Survey: sharpening chisel

[Steven Hsieh]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels?
2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen?
3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground?

Thanks

[Brian Kent]

1) Yes, often during jobs, as soon as they work differently than when I started.
2) Nope, no need, and they would ned to be sharpened again after 15 minutes of use.
3) I prefer hollow grind.

[Dave Lehnert]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels? If you don't, you should.
2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen? No! they need to be sharpened so often in use it would be impossible to send out. They are not like saw blades.
3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground? Makes no difference to me but if I had to chose, Flat.

[Ryan Mooney]

Heh, yes! If I didn't they would be pretty useless except for prying the lid off of paint tins much to quickly

No, as noted by others... I sharpen like every ~10-20 minutes if I'm doing things... More if its annoying wood (twisty, hard, crumbly), less if its easy cutting wood

They often start hollow, but they all end up flat around here.. I suppose if I had a tormek I might try hollow and burnished..

[Van Huskey]

1. yes
2. they need to be sharpened too often to even think about it
3. always been a flat grind kinda guy

[John Coloccia]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels?
2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen?
3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground?

Thanks

1) Of Course
2) LOL....no. I'd love to have an apprentice. He would do nothing but tidy up and sharpen all day long until I felt he was ready for sanding...
3) Depends. Flat ground on my paring chisels, because I use them bevel down sometimes and the flat ground appears to give me more control. Everything else depends on my mood....that's a true statement. Flat ground, hollow ground, micro bevel. It's all the same to me. Whatever I feel like doing that day.

If anyone's answer to #2 is yes, buy a Worksharp 3000 and stop wasting your time and money.

[Charles Wiggins]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels?
Yes.

2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen?
No.

3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground?
Prefer flat. I may want to reverse the chisel and use it bevel down on occasion and I think that you get a slightly more durable edge if it is backed up by more metal. If I have to reshape a chisel tip on the grinding wheel I will generally grind most of the curvature back out when I sharpen it the first time.

[Greg Peterson]

After struggling with my inexpensive acoustic guitar one day, I called up a music shop and asked them if they tuned guitars. They quizically responded in the affirmative. I immediately hopped on my bicycle and rode the several miles to the shop. I walked in, guitar in hand (did not have a case), and told them I was the guy that had called about the guitar tune up. To their credit they kept a straight face and were pretty nice to me. I'm sure they had a good laugh after I left.

By the time I returned home and strummed it, the guitar was out of tune, Doh!

Now in my defense, I had only recently started playing with it and keeping the guitar in my bedroom. There was still a question of ownership as my older sister was 'technically' the recipient of the instrument. I eventually became the de facto owner of said guitar. Several years later a younger brother augmented the back side of the guitar via a bed post. In retrospect I'm confident I was largely responsible for this unnecessary modification.

So I guess the point I'm getting at is that chisels, like guitars, need to be tuned up so frequently that it is simply automatic. No thought other than the immediate attention to the task at hand is required.

There is an excellent book on sharpening, I forget the authors name right now, but it is a worthy investment.

BTW, I still don't trust my brother around any of my guitars these days.

[Paul McGaha]

After struggling with my inexpensive acoustic guitar one day, I called up a music shop and asked them if they tuned guitars. They quizically responded in the affirmative. I immediately hopped on my bicycle and rode the several miles to the shop. I walked in, guitar in hand (did not have a case), and told them I was the guy that had called about the guitar tune up. To their credit they kept a straight face and were pretty nice to me. I'm sure they had a good laugh after I left.

By the time I returned home and strummed it, the guitar was out of tune, Doh!

Now in my defense, I had only recently started playing with it and keeping the guitar in my bedroom. There was still a question of ownership as my older sister was 'technically' the recipient of the instrument. I eventually became the de facto owner of said guitar. Several years later a younger brother augmented the back side of the guitar via a bed post. In retrospect I'm confident I was largely responsible for this unnecessary modification.

So I guess the point I'm getting at is that chisels, like guitars, need to be tuned up so frequently that it is simply automatic. No thought other than the immediate attention to the task at hand is required.

There is an excellent book on sharpening, I forget the authors name right now, but it is a worthy investment.

BTW, I still don't trust my brother around any of my guitars these days.

Greg,

The book may be the perfect edge by Ron Hock. I've been reading it for about a month now at the suggestion of creeker Kent A. Bathurst.

PHM

[Ken Fitzgerald]

After struggling with my inexpensive acoustic guitar one day, I called up a music shop and asked them if they tuned guitars. They quizically responded in the affirmative. I immediately hopped on my bicycle and rode the several miles to the shop. I walked in, guitar in hand (did not have a case), and told them I was the guy that had called about the guitar tune up. To their credit they kept a straight face and were pretty nice to me. I'm sure they had a good laugh after I left.

By the time I returned home and strummed it, the guitar was out of tune, Doh!

Now in my defense, I had only recently started playing with it and keeping the guitar in my bedroom. There was still a question of ownership as my older sister was 'technically' the recipient of the instrument. I eventually became the de facto owner of said guitar. Several years later a younger brother augmented the back side of the guitar via a bed post. In retrospect I'm confident I was largely responsible for this unnecessary modification.

So I guess the point I'm getting at is that chisels, like guitars, need to be tuned up so frequently that it is simply automatic. No thought other than the immediate attention to the task at hand is required.

There is an excellent book on sharpening, I forget the authors name right now, but it is a worthy investment.

BTW, I still don't trust my brother around any of my guitars these days.

I'm just disappointed that the digital tuner I use on my guitars doesn't work on my chisels......

but it might be useable for adjusting tension on my bandsaw blades.......

[Mike Cutler]

1.) I sharpen all my own.
2.) Nope, not chisels. I'd send out a tablesaw blade, but not a chisel, or plane iron.
3.) Always flat Flat, with a micro beveled edge.

[Mike Henderson]

1.) I sharpen all my own.
2.) Nope, not chisels. I'd send out a tablesaw blade, but not a chisel, or plane iron.
3.) Always flat Flat, with a micro beveled edge.

+1 I do a flat primary bevel with a secondary bevel.

For carvers, there's a saying, "If you can't sharpen, you can't carve." I suppose the same is true for woodworking chisels, "If you can't sharpen, you can't do furniture."

Mike

[John Coloccia]

I'm just disappointed that the digital tuner I use on my guitars doesn't work on my chisels......

but it might be useable for adjusting tension on my bandsaw blades.......

I have trouble using the tuner on my chisels too. I'm always sharp.

[Don Jarvie]

Yes to 1 and 2. Hollow grind for 3. Everything is razor sharp so I can't complain.

[Rod Sheridan]

Yes I sharpen my chisels, don't send them out and they're flat ground because I use a belt grinder...............Regards, Rod.

[glenn bradley]

1. YES, in the midst of use.
2. NO, doesn't seem likely that this would be cost effective.
3. Flat, Worksharp 3000 and stones/plates/scary sharp.

[Bryan Morgan]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels?
2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen?
3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground?

Thanks

1. Yep
2. Nope.
3. I don't care, as long as I can shave with them. I use a Worksharp and it does a great job.

[Joe Angrisani]

Yes. No. Flat.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

1.) I sharpen my own.
2.) No.
3.) Always flat--Worksharp 3000.

[Greg Peterson]

The book I was referring to The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. It covers all the angles, from sharpening stones, to metals, to what a sharp edge is and what kind of an edge the tool requires (knife, axe, chisel...).

Fascinating topic and actually a real page turner.

I have sent some chisels out to have new bevels ground. Won't do that again.

[Shawn Pixley]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels? - Always! Also plane blades
2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen? - Never!
3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground? - Flat ground, micro bevel

[Jim Koepke]

1) Do you sharpen your chisels?

If I don't, who will?


2) Have you ever send your chisels to be sharpen?

I think the last business to offer that service around here closed for lack of business back in 1883.


3) Do you prefer hollow grind your chisels or flat ground?

Since my Veritas Mk II Power Sharpening System only does flat, I do flat.

A hollow grind is easier for starting out free hand sharpening. Once a person gets the hang of it they shouldn't have much trouble with a flat grind.

[Ron Natalie]

I'd touch them up on a stone regularly and now that I got one of the Home Depot web page error in your favor WorkSharp, I do so with even more regularity.

There's an old story about Tage Frid where someone observed these stubby chisels he was using and hey commented on his use of them. Turns out, they were like that because every time they got dull he just took them over to the grinder and put a new edge on them. Even as often as I sharpen, it's going to take a long time before I wear out a chisel that way.