Chisel sharpening - shame on me!

[Curlycherry]

A big to me because for almost 10 years I have just been using my chisels and not sharpening them. They were in what can only be described as terrible shape. I would have taken pictures but I am so ashamed that I could not take a picture.

So today I spent ~6 hours cleaning and sharpening the snot out of them. They are all ScarySharped™ and cleaned and polished to perfection.

Maybe tomorrow I'l change my saw blade out to one that is not all black on the teeth.

[EricU]

as far as sharpening goes I feel like one of those people that gets a new car when it's time to change the oil. Some recent threads and a blog post by Chris Shwartz have convinced me that I should sharpen more often

[Pink Floyd]

If you use your chisels for cutting wood and not opening cans, they need to be sharp. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to use a dull cutting tool. I can't imagine going ten years without sharpening.

[MikeSmith]

Since I bought a worksharp 3000, my chisels are scary-sharp and it only takes a few minutes to keep them that way. In a pinch, I can use their bevel as a mirror.

[Curlycherry]

I should probably pick up something like that for keeping them sharp. I get lazy and think "I'll sharpen that later" and I never get around to it. I'll have to add getting one of those to my wish list.

[jteneyck]

The Scary Sharp method is cheap and works great. If you are like me and can't hold a chisel at a constant angle then get a $15 chisel honing guide. There's really no good reason not to have sharp tools. If you do it as needed it only takes a minute or two.

Now go change that saw blade before something bad happens.

John

[Bill Holt]

Curlycherry, thank you, thank you! I thought I was bad about waiting too long. I spent a little over three hours last Thursday night sharpening chisels and plane blades. The crazy thing, I really enjoy the process once I get started.

[Bibliophile 13]

Confession is good for the soul, they say.

Back before my sharpening skills were developed, I, too, would let my blades go really dull before sharpening them. That was a big mistake. I was advised by some guys down in Hand Tools that if you take a few seconds to hone your edges as soon as they lose their initial keenness (even before they start to feel dull in use), then resharpening is quick and easy.

They were right. The less metal you have to remove to restore an edge, the faster the sharpening job will be.

In other words, "sharpen more to sharpen less."

[John Mihich]

+1 on the WS 3000. I leave the leather on it and touch up each one before I use them. Was a great investment.

[packerguy®]

I guess BEFORE I knew how to sharpen effectively, I did that....just use till I borderline hurt myself.

Spent one day getting them right, Now when I am done, a coupe of passes on the wetstone cleans them up. Takes a minute when putting them away. Cant remember the last mass sharpening session.

I change my saw blades frequently as well, and clean them when they cut off....takes 30 seconds if you dont let pitch build up and burn and use a good spray.

Dull tools are an enemy.