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Default Sharpening chisels

When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the side
....30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg
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Default Sharpening chisels


"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the side
...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg


If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer stone to
25. Seems to do the job.


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Default Sharpening chisels

On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:

"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg


If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is
OK, but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting
and is the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30
then you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.
Either way the edge won’t be sharp unless the back face of the chisel is
flat at the edge.
The way many woodworkers go is first to flatten the back of the chisel.
This can take a long time first time out - work with your coarse stone
until the back (at least the first inch or so) is completely uniform,
then change to finer stone and keep polishing. Once you’ve done this
once, the back is never touched by anything other than your finest stone.
Once the back is flat, set the guide to 25 degrees and sharpen the bevel
until it’s uniformly flat and smooth - once the edge is sharp you will
feel a slight burr if you slide your finger down the back of the chisel.
Now re-set the angle to 30 and give the edge just a few rubs on a medium
or fine stone - you should see a bright line of new 30 degree bevel
across the whole edge. Get this as polished as your stones will let you
then rub the back on the finest stone again and you’re done. Once the
edge is blunt you re-sharpen at 30 and that second bevel will get wider.
Every now and again you go back to 25 and use your coarse stone to get
back to the 25 degree bevel and re-hone at 30. That way you have to do
a lot less work than starting with a 30 degree bevel.
You need at least a couple of stones, one coarse and one fine - and they
must be flat. Some people use abrasive cloth glued to plate glass -
look up "scary sharp".

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Default Sharpening chisels

On 14/04/2012 09:37, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:

"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg


If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is OK,
but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting and is
the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30 then
you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.
Either way the edge won’t be sharp unless the back face of the chisel is
flat at the edge.
The way many woodworkers go is first to flatten the back of the chisel.
This can take a long time first time out - work with your coarse stone
until the back (at least the first inch or so) is completely uniform,
then change to finer stone and keep polishing. Once you’ve done this
once, the back is never touched by anything other than your finest stone.
Once the back is flat, set the guide to 25 degrees and sharpen the bevel
until it’s uniformly flat and smooth - once the edge is sharp you will
feel a slight burr if you slide your finger down the back of the chisel.
Now re-set the angle to 30 and give the edge just a few rubs on a medium
or fine stone - you should see a bright line of new 30 degree bevel
across the whole edge. Get this as polished as your stones will let you
then rub the back on the finest stone again and you’re done. Once the
edge is blunt you re-sharpen at 30 and that second bevel will get wider.
Every now and again you go back to 25 and use your coarse stone to get
back to the 25 degree bevel and re-hone at 30. That way you have to do a
lot less work than starting with a 30 degree bevel.
You need at least a couple of stones, one coarse and one fine - and they
must be flat. Some people use abrasive cloth glued to plate glass - look
up "scary sharp".

Thanks Norman, useful info. I will probably set something up with plate
glass at a later date as I have a couple of wider plane blades and the
stone I have is `not flat` anymore. My stone will do short term so that
I have a couple of sharp chisels to get on with some work I need to do.

Its strange when I think about it as I have been doing odd jobs in
woodwork for must be 30 years and my original set of chisels are only
now getting sharpened, that set lasted a few years and then my F in law
gave me an old set that was sharpened and they lasted me another few
yeras and then he moved to a flat and gave me some more that were sharp
so I have never had to sharpen any til now.
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Default Sharpening chisels

On 14/04/2012 21:34, ss wrote:
On 14/04/2012 09:37, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:

"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg

If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is OK,
but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting and is
the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30 then
you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.
Either way the edge won’t be sharp unless the back face of the chisel is
flat at the edge.
The way many woodworkers go is first to flatten the back of the chisel.
This can take a long time first time out - work with your coarse stone
until the back (at least the first inch or so) is completely uniform,
then change to finer stone and keep polishing. Once you’ve done this
once, the back is never touched by anything other than your finest stone.
Once the back is flat, set the guide to 25 degrees and sharpen the bevel
until it’s uniformly flat and smooth - once the edge is sharp you will
feel a slight burr if you slide your finger down the back of the chisel.
Now re-set the angle to 30 and give the edge just a few rubs on a medium
or fine stone - you should see a bright line of new 30 degree bevel
across the whole edge. Get this as polished as your stones will let you
then rub the back on the finest stone again and you’re done. Once the
edge is blunt you re-sharpen at 30 and that second bevel will get wider.
Every now and again you go back to 25 and use your coarse stone to get
back to the 25 degree bevel and re-hone at 30. That way you have to do a
lot less work than starting with a 30 degree bevel.
You need at least a couple of stones, one coarse and one fine - and they
must be flat. Some people use abrasive cloth glued to plate glass - look
up "scary sharp".

Thanks Norman, useful info. I will probably set something up with plate
glass at a later date as I have a couple of wider plane blades and the
stone I have is `not flat` anymore. My stone will do short term so that
I have a couple of sharp chisels to get on with some work I need to do.

Its strange when I think about it as I have been doing odd jobs in
woodwork for must be 30 years and my original set of chisels are only
now getting sharpened, that set lasted a few years and then my F in law
gave me an old set that was sharpened and they lasted me another few
yeras and then he moved to a flat and gave me some more that were sharp
so I have never had to sharpen any til now.



If you’re doing significant amounts of woodwork you should be sharpening
your chisels pretty much every day. The experience of working with a
truly sharp chisel will transform what you do. With a properly
sharpened one you should be able to shave the hairs off the back of your
hand.

If your stone isn’t flat you’ll likely make things worse. You can never
get a decently flat back on a non-flat stone. Oil stones need quite a
bit of work to flatten them but it can be done on plate glass with
carborundum powder. Water stones need flattening a lot more often but
it can be done very quickly with wet and dry paper on plate glass.

Have a look at:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...ne-prod843382/

Is and stays flat and does a pretty good job and is cheap. If you
supplement with an 8000 grit water stone you’ll get razor sharp edges.



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Default Sharpening chisels

On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:48:31 +0100, Norman Billingham
wrote:

On 14/04/2012 21:34, ss wrote:
On 14/04/2012 09:37, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:

"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg

If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is OK,
but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting and is
the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30 then
you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.
Either way the edge won’t be sharp unless the back face of the chisel is
flat at the edge.
The way many woodworkers go is first to flatten the back of the chisel.
This can take a long time first time out - work with your coarse stone
until the back (at least the first inch or so) is completely uniform,
then change to finer stone and keep polishing. Once you’ve done this
once, the back is never touched by anything other than your finest stone.
Once the back is flat, set the guide to 25 degrees and sharpen the bevel
until it’s uniformly flat and smooth - once the edge is sharp you will
feel a slight burr if you slide your finger down the back of the chisel.
Now re-set the angle to 30 and give the edge just a few rubs on a medium
or fine stone - you should see a bright line of new 30 degree bevel
across the whole edge. Get this as polished as your stones will let you
then rub the back on the finest stone again and you’re done. Once the
edge is blunt you re-sharpen at 30 and that second bevel will get wider.
Every now and again you go back to 25 and use your coarse stone to get
back to the 25 degree bevel and re-hone at 30. That way you have to do a
lot less work than starting with a 30 degree bevel.
You need at least a couple of stones, one coarse and one fine - and they
must be flat. Some people use abrasive cloth glued to plate glass - look
up "scary sharp".

Thanks Norman, useful info. I will probably set something up with plate
glass at a later date as I have a couple of wider plane blades and the
stone I have is `not flat` anymore. My stone will do short term so that
I have a couple of sharp chisels to get on with some work I need to do.

Its strange when I think about it as I have been doing odd jobs in
woodwork for must be 30 years and my original set of chisels are only
now getting sharpened, that set lasted a few years and then my F in law
gave me an old set that was sharpened and they lasted me another few
yeras and then he moved to a flat and gave me some more that were sharp
so I have never had to sharpen any til now.



If you’re doing significant amounts of woodwork you should be sharpening
your chisels pretty much every day. The experience of working with a
truly sharp chisel will transform what you do. With a properly
sharpened one you should be able to shave the hairs off the back of your
hand.

If your stone isn’t flat you’ll likely make things worse. You can never
get a decently flat back on a non-flat stone. Oil stones need quite a
bit of work to flatten them but it can be done on plate glass with
carborundum powder. Water stones need flattening a lot more often but
it can be done very quickly with wet and dry paper on plate glass.

Have a look at:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...ne-prod843382/

Is and stays flat and does a pretty good job and is cheap. If you
supplement with an 8000 grit water stone you’ll get razor sharp edges.


I'd agree with all of that.

The only comments I'd add are that my collection of chisels and plae
blades etc includes some hand-me-downs that are at least sixty years
old and the quality of the steel is such that they need much less
attention than some of my newer additions.

The other comment will be obvious if you de-munge my address: I don't
fear the wear and tear on a sharpening stone: I replace it with a new
one and the old one gets added to my collection of different radii
stones that I use for levelling fretted instrument fingerboards.

Nick
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Default Sharpening chisels

On 15/04/2012 11:48, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 21:34, ss wrote:
On 14/04/2012 09:37, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:

"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp
end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg

If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is OK,
but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting and is
the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30 then
you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.
Either way the edge won’t be sharp unless the back face of the chisel is
flat at the edge.
The way many woodworkers go is first to flatten the back of the chisel.
This can take a long time first time out - work with your coarse stone
until the back (at least the first inch or so) is completely uniform,
then change to finer stone and keep polishing. Once you’ve done this
once, the back is never touched by anything other than your finest
stone.
Once the back is flat, set the guide to 25 degrees and sharpen the bevel
until it’s uniformly flat and smooth - once the edge is sharp you will
feel a slight burr if you slide your finger down the back of the chisel.
Now re-set the angle to 30 and give the edge just a few rubs on a medium
or fine stone - you should see a bright line of new 30 degree bevel
across the whole edge. Get this as polished as your stones will let you
then rub the back on the finest stone again and you’re done. Once the
edge is blunt you re-sharpen at 30 and that second bevel will get wider.
Every now and again you go back to 25 and use your coarse stone to get
back to the 25 degree bevel and re-hone at 30. That way you have to do a
lot less work than starting with a 30 degree bevel.
You need at least a couple of stones, one coarse and one fine - and they
must be flat. Some people use abrasive cloth glued to plate glass - look
up "scary sharp".

Thanks Norman, useful info. I will probably set something up with plate
glass at a later date as I have a couple of wider plane blades and the
stone I have is `not flat` anymore. My stone will do short term so that
I have a couple of sharp chisels to get on with some work I need to do.

Its strange when I think about it as I have been doing odd jobs in
woodwork for must be 30 years and my original set of chisels are only
now getting sharpened, that set lasted a few years and then my F in law
gave me an old set that was sharpened and they lasted me another few
yeras and then he moved to a flat and gave me some more that were sharp
so I have never had to sharpen any til now.



If you’re doing significant amounts of woodwork you should be sharpening
your chisels pretty much every day. The experience of working with a
truly sharp chisel will transform what you do. With a properly sharpened
one you should be able to shave the hairs off the back of your hand.

If your stone isn’t flat you’ll likely make things worse. You can never
get a decently flat back on a non-flat stone. Oil stones need quite a
bit of work to flatten them but it can be done on plate glass with
carborundum powder. Water stones need flattening a lot more often but it
can be done very quickly with wet and dry paper on plate glass.

Have a look at:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...ne-prod843382/


Is and stays flat and does a pretty good job and is cheap. If you
supplement with an 8000 grit water stone you’ll get razor sharp edges.

I got a vast improvement using my `not flat` stone as I was only doing a
handful of cross halving joints it will suffice. I tried them on a piece
of end grain and they shaved easily and thinly. My next job will require
more accuracy and sharpness so will get everything sorted for then.
Over the years (as mentioned in previous post) when doing tenon or
dovetails the chisels have been spot on and in between it was just some
rough joiner work so I never had the need to get excited about my
chisels but times have changed and now after many years I actually have
time to do some of those `wood` jobs I always promised myself. So far I
have planned....
1. Rebuild my shed.
2. Build a wooden outdoor table & chairs.
3. Build a base for a long case clock.
4. Build shoe rack and drawer units for walk-in wardrobe.
5. Build a custom sectional toolbox for my tools.
And the most important one is a 6 inch piece of moulding I did for an
expensive mantle clock about 45 years ago which I did from sanding it
out (I didnt have tools then), so looking to see if I can improve on it
now. The clock has been packed away for years and just checked ocassionally.

Thanks again to all for the advice it has been most useful for me.
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Default Sharpening chisels

On Apr 15, 10:24*pm, ss wrote:
On 15/04/2012 11:48, Norman Billingham wrote:







On 14/04/2012 21:34, ss wrote:
On 14/04/2012 09:37, Norman Billingham wrote:
On 14/04/2012 08:54, Nthkentman wrote:


"ss" wrote in message
...
When sharpening a wood chisel is there just one angle on the sharp
end?
Or two?
I have one of those tools (for sharpening) that has embossed on the
side ...30mm=30 deg 40mm=25 deg


If it's the one with the roller underneath that clamps the chisel I've
always sharpened at the 30 deg then lightly finished off on a finer
stone to 25. Seems to do the job.


There are whole books on the subject and many views. The lower the
angle, the sharper the chisel but the more easily the edge breaks up
under load. For light paring cuts in soft woods a 25 degree angle is OK,
but 30 degree is better for harder woods or for end-grain cutting and is
the common choice. However, if you sharpen the whole bevel at 30 then
you have to remove metal over the whole area every time you re-sharpen.

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