Need advice on chisel sharpening

[shrimp]

I've been given some chisels to do some work in my house so I'm looking for some advice on the best way to sharpen them without breaking the bank. I've looked at the scary sharpening method but it's going to cost about £20 just for a piece of glass so am I better off buying an oilstone.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Research existing threads, there are loads. Everything anyone's likely to say has already been said, but yes for general house butchering an oilstone is as good a choice as any. Welcome btw.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Welcome to the forum.

We haven't had a sharpening thread for so long, I'll just get the popcorn. #-o

 

[wizard]

Flat surface honing guide and wet and dry paper and a belt sander if you have one

 

[wizard]

If you use an oil stone you will need to flatten it with a flat surface and wet and dry paper at sometime so forget the oil stone and just use the wet and dry paper

 

[Trafalgar]

I've been given some chisels to do some work in my house so I'm looking for some advice on the best way to sharpen them without breaking the bank. I've looked at the scary sharpening method but it's going to cost about £20 just for a piece of glass so am I better off buying an oilstone.

The fine fellow in this video is a regular participant on this forum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpWmcmhntGs

I use oilstones. I have had India oilstones for years and they are still flat. Use both sides, don't glue or plaster them into a box. Oldtimers did so with natural stones because the mining co./processesor usually only finished one side of the stone, or one side just wasn't to grade. The bad side was no good for honing so the stone was plastered into a box, bad side down. Only idjits plastered a stone in that had two good sides. Synthetic oilstones are good both sides and both sides should be used. I use single-grit stones, not combo stones with a fine side and a coarse side though there is nothing wrong with these at all.

 

[Corneel]

If you use an oil stone you will need to flatten it with a flat surface and wet and dry paper at sometime so forget the oil stone and just use the wet and dry paper

No, you don't need to flatten the stone.

 

[AndyT]

Some sound advice there.

Oilstones are a long established, simple and relatively cheap method of sharpening.
Other methods have appeared during the last few decades - waterstones, abrasive papers, diamond stones, ceramic stones. Also various machines with fine enough abrasives to make a finished cutting edge.
Each has its merits and drawbacks. Discussion of which is "best" can become as personal as discussing what food is best. It depends! Finding out for yourself can cost more than dining out in some very smart restaurants.

But for your basic requirements I agree that a simple double sided oilstone used as demonstrated by Graham in that video would be a good answer.

Don't buy the stone from a pound shop though. Go to a reputable supplier such as Classic Hand Tools, Workshop Heaven or Axminster and buy a Norton IB8 or equivalent 8" x 2" combination stone for £23 - £30.

 

[lanemaux]

Hi Shrimp , and welcome to the forum. Sharpening is a sort of hot button around here which , as Phil P. says , has been done to death. Asking what the best method is amounts to walking into a comic convention and asking who the best superhero is. For rough and ready work on a budget you can't go far wrong whatever way you go , even a pound shop stone and a few minutes will get you there for cheap and cheerful wood bashing. How far you wish to take your sharpening then depends on what you wish to do. For example , the Japanese take sharpening to wild levels for their planing competitions in order to make shavings of truly astonishing thinness and measure them with micrometer precision. Much prestige is attached to ,what is to them ,a very serious competition.
Scary sharp is a good way , but consumes lots of abrasives at no little cost. But it is rather nice to get that forearm shaving , bright and shiny edge without spending the frankly "scary" price that Japanese waterstones command.
Western stones (water or oil) are less pricey for real world applications and have been in use since sharpening metal meant getting a good edge on your sword. Each has advantages as waterstones tend to cut better because they wear to a new layer of abrasion quickly and oilstones won't wear out as quickly , and as such remain flatter and more useful longer. Are we beggining to see the Yin and Yang involved here?
So , the best way is to find one that suits you and to practice. Get the angle of the bevel and stick to it . Get a wire edge and then remove it until you have 2 surfaces that meet at as close to zero thickness as you can and see if it cuts. Repeat as needed.

 

[Jacob]

If you use an oil stone you will need to flatten it with a flat surface and wet and dry paper at sometime so forget the oil stone and just use the wet and dry paper

No, you don't need to flatten the stone.

Agree.
I've never flattened a stone in 50 years, except once as an experiment - didn't bother again. But you do need to freshen up the surface now and then. I use a 3m diapad because I happen to have one and it's flexible so follows the curves of the stone. But I imagine a coarse wet n dry will do it OK.

 

[wizard]

If you use an oil stone you will need to flatten it with a flat surface and wet and dry paper at sometime so forget the oil stone and just use the wet and dry paper

No, you don't need to flatten the stone.

when they get a hollow in them you do

 

[Jacob]

If you use an oil stone you will need to flatten it with a flat surface and wet and dry paper at sometime so forget the oil stone and just use the wet and dry paper

No, you don't need to flatten the stone.

when they get a hollow in them you do

No you don't have to.
You should work over the whole stone so it never gets too hollow in the first place but if it's been badly done you just work around it and try to get it flatter as you go.

 

[Trafalgar]

While at $15 to $20 US apiece they aren't that big a deal to replace, it is practically impossible to work a hollow into a synthetic oilstone unless one goes out of their way to do so. In the normal course of honing tools that a cabinetmaker uses, it is about as unlikely as a meteor crashing through the roof of your shop.

Don't let people who don't use them tell you all about them. It's like asking a Baptist about Catholicism.

"Mind the corners and the middle will take care of itself" I've heard it said. Works!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Shrimp!! See what you've gone and done now!!! #-o :lol:

 

[wizard]

All the ones i have bought second hand at car boot sales i have flattened then put them on the shelf where they will stay until a can think of a use for them, any grinding will be done on my linisher and honing on my surface plate that i used to flatten the oil stones on.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Shrimp!! See what you've gone and done now!!! #-o :lol:

I'm on my second bag of popcorn now. :lol:

 

[wizard]

My chisel is sharper than your chisel :lol:

 

[RobinBHM]

Last year I bought a cheap diamond stone from Aldi for less than £10.00 not great but its got 3 grits and has sharpened up chisels well enough.

One thing to remember is that chisels are ground to form a primary bevel, which can be done on a stone but is slow and then need a secondary bevel for sharpening. If you use your chisels for opening cans of paint, chasing in walls etc then it will probably get chipped badly and need both grinding and honing to use for paring wood.

 

[G S Haydon]

I've been given some chisels to do some work in my house so I'm looking for some advice on the best way to sharpen them without breaking the bank. I've looked at the scary sharpening method but it's going to cost about £20 just for a piece of glass so am I better off buying an oilstone.

The fine fellow in this video is a regular participant on this forum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpWmcmhntGs

I use oilstones. I have had India oilstones for years and they are still flat. Use both sides, don't glue or plaster them into a box. Oldtimers did so with natural stones because the mining co./processesor usually only finished one side of the stone, or one side just wasn't to grade. The bad side was no good for honing so the stone was plastered into a box, bad side down. Only idjits plastered a stone in that had two good sides. Synthetic oilstones are good both sides and both sides should be used. I use single-grit stones, not combo stones with a fine side and a coarse side though there is nothing wrong with these at all.

:lol:

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Hi Shrimp, and welcome to the forum! Don't worry about the fisticuffs earlier in the thread; sharpening always has that effect for some reason. Not your fault at all - you asked a perfectly sensible question!

Here's another vote for the India double-sided oilstone, and for Graham Haydon's excellent video on how to sharpen a chisel with it. It's a bit of a price first off (though nowhere near as expensive as some sharpening equipment), but it'll last for ever; you'll only have to buy it once and you'll have it for life. I'd just add a couple of minor points from experience.

Firstly, once you're confident with it, freehand sharpening (without jigs) is quick and easy, but it does take a bit of practice and perseverance to become really proficient. If the results are a bit variable to start with, don't panic - just keep at it and it'll come together. (If you really can't 'get it' despite plenty of trying, then there's no shame in using a jig. The important thing is to find a method that works consistently for YOU - and don't let anybody tell you you're getting it wrong if your method works for you.)

Secondly, the secret of freehand sharpening is in learning to hold the tool at a consistent angle and keeping it there while you move it up and down the stone. Most early problems and inconsistency come from allowing the tool to flap up and down in a rather uncontrolled manner; so concentrate on getting a good grip that applies pressure just behind the cutting edge of the tool, but supports the handle end. Look closely at Graham's grip, and do something similar.

Thirdly, whilst most workers make a wooden box for their oilstone, it's not compulsory. Just using it on a workmate surface or similar is fine, but you may need a bit of non-slip mat or similar to stop it sliding around, and something to stop oil contaminating your working surface. Also, once you've finished for the day, it's not a bad plan to wipe off the oil, and then wrap the stone in clingfilm or pop it in a poly bag; the oil soaked into the stone leaks out and contaminates anything it sits on (as I discovered the hard way, many years ago!). Also, if you do make or buy a box for it, seal it thoroughly with varnish, shellac or similar to stop the wood absorbing the oil and then contaminating everything.

Fourthly - the leather strop is not absolutely necessary, but it does refine the edge a bit and takes off the last of the wire edge. As it's just a piece of leather (any leather will do, but the harder the better - cheap belt from a charity shop or summat like would be fine) glued to a piece of flat wood, it's cheap enough, and it does make a noticeable difference to a well-sharpened edge.

Finally - what works for chisels also works just the same for plane blades, should you decide you need a plane or two.