# First real tools came in today



## jkalberer41 (Aug 10, 2015)

I ordered a dozuki and narex chisels off of amazon at the suggestion of someone on /r/woodworking subreddit. They came in today, and I spent the rest of the morning out getting supplies. Mendards had some really cool-grained bargain crap wood, so I picked up a 1x6x6 for $2.99 and headed home with some sandpaper. I have not saved up for stones yet but I used the paper to sharpen a second-hand plane. I should have sharpened the chisels first, the plane iron needed a lot of work. I only sharpened one of the chisels to 600 grit, which is the highest I found today. Shaving sharp, but I would not shave my face with it. I am very impressed with the cuts I was able to make with the dozuki. The kirf is tiny and its so easy. I'm also impressed with the chisels, though they do seem quite long. Anyway, more box joints tomorrow before I try some dovetails.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

600 isn't a bad start, but its a little low for getting the best edge out of a chisel, especially one with good steel. You can find higher grits pretty easily. Check Walmart, they usually have the silicon carbide paper up to 2000 grit in the automotive section. 2000 is probably high enough, but what I like doing after I've hit that is take a piece of cardstock and charge it with green polishing compound, then use that in place of the sandpaper. Perfect mirror polish that way, makes for ridiculously sharp edged. 

One last note, I hope you aren't using that 1x6 as the base for the sandpaper, as I can garuntee it isn't flat. With sharpening, you need a flat surface to get a straight edge on the blade. No flat surface means less than optimal results on the edge. And less than optimal is not good. I use a piece of granite countertop for my sharpening, but I realize that can be difficult to find. Glass plates are popular, but again, can be difficult to find. As far as something you can easily find at a local big box store, try and get a piece of either melamine or mdf. Both are nice and flat, and both are dimensionally stable so they won't warp. Both are also incredibly common

Before I forget, nice acquisition! Few things are quite as satisfying as taking a freshly sharpened chisel to some hardwood end grain and taking off paper thin shavings


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## jkalberer41 (Aug 10, 2015)

I've got a chunk of glass for the paper base, the wood is just for playing. Thanks for the tips, I'll have to check walmart later today. I was going to head to the autostore because I know they have higher grits, I ended up just not making it there yesterday. Can I get the polishing compound at walmart too?


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## jkalberer41 (Aug 10, 2015)

Is paste wax okay to finish the handles on my chisels after a light sanding?


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

I've never managed to find the polishing compound at any of my local Walmart. You may get lucky, but I doubt it. If you have a Lowes near you, go there, that's where I get mine. An auto parts store would have the sandpaper, but funnily every auto store I've seen has the sandpaper priced way, way higher than Walmart. 

As far as the handles go, paste wax would work, but not the best. I'd go with boiled linseed oil. Penetrates a little better, and is marginally easier to clean


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

If you're looking for a really cheap way to sharpen things, not that cheap is optimal, but it's cheap. (key word: cheap)
Check out these diamond coated tins.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Diamond-Plate...%3A4379aa6015b0a624b9140249fffffb07%7Ciid%3A3
Several Chinese firms also sell them even cheaper, about $2.50 each and it takes about 3 weeks to get after ordering. 
They don't last as long as more expensive stones and aren't quite as flat, but again, CHEAP..
I glue them to 1/4 inch acrylic (plexiglass) with epoxy and they work. They ain't perfect, but for the price they're disposable and will sharpen most anything you need sharpened. 
Did I mention they're cheap?


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I use the sandpaper method. I work for 3M, and they sometimes sell the sand paper cheap in our little employee store in varying grits from 100 all the way up to 3000. With that, I don't need compound to get a mirror surface.

For a flat surface, I got a cutoff from a place that sells granite countertops. Dead flat.

Also, a honing guide is really helpful, and only costs a few dollars.


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

Check in automotive at Walmart,my wife picked me up some Turtle Wax Polishing Compound and that stuff will leave a shine like you have never seen before, okay you might have seen better but not much LOL

It was about $6 for a pint of it, so you will be set for a lifetime or until the plastic bottle leaks


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