Sharpening Tools Bangor ME

CHISELS MAKE UP A LARGE AND IMPORTANT part of the woodworker’s tool kit. The apparent simplicity of a chisel — a blade on a stick — belies the numerous variations on that theme. At the very least, a well-tuned chisel will help you do the work intended with a minimum of effort. And a well-tuned chisel, performing the task for which it was designed, is a truly pleasant and confidence-building experience.

Proper honing of a chisel relies on properly flattening the back. As with plane irons, a flat, polished back is essential to a sharp edge. Frequently, a chisel is used by sliding it on its flat back. The edge can clean a chip out of a corner or flatten a surface. If the chisel’s back is not flat, the cutting edge will arc up and off the surface, so in order to get to and cut that last bit of chip, you’d have to lift the handle or it will just ride up and over the bumps you’re trying to shear off. A concavity on the back is not as serious a problem as a convexity. In fact, Japanese chisel-makers grind a hollow recess on the backs of their chisels to reduce the effort required to sharpen them. If the Japanese chisel- maker went to all that trouble, the least we can do is to use only hand-honing methods on our Japanese chisels. Powered grinders, certainly the high-speed variety, are too harsh for steel that is often very hard and brittle.


A convex back is much more difficult to remedy than a concave one. There is a tendency to rock the convexity to and fro as you slide across the stone, which means you will either polish it as it is, or actually exacerbate the convexity. You need to hold the chisel steady so that your efforts on the abrasive are consistent — unwaveringly parallel to the stone — no rocking as you work the blade back and forth. This is a good job for power tools. A slow disc grinder like the Lap-Sharp, Veritas or the side of a slow-speed Tormek-style wheel can help by allowing you to concentrate on the highspot you’re trying to grind down. A Dremel-type hand grinder can also be used, allowing you to grind down the convexity and even create a concavity on the back like a Japanese chisel. Use a marker to color the entire back surface so you can readily see what’s being ground away. Hold the bump in the blade against the abrasive, grinding it down a little at a time, checking your work often with a straightedge, or by rubbing the chisel’s edge on a flat stone. The marks left by the stone will clearly indicate how you’re progressing.

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