first set of chisels........

[Greg Dekeyser]

I got a set of two-cherries chisels....my first set of decent chisels (last ones were from HF!)

1)does anyone have hints for removing the laquer on these?
2)I'm pretty clueless about flattening and sharpening (other than it needs to be done) ..are the combination water stones from Rockler good enough? which grits should I buy?

and if anyone has any links to sharpening/flattening "how-to's" online that they found particularly useful, that would also be great. I found a few but I'm not sure if they are missing something I'd need to know.

thanks!

[Maurice Ungaro]

This may sound obvious, but lacquer thinner, or kerosene should work pretty good at removing the protective finish. As of for sharpening, you may want to invest in Leonard Lee's sharpening book: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32991&cat=1,46096,46107&ap=1

There are many ways to sharpen - you just have to find the method that works best for you. I started out with Scary Sharp, because the initial cost was low, but I ran through paper pretty quick, and got tired of that. You can spend a lot of money on stones, diamond plates, machines, etc. Read up before you use up your dough.

[Jim Koepke]

I know April is a way off and Chicago is a bit of travel, but LN will have an event in Chicago in April and one of the things their site says will be featured is sharpening demonstrations.

Test the coating, if it is lacquer, it should rewet with any of the lacquer thinners including nail polish remover (acetone).

Alcohol may remove some coatings.

I would work on getting sharpening technique before worrying about getting the backs perfect. Once you have the method going for you, the backs will be easier than if you start trying to do them without a little experience under your belt.

jim

[Jeff Farris]

I used to sell Two Cherries. Is there a reason you want to remove the lacquer? It will come off the area you flatten on the back when you abrade it, and the same thing on the bevel side. The rest of the chisel will be protected from moisture by the coating. It is the toughest most durable coating that I've seen on a chisel, and unlike the greasy packing protectants, it doesn't come off on you or your work.

If you want it off anyway, nail polish remover or lacquer thinner will dissolve it almost instantly.

[Greg Dekeyser]

I used to sell Two Cherries. Is there a reason you want to remove the lacquer? It will come off the area you flatten on the back when you abrade it, and the same thing on the bevel side. The rest of the chisel will be protected from moisture by the coating. It is the toughest most durable coating that I've seen on a chisel, and unlike the greasy packing protectants, it doesn't come off on you or your work.

If you want it off anyway, nail polish remover or lacquer thinner will dissolve it almost instantly.

well maybe I don't need to remove it...I was under the impression that if it was on when I tried to flatten the back, it would clog up the stone :confused: if thats wrong then great...one less thing to worry about doing :)

[Jim Barrett]

I'm sure you have read there are a gazillion ways to sharpen...you can get a 1000/8000 combination stone and an inexpensive honing guide to start you off. Since you have new chisels you can just use the primary bevel on them now and hone it using the combo waterstones or put a microbevel on them. Your choice.
But first thing I would do is make sure the backs are flat using the waterstones. Once they are flat using the 1000 followed by the 8000 then you can concentrate on the bevel which if you use a guide and microbevel should take less than a minute to accomplish.
If you need a coarser grit then get some sandpaper and adhere it to a piece of tile or plate glass...
Lots of options ;)

Jim

[george wilson]

Lacquered chisel blades just bother me,and I have to get rid of it. If you don't,the lacquer will eventually come off in places. The metal will darken where the lacquer has worn away,and the lacquered areas will remain bright. Looks terrible to me.

[Sandy Stanford]

I got a set of two-cherries chisels....my first set of decent chisels (last ones were from HF!)

1)does anyone have hints for removing the laquer on these?
2)I'm pretty clueless about flattening and sharpening (other than it needs to be done) ..are the combination water stones from Rockler good enough? which grits should I buy?

and if anyone has any links to sharpening/flattening "how-to's" online that they found particularly useful, that would also be great. I found a few but I'm not sure if they are missing something I'd need to know.

thanks!

Why get rid of it? Hone them and you'll get rid of it where it counts. What remains prevents rust.

[Andrew Gibson]

I just sharpened up my chisels about 12 and a few plane irons about a week ago, took about a day. My current favorite method is the sandpaper method. I get good results with it. I picked up a granite 12x12 tile for about $2 and the paper and spray glue. I plan to stick to this method until I can afford a good selection of diamond bench stones. I have a small diamond stone and love it. but it is a significant investment when there are so many other tools I want/need as well.

[Jeff Farris]

Lacquered chisel blades just bother me,and I have to get rid of it. If you don't,the lacquer will eventually come off in places. The metal will darken where the lacquer has worn away,and the lacquered areas will remain bright. Looks terrible to me.

George,

I would ordinarily agree with you completely. However, I don't know what Two Cherries does differently, but you will not see the discoloration with their chisels that you do with others.

[Darnell Hagen]

A 1000 and an 8000 waterstone, a selection of sandpaper, and a flat reference surface, whether it be glass or granite will get you where you need to be.

Flatten the chisel backs on the sandpaper on the glass. Flatten the stones on the sandpaper on the glass. Polish the backs on the stones. Flatten the stones on the sandpaper on the glass. Hone on the stones.

A honing guide is a good idea until you develop the technique for freehanding it. I recomend the Veritas, the Mark I will do.

Sharpening on sandpaper is cheap, unill you start doing it often.

Leonard Lee's book is awesome, you will understand sharpening on a whole new level.

I've been playing with sharpening quite a bit lately. You can see my experiences on my blog.

[george wilson]

I haven't had a set of Two Cherries. I find my Pfiels just fine,and they don't have any lacquer. Drawback:Their UGLY handles,which I'm replacing!!

Lacquer on cutting blades simply isn't an appropriate place to have it. I had a set of Hirsch's at work. They also had the obnoxious lacquer. I had too many other things to do,and never got around to cleaning it off.

[Jim Barrett]

Darnell,
Welcome to the Creek....interesting Blog!

Jim

[Darnell Hagen]

Jim,

Thanks, and thanks!

[Thomas L. Miller]

George,
I too have a set of Two Cherries chisels. They have that shiny plastic coat of "something" on them and it makes me crazy. I've tried denatured alcohol, acetone and lacquer thinner on them to no avail. I really want that stuff off the chisels. Should I just soak them in something overnight or longer? The stuff seems impervious. Rust on the chisels isn't a concern for me since my shop is climate controlled. Thanks for any help!
Tom

[David Weaver]

try the stuff that says "stripper" in a can at home depot.

[Ron Kellison]

[QUOTE=Thomas L. Miller;2089210]George,
I too have a set of Two Cherries chisels. They have that shiny plastic coat of "something" on them and it makes me crazy. I've tried denatured alcohol, acetone and lacquer thinner on them to no avail. I really want that stuff off the chisels. Should I just soak them in something overnight or longer? The stuff seems impervious. Rust on the chisels isn't a concern for me since my shop is climate controlled. Thanks for any help!
Tom[/QUOTE

I would send a note to Two Cherries (Wilh. Schmitt & Comp. GmbH & Co. KG) and simply ask them what they use for the handle finish. Once you know that it should be a simple matter to determine the correct solvent.

Ron

[Mike Cogswell]

OK, we just had this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?182377-Lacquer-coating-on-Stanley-chisels about lacquer on Stanley chisels and now we have one on Two Cherries chisels.

So, I have to ask, when did they start coating the metal on chisels with lacquer? Until I read the Stanley thread I assumed the OP was talking about removing laquer from the handles, not the metal. AFAIK none of my chisels I've bought new (a mix of Ashley Iles, Sorby, Stanley, Crown, old USA made Craftman and WoodRiver) have had coatings on the metal.

[george wilson]

Hirsch and 2 Cherries lacquer their blades. Also,they buff their blades so much the bottom edges are rounded a bit,and have to be sanded flat to sharpen their corners. That removes the lacquer from the bottoms of them. I think I recommended just using paint stripper. DO NOT let the stripper stay on any longer than needed. It may discolor the steel. Wipe off and wash with soapy water and dry. Leave no trace of it at all.

The most offensive European thing I have seen on tools is Stubai painting everything blue. We had to make some 18th.C. reapers(Name of them has gone out of my head!!) for the agricultural program. The blades the curators sent us were blue with gold paint stripes. We had to remove that!!

[Mike Cogswell]

Hirsch and 2 Cherries lacquer their blades. Also,they buff their blades so much the bottom edges are rounded a bit,and have to be sanded flat to sharpen their corners. That removes the lacquer from the bottoms of them. I think I recommended just using paint stripper. DO NOT let the stripper stay on any longer than needed. It may discolor the steel. Wipe off and wash with soapy water and dry. Leave no trace of it at all.

The most offensive European thing I have seen on tools is Stubai painting everything blue. We had to make some 18th.C. reapers(Name of them has gone out of my head!!) for the agricultural program. The blades the curators sent us were blue with gold paint stripes. We had to remove that!!

Must be somthing they do for the agriculture market. My Stubai carving tools are all either dark from the heat treating or fully polished, depending on which series they come from.

[george wilson]

They may not paint chisels,but they paint augers,axes and curved adzes,and what else I don't know.I have a curved bowl adze from the 60's,and a sculptor's adze/axe that are blue.

[Bruce Haugen]

just for future reference, the stuff sold as nail polish remover no longer has acetone in there. Nope. None. Get the real stuff from your favorite hardware store.

[Jim Palmer]

I've two sets of Stanley 5002's (One set being bevel edged and the other firmer chisels) from the early '70's that came with lacquered blades and yes, the lacquer gummed up my sharpening stones when I first sharpened them. I removed the lacquer using acetone and the same treatment dealt with the residue left on my oil stones. The main problem occurred when I attempted to remove the initial burr, as the lacquer permeated the surface of the stone.

Many makers still lacquer blades as a means of preventing rust prior to sale, but it's best removed asap for the sake of avoiding problems when sharpening.

[Thomas L. Miller]

Thanks everyone. George, I'm going to try the stripper. Thanks for the warning about washing the stuff off as soon as it's done it's job. Thanks again everyone. I've had these chisels for about 4 years and mainly use a set of LN's. But, I'd like to get these up to snuff, since they are a bit longer and sometimes useful. Thanks again everyone.
Tom

[george wilson]

Due to changes in the chemistry of strippers,I am not sure if the stripper will discolor the chisel or not. I'd advise trying a spot on the bottom of a single chisel first. If it causes discoloration,you will be lapping the bottom anyway,to get rid of the rounded buffed corners,and will have caused no damage. If the stripper causes no damage,do the rest. However,I still advise washing it off ASAP since strippers are of necessity harsh.