Thread: Who can sharpen my Chisels / Plane blades in Canberra?

And Vuala! i can now shave the hair off my arms with a chisel..... if i am ever that way inclined

Originally Posted by delbs

And Vuala! i can now shave the hair off my arms with a chisel..... if i am ever that way inclined

Shaving your arms is ok, especially after sharpening chisels and plane blades. but if you shave your legs It would probably be a code violation.

Thats what i say to the road cyclists in my office but they don't listen lol P

Can also vouch for Fitch tools. And kudos to Evan for the offer to sharpen up Nathan's chisels. I've got 30 or 40 you could do next...

Just kidding.

But perhaps a team sharpening session is in order. I've never come across a sharpening system that I'm particularly happy with, so I'd be keen to see how you do it Evan.

Trav

I'd be keen for that. Considering I've been telling you two to come around how about we organise something within the next month or so? Bring some stones and 30 or 40 chisels to see what we can come up with

Sounds like a plan!

I'm not working ATM (wife really sick) so I can do any time.

I have a heap of stones up to 16000 and I'd be happy to demo. I'm slow though!

Send me an email... We need to set up our road trip to the Sydney show too!

I'm in too. I've got the veritas honing guide which may also help.

Trav

Good Morning Delbs

I endorse the suggestions to get a Veritas honing guide - its a lovely and almost essential piece of equipment for skill-challenged people like me.

For forty years I sharpened things very badly, and then used a friends chisels over a weekend and discovered the joys of using properly sharpened tools. It is a profound psychological experience - woodworking becomes much more enjoyable. But I found it impossible to follow my late friends instructions to "hold the chisel like this and stroke the oil-stone". He got brilliant results, I got multifaceted curve faces.

Then, five years ago I asked for help and this forum was at its best. Have a look at:
Idiot proof sharpening
The collective advice, especially that from Derek Cohen, was brilliant.

Five years later, all my tools are beautifully sharp; I still use scary sharp but am thinking of investing in fine and ultrafine water stones. Will probably stay with scary sharp for the courser grades as once good primary bevels are established they do not require much maintenance. I do nothing without the Veritas guide.

The big differences with properly sharpened blades, prioritised, are:

• Pleasure: woodworking is more fun.
• Quality: even I produce better results.
• Safety: hacking with blunt tools is dangerous.
• It is so easy to keep tools sharp that I now routinely sharpen them before I put them away.

My advice would be to start with scary sharp. Water stones may give a marginally better result but you have to maintain perfectly flat surfaces on those stones and this introduces another variable into the equation. KISS - keep it simple...

Hope this helps.


Fair Winds

Graeme

Join the Wood craft guild and there are people and gear to help you to learn how to sharpen and use your tools.

Woodcraft Guild ACT

Originally Posted by DavidG

Join the Wood craft guild and there are people and gear to help you to learn how to sharpen and use your tools.

Woodcraft Guild ACT

Would love to except i dont have the time available to me yet to go to the regular meetings in Kambah. Since i own the stones now im more than happy to organise something at my place

Originally Posted by delbs

Would love to except i dont have the time available to me yet to go to the regular meetings in Kambah. Since i own the stones now im more than happy to organise something at my place

Plus there is beer

Funny you mention that I did just put a new fridge in the workshop for that purpose exactly

You can't really call yourself a woodworker, if you can't sharpen your own chisels.

The easy and efficient way is to use an oilstone and honing guide. Stanley do a very good set.
The grinding angle should be 25 degrees, and the honing angle 30 degrees. The same on planes and chisels.
Any mineral oil will do, as long as it's not too thick. (I use hydraulic oil, because somebody left a gallon behind when I rented a workshop).

The honing guide makes good sharpening repeatable, very easily. If you're that way inclined, you can experiment with different angles.

I sharpen lots of chisels, and always use a Stanley honing guide - I can't get on with the Eclipse version - I have worn two out, and am on the third. Also, sharpen in batches. You rarely have a single blunt chisel, so give them all a touch up. That way, you get your eye in.

Another thing a woodworker ought to be able to do is sharpen a saw. Not difficult if you apply yourself.

Tools are very personal items, and knowing how to keep them in trim is a fair exchange for all the good work they have done for you