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Sharpening Chisels and Hand Plane Blades

Sharpening our own tools can be a very overwhelming task for most beginners, but its not as bad as we usually imagine it to be. Really there are three very basic steps to the entire process and once the first step is taken care of, the rest of the job is as simple as 1..2..3. Step 1. Flatten the backside of the blade, also referred to as lapping. You dont have to flatten the entire backside, just the first 12 inches depending on the blade. Always start with your coarse sharpening surface, either a 220/320 wet/dry sandpaper or a 800 grit waterstone. Once an uniform scratch pattern has been developed move up to a medium surface to refine the backside, either a 600 wet/dry sandpaper or a 1000/1200 grit waterstone. The last part of flattening the backside is to produce a mirror like reflection using a fine surface, either 1500 wet/dry sandpaper or a 4000 grit waterstone. Step 2. Hone the primary bevel to 25 degrees, for most bench tools. Dont hesitate to use a jig there are many on the market, take advantage of their ease of use and reproducibility of results. Establish the primary bevel using your medium surface. After only a few passes with minimal finger pressure just behind the cutting edge, the refined bevel should be clearly established and the scratch pattern should extend to the cutting edge. Flip the tool over and run your thumb along the edge on the backside, you should feel a small metal burr. Remove that burr by lapping the backside 23 times on your fine surface as you did in Step 1. Repeat this process of honing the primary bevel on your medium surface and removing the burr by lapping with the fine surface at least 2 more times. Step 3. Hone the microbevel to 30 degrees. The main purpose of the microbevel is to make it that much easier to resharpen your blades, not to mention the few extra degrees really help to make cutting that much easier. By having a microbevel established, when you rehone a dull blade, you only have to worry about removing a smaller amount of material versus rehoning the entire face of the primary bevel. Establish the microbevel on the cutting edge by using your medium surface. Only a few passes should result in the microbevel being present. Feel for and then remove the burr on the backside, again using only the fine surface. Once the microbevel is established with the medium surface, move up to the fine surface and repeat the process. The small microbevel will be as reflective as the backside and the burr will be very minimal, but still remove it. Congratulations, you just sharpened your first blade!!!! Remember the hardest part will always be flattening the back, but once that is accomplished you shouldnt have to repeat the process again. To rehone a dull edge, simply set up your jig at 30 degrees and repeat Step 3. If you manage to get a major nick in the cutting edge you may have to repeat Steps 2 & 3, but mostly you should be able to go to Step 3 without any concerns. Important notes about sharpening systems: Always use the correct lubricant to avoid overheating the metal. You can very easily change the properties of the metal and they will fatigue much easier. Comparable grits between sandpaper and waterstones are as follows:  Sandpaper / Waterstones 220 or 320 / 800; 600 / 1000 or 1200; 1500 / 4000

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