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,320,43072,43078,51868

Jack


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## gornarak (Jun 5, 2014)

Search for Paul Sellers on YouTube. He sharpens his chisels without honing guide and the method works fine for me as well.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

James Knenov sharpened his chisels and plane irons without a guide also. He used a hand crank grinding wheel to get a concave grind and then used a semi-circular movement on a stone to get the honed bevel. I bought one of those hand grinders and used it as written to great effect however, the Veritas honing guide is mush faster.


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