As I spend more time using hand tools, I am visiting the topic of sharpening more and more. So for my last experience, I am asking the advise of the sharpening Gods (you guys) on this one. My past method of sharpening my bench chisels and plane irons is via belt sander, the Tage Frid method. However, the more I read and view on the topic, plus the urge to buy one more tool, led me to try out the diamond stones. My intent is to get to "scary sharp' in the least amount of time. My bench chisels currently are sharp, have mirror surface, but not scary sharp. So I set up my test by sharpening 3 chisels. 2 crappy Stanley chisels and one good Japanese chisel. I set up my 3 DMT stones and honed the edge using a Veritas honing guide. I lapped the edge on the 325 grit, 1200 grit, then the 8000 grit. I then stroked the chisel on a piece of leather with the red compound on it. My results were sharp chisels but NOT scary sharp. I passed the paper test, edge grain test, but had trouble with the shaving test. Although each chisel cut arm hair, they did not leave a clean swipe, which is what I was after. Also, after all that honing thru the grits, I can still see scratch marks on my bevel edge and back.
So, my questions to you guys is:
1. Why am I not getting to the scary sharp stage?
2. Am I expecting more than these diamond stones can deliver?
3. Is there a possible problem with my DMT diamond stones? They are brand new.
4. Did I not spend enough time on the stones? I spent about 3 to 5 minutes at each grit.
Thank-you for your insights and helping me to become a sharpening God like you. (LOL)
John