Chisel Questions . . .

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As many may know, I am no fan of hand tools. However, I keep getting a little deeper every few months. First it was card scrapers, now it is better chisels. I am about to take on my first hand cut dovetails (material too thick for dovetail jig). So I got a nice set of MHG chisels (great deal on metric set at Highlands). So I need to know about honing, etc. I was in woodcraft yesterday and saw a piece of wood with leather glued to it for $80. I can not do that and live with myself.
So what exactly do I need to do to get these to hand tool zealot acceptable level of sharpness? I have a hard time thinking about polishing points to get 600 grit marks out! But is that something I need to do?
Ok, go ahead and lead me down this slippery slope.

Thanks
Jeff

Edit : BTW, I have reviewed the Scary Sharp system of using sandpaper and this seems immensely reasonable to me. Anyone else use it?

[JR]

I've used scary sharp to good effect on a set of doggy HF chisels. It takes some time and effort to get the chisels set up the first time. You can run through some sandpaper, so buying by the box is suggested, particularly at the lower grits.

It's definitely worth getting a honing jig that sets the angle at 25 degress for chisels and 30 degrees for planes. Look at Rockler, Woodcraft, etc.

I built a little sandpaper rack that also holds the marble tile I use (tempered glass is recommended). I hung it under a wall cabinet above my bench, making it very convenient to use.

The end result is a mirror finish, so the method definitely works.

Good luck,
JR

[eddy merckx]

Hi Jeffrey

I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions on the best way to sharpen a chisel. I've tried various methods with various levels of frustration. The method I arrived at is pretty easy to master and isn't crazy expensive.

I use a Veritas Mk ll honing guide. These are adjustable to any possible angle and will allow you to keep the chisel or plane blade square. They have a cool microadjustment for a micro bevel. These guides will seriously cut down your learning curve and frustration level.

I first use a set of Harbor Freight diamond stones. These are cheap and flat and last pretty long. You use them to flatten the back and establish the correct bevel. These will take material off quickly but don't leave deep scratches. The bigger chisels can still take a while to flatten, but it much faster than a stone and doesn't wear out like sand paper.

Then I use a reversible water stone with 1000 on one side and 6000 on the other. After getting the back and bevel set with the HF diamond stone, it just takes a few minutes to get an edge you can shave with.

I keep my stone in a tupperware container full of water, so it's always ready to go.

That's probably $100 worth of stuff but you'll really like it when you also want to sharpen plane irons.

What kind of dovetail saw are you going to use?

Eddy

[Slik Geek]

I'm with Eddy.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions on the best way to sharpen a chisel.

Yep.

I use a Veritas Mk ll honing guide... These guides will seriously cut down your learning curve and frustration level.

Same here, agreed.

I keep my stone in a tupperware container full of water, so it's always ready to go.

Yep, plus I put a little bit of bleach in the water to keep it from "growing".

More details on my experience...

I retired my initial "cheap" honing guide with the small wheel. It all too frequently "wobbled" (unknowingly) and left me with a cambered chisel. The Mk II consistently yields excellent results.

I started with scary sharp sandpaper, mostly because I didn't have the cash to invest in waterstones. I bought a polished granite tile at BORG for my working surface and it worked fine (and was cheap). I soon realized that the scary sharp method is very cheap to get started, but if you have a set of chisels that you are doing the complete honing process on, you are going to be buying a lot of sandpaper.

I ended up concluding that the waterstones were a good long term investment. I went with wide, individual stones, as I figured that I wanted them to last a long time.

I haven't tried the diamond stone for the first step - I imagine that my arms would be less tired if I did.

Getting the back of the chisel flat and polished is a long process, but once it is done, you'll never have to it again except a few strokes to remove the wire edge from sharpening.

I just recently used my 1-1/2" chisel extensively for the first time. I had it well sharpened - it took awhile to do it for the first time. It was an absolute pleasure to use. I couldn't believe how good it was cutting.

You'll be asking about block planes soon...

[Jeffrey Schronce]

What kind of dovetail saw are you going to use?

Eddy

Likely the Veritas. Looks like a winner.

"You'll be asking about block planes soon..."

I am NOT looking at the Lie Nelson Low Angle Block Plane!!! I am NOT comparing it to the LV-Veritas Low Angle Block Plane!!! I am NOT aware that that Lie Nelson Low Angle Block Plane is on sale at Woodcraft!

BTW, I can't find the Mk.II on their website. I am looking under Sharpening and all I see is the power system.

[Thom2]

Stop over ... I've still got a set that needs finished .... I don't have the Mk.II, but do a respectable job with the little wobbly wheeled doohickey.

[wardprobst]

Look under Cabinetmaker Sharpening sets in the sharpening menu.
DP

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Look under Cabinetmaker Sharpening sets in the sharpening menu.
DP

Oh, ya exactly where it should be! LOL!

Thanks!

Man this crap is pricey.

[eddy merckx]

I know. It seems impossible that a 24" jointer plane costs nearly the same as a 300 lb motorized jointer. I guess it's more of a niche market.

Eddy

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Thoughts on this set up . . . ?

http://www.holbren.com/product.php?p...6&cat=0&page=1

Using Veritas MK.II (understanding that planes *could* be in my future)

Edit : then I can sharpen all the knives and sissors in the house, thus justifying paying $100 for wet rocks.

[foneman]

Likely the Veritas. Looks like a winner.

"You'll be asking about block planes soon..."

I am NOT looking at the Lie Nelson Low Angle Block Plane!!! I am NOT comparing it to the LV-Veritas Low Angle Block Plane!!! I am NOT aware that that Lie Nelson Low Angle Block Plane is on sale at Woodcraft!

You probably do not want to know about this place to purchase your LN block plane. They have good prices and free shipping.

http://www.finetoolj.com/ln/home.html

[Slik Geek]

Thoughts on this set up . . . ?

http://www.holbren.com/product.php?p...6&cat=0&page=1

I haven't used the Norton stones... I like the 3" width, and the grit spread looks good. It strikes me as a good deal.

I've wondered what a 220 or similar grit waterstone would be like...

[rlah]

I would second the suggestion for waterstones... get whatever the budget allows. I speak from having started with the "Scary Sharp" system... it worked and was cheap. But I bought an inexpensive combo 800/4000 waterstone recently (maybe $20 to $30) and spent the last few days (between ww projects) using it on chisels, knives, hand-plane blades using a guide in some cases... I really like the way the waterstone cuts (and cuts and cuts). It's also easy to flatten with a cheap HF diamond sharpening plate - I use a #600 diamond plate on the waterstones and in just a few seconds it rubs out any unflatness for a perfect flat surface.

I also invested in a head-mounted magnifier glass to help me see how the edge is coming along... the combination of the waterstone and magnifier really works for me - when I see that mirror finish start to appear right on the edge, I *know* I'm getting sharp!

I just bought a honing disc (mounts on a DP) from Klingspor's woodworkingshop.com... I'm going to see if it can get the final edge a bit sharper and also help keep my wife's Flexcut carving tools sharp.

I'd be interested in your comments on the chisels... I'm looking to upgrade from a cheap HF set... I see Woodcraft has a $75 set on sale for $50 now. I wonder how good it is...

My 2¢.
rlah

[eddy merckx]

I'd be interested in your comments on the chisels... I'm looking to upgrade from a cheap HF set... I see Woodcraft has a $75 set on sale for $50 now. I wonder how good it is...

rlah, check this out from last week:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...cle+chisel+set

Thoughts on this set up . . . ?

Jeez Jeffrey, that seem like a nice deal. You hear a lot of good things about the Norton stones. I think you really need that flattening stone with the 220 grit stone. Apparently they remove material very quickly but don't stay flat very long.

Eddy

[rlah]

rlah, check this out from last week:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...cle+chisel+set

Eddy

Thx for the tip! Yes, I would want the better, tougher steel to hold the edge better. There's no point in spending more than HF price unless it's really good steel. Those German chisels sound mighty good even if they are metric, especially on clearance price now.

rlah