Sharpening

[Tiger]

Dear all,

Last night I was spending an enjoyable :) evening doing a bit of turning, cleaning up etc. I noticed a 1 inch chisel of mine that had a chip in it. As I've been mainly involved with renovations I hadn't had to sharpen a chisel for a while. I went to the grinder and reshaped the bevel. Then I took it to the stone, spread some WD40 and attempted to stroke the chisel. I really stuffed it up when I tried to stroke the bevel of chisel:mad: . Infact I have always struggled with that part of sharpening. I tested the chisel after it came off the grinder and it was reasonably sharp, just enough to shave a few hairs off the arm. Then I sharpened the back of the chisel on the stone and it became slightly sharper, then I stuffed it right up when I tried the bevel. I do have a honing guide but it takes time to set up and I have tried the scary sharp method which is the sharpest I have ever gotten my chisels but it is time-consuming.
I did a search on the forum but couldn't find much on the technique for sharpening chisels on a stone freehand. I am specifically talking about sharpening the bevel and not rounding it which is what I tend to do.
Is there some way of placing the elbows or the fingers on the chisel so that it won't rock? Any advice would be helpful. Also, how do you guys test for when a chisel or plane blade is razor sharp. Is there an easy test to do this? I'm running out of hair on my arms and I also suspect that even a bluntish blade has pulled out the odd bit of hair. This test would appear to bit a bit subjective.

[Waldo]

G'day Tiger,

Have a look at NewLou's thread:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=207468

[Tiger]

Thanks, Waldo, guess it's just a matter of practising :( now.

[MathewA]

To respond on sharpening would take a very long post, just about the same length as the book The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee.

[Tiger]

To respond on sharpening would take a very long post, just about the same length as the book The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee.

I realise this and that is why I asked specifically about the technique required to hone the bevel on a stone.

[Arron]

Test blade sharpness by slicing across end-grain of soft wood like pine or cedar. If the blade is not truly sharp there will be some degree of crumbing. A sharp blade will cut soft endgrain cleanly with a crisp sound.

The way I maintain a good bevel when hand sharpening is as follows:
Lay the stone on the bench, with its long axis pointing away from you.
Hold the tool almost sideways to the stone.
Push backwards and forwards, but at a slight angle, say 10 degrees away from directly back and forwards to yourself.
The next bit assumes you are holding the tool with the handle on the right. With the right hand hold the tool as near to the bevel as you can. With fingers on the left hand, press down upon the bevel, keeping it locked down on the stone. If the tool is wide use several fingers, if narrow, only one. Sometimes I tape up my fingertips so they can run along the stone as well as nestling on the end of the tool.
Before each push backwards or forwards, steady the tool and make sure you feel the bevel settle on the stone before moving it. This is slow at first, but becomes very quick.

Using this method, getting the bevel flat along its length is not really a problem. More likely, it will take some time to get a square edge. Square it up by adjusting the pressure difference between forward and trailing fingers of the left hand.

Arron

[kiwigeo]

I realise this and that is why I asked specifically about the technique required to hone the bevel on a stone.

Lee recommends using a honing guide...much easier than going free hand.

Cheers Martin

[Tiger]

Thanks, Arron, I will try that. I don't think I've ever got a chisel sharp enough to pare end-grain cleanly but I'll keep trying.

Martin, I know about honing guides but they take a while to set up, I would much rather be building something than sharpening.

[MikeW]

A Lee Valley MK.II only takes a few seconds to set up to ensure the chisel/plane blade is square to the jig and set at the proper angle.

Start to finish you could be honing in under 30 seconds--at least after your first one.

Freehand is less expensive and a good skill, though. In the classes I have been teaching, I have watched those I have suggested get a honing guide. Over time I have seen every last one of them now use the guide to correct their honing after many hand sharpenings to reestablish a correct bevel angle and get it square again.

Those I've talked to about it have said that the honing jig helped them to learn how to move their arms--muscle memory. After time, they freehand honed until such time they needed the jig to quickly and accurately reshape the edge tool.

Just another 2 cents.

Mike

[kiwigeo]

Martin, I know about honing guides but they take a while to set up, I would much rather be building something than sharpening.

Tiger,

The Veritas honing guides I use take only about 20 seconds to set up....the Mk II guide is a breeze to set up....dial up the primary bevel angle...shove the blade in...hone it....flick the cam knob and give the blade a few more wipes and youve got your secondary bevel. A quick rub on a strop and there you are..

Cheers Martin

[Tiger]

Tiger,

I use take only about 20 seconds to set up....Cheers Martin

Ah but that's still 20 seconds wasted that could be used to make something:).

[kiwigeo]

Ah but that's still 20 seconds wasted that could be used to make something:).

It's 20 seconds well spent IMHO....

I'm picturing your workshop......it must have stopwatches and clocks all over the walls. And to think I got a hard time in here for having a wall clock in my new workshop!

[MathewA]

I realise this and that is why I asked specifically about the technique required to hone the bevel on a stone.

So did I... That's why I said buy the book. In 10 minutes I could show you how to test the edge to see if it is truely sharp (and shaving your arm is not a a good way to test an edge). But to explain it here in writing in such a way that would make sense would take pages or writing and pictures, far to much work than I willing to put in. How to hold the chisel would take another 10 mins but to write it down... To actually put a real sharp edge on the chisel would take a bit longer in person or a lot of writing to explain all the little nuances that are combined to hone an edge and test it.

It's easy to give you answer if all you wanted to know was which stones to buy but not how to use them.

I know this answer will tick you off more than my last one but it is one of those things that I don't think you can get a good comprehensive answer for unless you have it expained to you in person or you have a book to explain it in detail with good pictures. Or if you have a spare dozen beer and sometime come on over and I'll show ya all I know.

[Tiger]

It's 20 seconds well spent IMHO....

I'm picturing your workshop......it must have stopwatches and clocks all over the walls. And to think I got a hard time in here for having a wall clock in my new workshop!

Not quite as bad as that, but I tend to use some very hard wood eg Redgum and that means constant honing and grinding. I need to find the quickest possible way to sharpen so that I can get back to work.

[Tiger]

[QUOTE=MathewA]So did I... That's why I said buy the book.

I did have a quick look at this book. It is probably the best book on sharpening, not that there are many on sharpening, but from memory it covers sharpening many tools but lacks a little detail at times though I could be wrong. Your idea about watching someone is a good one. I don't have any beer but I am willing to shout you or anyone who can show me how to sharpen faster a ticket to the Wood show. Offer closes .....

[kiwigeo]

Not quite as bad as that, but I tend to use some very hard wood eg Redgum and that means constant honing and grinding. I need to find the quickest possible way to sharpen so that I can get back to work.

I probably sharpen my planes and chisels more frequently than most people but because I use a 1-2 degree microbevel on top of a 25 deg primary bevel on most of my cutting tools once I've honed up and worked the primary bevels resharpening only requires 5-10 wipes on a 1200 grit japanese water stone, a quick wipe of the back of face on same stone and then a quick trip over the strop and its back to the action. Doesnt take much time at all.

Horses for courses.....find out the method that suites you and if you think you can improve on it...do so and share with others.

If youre passing through Adelaide anytime then drop into the workshop and we can talk sharpening.

Cheers Martin

[Tiger]

Thanks, Martin I would like to visit your workshop sometime. Are you sure you don't want to come to Victoria, there's a free ticket in it for you:) .