Comments on: Sharpening a New Chisel

By: Phil Rush

Phil Rush — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:58:38 +0000

I have a set of MHG bench chisels and recently bought a set of MHG carpenter chisels, which are very heavy. I have been delighted with both sets. I have three L-H mortise chisels, and they are nice, but I like the MHG handles better, and hate it when the handle falls off. The backs of the MHG chisels were dead flat out of the box, and I only did a microbevel with 6000 and 8000 stones. After some very heavy use, the bench chisels needed a new bevel cut which was relatively quick with 320, 400, 600 grit paper, then a 1200 grit stone. I then did the micro bevel. I love my Veritas honing guide for chisels of 1/2 ” plus in width. I find it works poorly at smaller sizes. We all have to find our own way on sharpening.

By: A well earned Sunday « Gest Clarinetist

A well earned Sunday « Gest Clarinetist — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:07:32 +0000

[...] was smaller. I used the method of creating a micro bevel, which is what my school teaches. (here’s a good overview of how to sharpen chisels with a micro bevel… one thing I noticed, he doesn’t soak his 8000 grit stone, and although I would assume [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:17:36 +0000

@Tom: I have one LN plane, and you’re right… the iron was MUCH easier to sharpen initially than these chisels. The LN chisels are beautiful but they were (unfortunately) outside my price range when I bought the MHG set. If I ever upgrade again, the LNs will be at the top of my list.

These MHG chisels are pretty nice and relatively inexpensive. It took some effort to set them up properly, but they are 100 times better than my old set of cheap chisels. I’ve been pleased with how well they retain their edge.

By: Tom Adamski

Tom Adamski — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:00:36 +0000

Dave,
Great demo…

Have you tried Lie-Nielson planes and chisels? It would cut down on the sharpening. Well, on the initial sharpening.

Tom

By: Carlos Lara

Carlos Lara — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:56:09 +0000

Is a good tool for the shop for a better sharp.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:45:48 +0000

@Eric: I have not yet encountered a situation where I needed a Nagura stone to get good results from my 8000 grit waterstone. My guess is that the Nagura is not as necessary with the man-made Norton stones as it is with natural Japanese waterstones.

As for removing the burr, you can wait until the very end to remove it if you want… but it only takes 1 or 2 strokes on the 8000 grit stone to take care of it. My personal preference is to remove it between each grit. Try it both ways and stick with the method you like the best.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:19:25 +0000

Nice post! I didn’t know that the 8000-grit doesn’t need to be soaked. I thought it was interesting that you didn’t mention the nagura stone, because everything I have read said that you need to use a nagura stone on anything 6000-grit and above, to create a slurry. Still, you’re getting results without one, so is it just marketing hype?

Also, is it necessary to rub off the burr in between each stone, or can you just wait until you’ve gone through all the grits?