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When I teach people to sharpen I notice a bad habit that many of them have: They think that rubbing the tool against a stone is sharpening. The more they rub, the sharper it gets, no?
Well, no.
I think that sharpening is more about seeing and feeling than it is about rubbing. (Snakes alive I am going to catch crap for that line.)
It’s subtle. And I know it’s Monday. But allow me to be subtle.
When I sharpen a tool, the goal is to remove as little metal as possible and get the best edge possible. Why do I care about the amount of metal I’m removing? Well the less metal I remove when honing the longer I can go between grinding sessions. And if I’m removing less metal then I’m probably going to get back to work faster.
Here’s how I remove as little metal as possible:
1. I sharpen with a honing guide so I can always hit the right angle. If I’m bang on at 30° or whatever, then it will be only a few strokes to remove the old edge. If I miss the angle (even by a degree or two), I’m might have to remove a lot of metal to get a fresh edge.
2. On the coarse stone (#1,000 in this case), I stop stroking the second that I can feel a burr on the unbeveled face of the tool. Once you’ve cut a fresh edge, you are wasting your time and effort. Move up to the polishing stones.
In the video above, I’m sharpening a chisel on my Shapton waterstones. I use #1,000, #4,000 and #8,000. The #8,000 is probably overkill for a chisel. I like me some overkill. Also, it takes me 30 strokes or so to cut a fresh edge on the #1,000 stone. That’s more than usual. Typically, it’s 10 or 20 strokes — then I move up to the polishing stones.
All in all, this little video shows what the sharpening process looks like for me for chisels and handplane irons. Though this isn’t a race, I’m happy with a 2:30 interruption in my workflow.
— Christopher Schwarz
I like Ron Hock’s Book “The Perfect Edge”
And I think you will, too. Ron is everything you want in a sharpening instructor. He has spent a lifetime in the sharpening and tool business and he’s a funny writer (sharpening can be boring). It’s a $29.99 investment in better sharpening. Get your copy here.
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Nice training wheels. When are you gonna lose the skirt and become a mechanic?
Good sharpening video!
But Chris you have to do something with all that hair hanging down in the video’s. Good thing there’s nothing mechanical or any kind of moving or spinning parts– I can feel OSHA having a field day by using all of that dangling hair for their training video’s on how not to approch any moving parts!
Just gigging you!
Hayden
Michael,
I definitely understand the benefits of a tertiary bevel, but I stick to a single micro-bevel out of habit. I like to keep the jig at one setting and with the speed of waterstones, I don’t see a problem getting my scratches out.
I might have to grind a little sooner with my techniques, but I’m OK with that.
Chris
I’d like to ask a question too. I see you changing grits 3 times (including the first), but i don’t see you changing the angle on the jig. Does this mean that you only have 2 bevels (primary and secondary) and not a micro bevel for the final polishing. If so why?
Thanks in advance.
Michael (from the Netherlands)
yes, you have an international audience.
The bottom of my sharpening box is lined with about seven years of slurry. If your stones slip, I’d nail little blocks of wood down to restrain the stones.
This is how I sharpen my plane irons as well. I am using downward pressure only on the pull stroke. On the return, the tool is skimming over the water. I do have better luck sharpening in only one direction.
Hope this helps.
Another silly question:
What do you have lining the bottom of your plywood box? My stones always seem to move a little when sharpening.
One more thing. You use a back and forth motion on your last stone. Do you do this with plane irons as well? I remember you mentioning in an old post that you get a better polish when polishing in one direction only to finish. I’ve been doing this and find it does make a difference for me.
Thanks for the video! Super helpful.
Mike
Once you turn a burr you don’t need to look for it again. What I’m actually doing there is trying to remove any slurry on the face of the tool.
The way I decide to move up in grits is to observe the edge and see if I have remove the scratches from the previous grit.
The rag doesn’t remove the burr. The burr is worn down as you progress through the higher grits and is finally removed on the 8,000 stone.
Chris
Chris, I see you checking for a burr between each grit, but you didn’t remove the burr by polishing the back between each grit, so how do you tell if the medium and fine grits are done by feel? Do you remove the burr when you wipe with the rag?
It’s a plant mister from the hardware store (try the gardening section). They cost $10. Well worth it.
Chris
Carl,
I’ve not found my wiping to be a problem. I have more problems if I get the slurry from a coarse stone on a fine one.
Interesting question, however.
And you can find my dumb sharpening jig here:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/my-embarrassing-tool-setting-jig
With links to a better one as well.
What I want to know is where do you get the spray bottle?
I use that aluminum square for checking cambers and confirming that edges are square to the sides. Couldn’t sharpen without it.
Chris
Curious, the little red square on the left side of the screen next to the screwdriver is used for what purpose?
Thanks.
Chris,
Is that LN chisel O-1 or A2 steel?
Perhaps a silly question but by wiping the blade, don’t you risk removing the wirey burr?
Also, is there a page on that little jig you use to quickly set the angle?
It is a Shapton. But it’s from the pro series, not the Glasstones. I’ve burned through two #1,000-grit Glasstones, so I switched to the Pro series for that grit. Works great.
I’d think you’d get more crap for saying ‘snakes alive’ than the too easy usual target.
Looks like a decent amount of pressure you’re applying. Guess I’ll have to up the pressure when I’m sharpening, no wonder it takes me so long… That #1000 stone looks awfully yellow… more Norton than Shapton?
I don’t know boss, you lost a good 35 seconds messing around with the jig.
Shaptons and Naniwa stones do not have to be soaked prior to use.
It looks like you only wet your water stones with a spray bottle and you did not let them soak in water for 10 minutes beforehand. Is this true? Does it do anything to immerse the stones fully before using them?