I gave the oil stones the about 5 years ago when I stumbled upon a set of diamond honing pads in m ten.. 3 set with differing grit stuck on plastic backs. Red blue and yellow. Was about $15 bucks. Have recently seen them in bunnies but now cost about $30.

Anyway, so much better. dead flat, sharpening was now a joy and using the sharp chisel was nice until the inevitable nail or the like undid all the good work but hey, Im [was] only a carpenter (like jesus) so they were a step above most others I worked with.

Bench grind *them back to a square straight edge, (sometimes requiring 3-4mm) the hollow ground then only requires a quick swipe over on the diamond pad and its now ready to slice. like a razor. Most chisels are short stub nosed now due to many sharpening's. I understand the finer woodworker may prefer working various grits but my method was fine for what they were used for, which often included the rebating of hinges and door furniture.

*them = about 12. + 1 plane blade. Always have a couple of sharp chisels of all sizes (25mm max) on hand on site.

I considered starting up a mobile sharpening station. All types of hand tools. Knifes, scissors, garden tools. Learn to do circ saw blades. A few bucks to buy some quality sharpening gear to set up in my van and off I go. Building sites, kitchens, private homes, factories. Could be a goldmine