Sharpening chisels

[Steven Bolton]

Hi:

New to this forum, which I think is wonderful. I would like to sharpen chisels.

Watched a DVD on using Japanese water stones. Looked good, but sloppy. What about DMT's diamonds?

Any thoughts on Japanese stones vs. diamond stones?

Thanks

Steven Bolton

[Jimmy Newman]

I purchased a few days ago the Veritas MkII Honing Jig and a set of the DMT Diasharp 3"x8" continuous surface diamond stones (coarse, fine, and extra fine - they recently came out with an extra extra fine that I'm planning on getting when I can find one). They are not cheap at about $50 per stone, but they also should last the next best thing to forever and will not go out of flat the way oilstones/waterstones will. The Diasharp stones are basically a 3/8" steel plate with one continuous diamond surface on one face. I purchased the Diasharps specifically because I want to sharpen pointy things without worrying about the points catching between the holes in the diamond surface that occur on most diamond stones. I also am working on building guitars a little bit and they look to be just about ideal for fret leveling/polishing.

Unfortunately, my extra fine stone arrived damaged (face covered in pits, nicks, and scratches) - but DMT's customer service appears to be pretty good. They've given me their UPS account number to ship it back to them and said they'll send me a new one when they get it.

I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but aside from the bum surface on one of the stones they look really good. The surface on the other two stones is very even. DMT claims they sharpen a lot faster than oilstones or waterstones (they claim 5-10 minutes on a stone is the same as 20 seconds on a diamond sharpener - I don't know about that, I guess we'll see). I'll make sure to report back after I have a chance to use them.

As a side note, I would highly recommend the Veritas Mk. II Honing Jig - it's really slick.

[Steven Bolton]

I was going to buy the more basic Vertias honing jig. The Veritas Mk. II Honing Jig is that much better?

Did you consider anything like the Tormex system?

Thanks

Steve Bolton

[Jimmy Newman]

I realized today that Veritas' naming system is a little confusing. I have the Mk. II honing guide, which is about $50, not the Mk. II power honing system which has the big rotating wheel, etc. It is only about $10 more than the original honing guide, and it has some substantial improvements - it has a very clever mechanism by which it registers the blades to make sure that they are square and sets the bevel angle accurately. It's a nice little piece of equipment. There's even an accessory available to set angles for skews, although I haven't seen it and don't know how well it works.

I thought about the Tormek or Jet grinders, but they seem like a pain to get out and set up each time you want to use them, and I just am not going to be sharpening enough for it to be worth it to me. From what I have read, they make a lot more sense for someone who is a full-time woodworker rather than someone who is woodworking recreationally when time is available around a job (which is where I fit). Between the expense of unit itself and the jigs and accessories that make up the whole system, I think I'll be just as happy with the diamond stones, especially given the other things I can use them for. Finally, I don't really have a permanent shop set up so it's nice for the whole sharpening kit to pack up into a corner of a toolbox.

You probably shouldn't base any decisions on mine, though, I'm still fairly new to this :).

[Tom Veatch]

Hi:

New to this forum, which I think is wonderful. I would like to sharpen chisels.

Watched a DVD on using Japanese water stones. Looked good, but sloppy. What about DMT's diamonds?

Any thoughts on Japanese stones vs. diamond stones?

Thanks

Steven Bolton

I know you didn't ask about it, but for my money you can't beat the "Scary Sharp" method for chisels and plane irons.

If you're not familiar with the term, DAGS "Scary Sharp". A piece of glass and some sandpaper is about as inexpensive as you can get, and sharp enough to pare transparent shavings off endgrain oak is plenty sharp enough for me.

[Robert Miller]

I'll throw in my .02

I struggled for a long time to get my chisels and plane irons sharp using whetstones etc. I thought that they were sharp until I met a friend of mines sister who just happens to be a professional woodcarver . Not only is she a pro, but she apprenticed the old way, studying for years with a Master Carver doing church work in Italy.
Here is her technique.

She uses diamond stones only like the DMT or Norton. ( hers are Norton) in four stones. Coarse, medium, fine, extra fine.

She spends a lot of time on the back of the chisel working her way up through the stones until she has the back of the chisel an absolute mirror.
She uses mineral oil as a lubricant. ( you can use water too)
Also she strokes the stone sideways ( the long way). because it gives her more cutting surface faster.
Only then does she address the bevel edge. She does not grind a double bevel. She polishes the entire bevel.
She does not use a honing guide but holds her wrist with her other hand to steady it.
She works her way up through the stones until she has a mirror finish. If it's really sharp, you cannot determine where the edge is because of the reflection.
Then she takes a piece of smooth cardboard and rubs it with white rouge and strokes the chisel .
From there the final step is to stroke the chisel on a clean piece of cardboard with no rouge.
The result is a chisel that is as sharp as a scalpel. It's just unbelievable how sharp this is.
I always thought my chisels where sharp well, here is an old beat up ,cheap chisel that I sharpened her way, and here it is cutting a dovetail in white oak.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1070060.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1080061.jpg

[Jimmy Newman]

That sounds like exactly the right method to me, with one caveat - if you don't have a lot of practice sharpening, not using a guide to keep a consistent bevel angle makes it pretty easy to "roll" the tool towards the edge while you're honing, which won't get you as sharp as if you keep a consistent angle. I know people who can do it perfectly by hand - as it sounds like your friend can - but I know I can't :).

[Steven Bolton]

Thanks for the great advice. I think I like the sound of the diamond sharpening. I wonder how big that ladies diamonds were? (not the ones on her finger either) I think I would use the honing jig.

That dovetail in the white oak is quite impressive. I watched a little video on You Tube and the person in that video sure liked the diamond system. Perhaps he is an employee of the company.

Thanks again. Any further thought from this rich community is appreciated.

I just found a motorized grinder for free that travels at 1725 rpms. I assume I could use that is chisels are really in bad shape.

Thanks again.

Steve Bolton

[Jimmy Newman]

That's a "slow speed grinder" - slow as compared to the 3450RPM grinders. You can use them to grind hollow primary bevels on chisels and to reshape blades. The only problem with them is that they heat up the metal in the blade. Not as quickly as the 3450RPM grinders - but if you really bear down on a chisel and keep it on the grinder for too long, you can actually get it hot enough to mess up the temper. If the blade starts to change color, take the tool off the grinder IMMEDIATELY.

There's a really good book by Tom Lie-Nielsen which goes over just about everything you could possibly need to know about sharpening. It's not cheap, but if you don't have someone who can show you how to do all of it it is very helpful. It is published by Taunton and is available at Rockler (and I think Woodcraft). Also directly from Taunton, I believe, and probably online bookstores.