Chisel Conversion

[Mike Baker 2]

[Jim Koepke]

Mike,

You have my commendation for trying. A file shouldn't be able to cut hardened steel. Often though even something soft can wear down something harder. Not saying the file is soft but it should be almost as hard as a chisel.

As for sharpness, a sharp chisel should not be making "nice soft powder" when cutting end grain.

It should make a smooth shaving:

Skew Chisel Paring End Grain.jpg

Notice next to where the shaving is being made the surface from the preceding stroke, the end grain is smooth and not opened up.

If you do a bit more sharpening on your chisel you will be amazed at how much better it performs.

Don't feel bad, in my early days of woodworking my results were much the same.

jtk

[Mike Baker 2]

Jim, thanks.
As for whether or not the chisel is hard, they take and hold a sharp edge, but they are definitely not the hardest of chisels. They did come from HF.
But a factor in it is that it was a 1/4" chisel and I was only filing the very edge. But yeah, I was pretty sure I could do it because I knew the steel was not the best.
As for sharp, it shaves, but yes, it needs another trip to the stone.
Thanks for watching, Jim, and the advice.

[John C Cox]

Thanks for making the video and giving it a go and showing folks that a skew chisel isn't something expensive and custom.....

File wise - I found that often the good fine cut files cut hard steel a lot better than more coarse patterns. The old "file test" for full hard steel was done with a fine cut file... As a more coarse pattern will often give you a "false positive"..

In terms of shaving end grain spruce... That's my first Litmus Test which separates a great chisel from the rest... It's a lot harder to get anywhere near a decent cut on the stuff than many would imagine. And for as "soft" as it is - it sure does eat chisel edges.... Most likely your HF chisel is slightly rolling the edge - which will give you the messy cut... Lap the back with 1 or 2 strokes and then give your chisel a slight microbevel. Try test cuts - increasing the microbevel a bit at a time until it cuts clean.. If it never gets there - switch to another chisel.... Or use that chisel for Mahogany instead. . In all honesty - you may have more luck on spruce end grain as you put microbevels on your Stanley... I did - their steel is good.....

[Mike Baker 2]

Thanks, John.
When I get back around to sharpening again, I'll give that a go.

[Patrick Chase]

You have my commendation for trying. A file shouldn't be able to cut hardened steel. Often though even something soft can wear down something harder. Not saying the file is soft but it should be almost as hard as a chisel.

Depends on the file. The best hard-chrome files like Valtitan and Corrinox have a surface hardness of ~Rc72 and are rated (by their manufacturers) to cut metals up to Rc60. I've used one of those before on a Western chisel just to see if it would work, and it did OK.

As for sharpness, a sharp chisel should not be making "nice soft powder" when cutting end grain.

Indeed :-)

[Mike Baker 2]

I took another shot at it. I went back to a jig and established a solid 25 degree bevel on the chisel, then went back through the sharpening routine. i think the results are much better.
I want to thank all of you, particularly those who encouraged me to try again. Much appreciated.

[Jim Koepke]

That is looking a lot better Mike.

Now you need one skewed from the other side.

jtk

[Mike Baker 2]

Thanks, Jim.
I plan to do another one. I have a dremel and either a grinding stone or cutting wheel attachment for it, which should make the job easier. I just need to decide whether to grind one of my spare Aldi's 1/4", or wait till it warms and hit the flea markets instead.
I have time; I cut my first dovetails a couple days ago. Big single tails on 2 and 3/4" sides for an open face chisel cabinet I'm trying to build. They came out ugly, but I think they will still work. It will be a while before I cut pins small enough to need those 1/4" skews, but it's fun to make a couple for if I need them.
Thanks for the encouragement. It's appreciated.

[Lee Schierer]

Mike, A file shouldn't be able to cut hardened steel.
jtk

When I worked at Channellock we had a room full of people using files to put the final sharpening touches on harden cutting edges for wire cutters. We would wear out files but they would cut the hardened steel. It depends on just which is harder. The test for a properly sharpened wire cutter was to cut twine and strips of paper cleanly (no remaining strands of fiber) along the length of the cutting edge. I even had a friend resharpen some of my older Craftsman (originally made by Channellock) side cutters.

[Patrick Chase]

When I worked at Channellock we had a room full of people using files to put the final sharpening touches on harden cutting edges for wire cutters. We would wear out files but they would cut the hardened steel. It depends on just which is harder.

I assume those were chromed files?

As I mentioned earlier, the better chromed files on the market these days can cut steels all the way up to Rc60, and higher with good technique and/or with a high acceptance for killing files. My chromed files from ~25 years ago can get well into the Rc50s for that matter.

[Lee Schierer]

They were just Nicolson files as far as I recall. I worked there more than 20 years ago.

[Jim Koepke]

They came out ugly, but I think they will still work. It will be a while before I cut pins small enough to need those 1/4" skews, but it's fun to make a couple for if I need them.

1/4" skews work fine in bigger dovetails. Even when dovetailing 2X4s my 1/4" skews are as likely to be used as my 1/2" skews.

We would wear out files but they would cut the hardened steel.

Lee, count me as standing corrected and better informed, thanks to you and Patrick. My misunderstanding likely comes from my dad showing me how a file wouldn't cut a case hardened chain.

jtk

[Mike Baker 2]

Jim, thanks for the tip. I have two more to cut, so I'll give it a try, after whatever nastiness has ahold of my lungs and chst lets go of me. Ugh.