newbie needs sharpening advise

[bluesman]

Hi again

Is it usual to put a micro bevel on all chisels and plane irons. What angles are best? I have a fairly good double sided oilstone but it's getting a bit hollow and some cheapo diamond stones and an old honing guide but it doesn't hold the blades square. What is a good not-too expensive kit of tools for sharpening please.

 

[George_N]

I've been very happy with theVeritas MkII honing guide, not cheap though at £30. I like waterstones and have found these to be very good. Not every one will agree with this...many prefer oilstones or diamond stones, or ceramic stones or the scary sharp method (if you haven't come across this one try a quick internet search). It is worth spending a bit on getting your sharpening right because sharp tools are more likely to do what you want them to do and generally make life so much easier. No doubt others will be along soon to weigh in with their opinions. This subject has been pretty well covered on this forum, so a quick search will also yield lots of good information and a wide variety of opinions (sometimes too much variety). Any way I hope this helps.

 

[engineer one]

ok taking your questions in order, no back bevelon chisels.
as for planes, depends upon what you are using them for, start without
and get used to sharpening the "conventional" way, then as you get more
experience, you can change add, or subtract.

the ice bear stones are a good starting point, and whilst most of
us love the veritas guide, you canbuy a cheapo guide to get started.

you will also need an old bit of leather and some rouge for the
final polish up, and wire edge removal.
have fun .
paul :wink:

 

[bluesman]

Thanks guys - gives me something to go on. Any more suggestions welcome too.

 

[Alf]

You could try this lot as a quick road to confusion... Go for the links that sound like a general guide or risk your brain dribbling out of your ears. 8-[

Cheers, Alf

 

[bluesman]

thanks again Alf - brain already turning to mush

 

[engineer one]

boy are you going to slide down the slope quickly :lol: :twisted:

paul :wink:

 

[Keefaz]

thanks again Alf - brain already turning to mush

Hey, mate. As a fellow newbie, I'll tell you what's working for me.

1. I grind anything that looks like it needs grinding--e.g. an old chisel or whatever--to 25 degrees on a 240 grit waterstone using a honing guide. You need only do this step very rarely for each chisel or plane iron in order to put on the initial angle.

2. Then, I'll adjust the guide to 30 degrees and take it to a combination waterstone like this: just a couple strokes on the 1000g to put on the micro-bevel then take it to the 6000g side. Work it back and forth four or five times. This is when you'll see or feel the burr on the edge of the blade.

3. Keeping the blade in the honing guide, if possible, flip the blade over. Keep the back of the chisel or iron flat to the stone and work it back and forth. This loosens the burr.

4. Turn it back around (so you're back working at that 30 degree angle) and draw the blade back a few times.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 a couple of times until the burr's gone.

6. Remove the blade from the guide and draw it through the end grain of a bit of an offcut you've got lying around.

Done!

You can probably get sharper, but for a beginner it'll definitely do the job.

 

[bluesman]

thanks - I think I just need a simple method like that. It's easy to get carried away looking for the perfect solution but for my purposes I don't need to be too precise.

 

[todd]

I have a couple of paring chisels which I hollowed ground several years ago,they need a secondary angle honed on them ,but you natually get one when you hone the hollow on a stone by laying the hollow on the stone .
I believe this is the way to get a chisel as sharp as possible.I would not reccomend this sharping process for anything other than a paring chisel though