Anyone who is keen on woodworking will be aware how important it is to look after your tools. As the old saying goes; look after your tools and they will look after you! In this article I will look at the proper care, storage and sharpening of chisels.
Anyone who owns some decent hand tools know that looking after them properly is incredibly important. There are many different types of hand tool and each needs to be looked after differently. Since I have been using the same chisel for several years, despite fully refurbishing my camper van, I thought I would look at that.
Remember to store your chisel properly. The less you need to sharpen it the better, so dont get it blunt unnecessarily. Woodworking tools, like all hand tools, are better stored hanging on a rack. Its best not to keep them in a draw, but if you must then ensure they arent tossed in together. Use dividers to protect them. You need a good, sharp edge on your chisel and if they are improperly stored and bang against each other you will lose the edge sooner.
You will need several sharpening stones, oil and a leather strop to sharpen your chisel. Oil the first sharpening stone for lubrication. Take the chisel firmly in hand and gently run it against the sharpening stone at an angle of 20 degrees. You will need to work both sides of the blade evenly for a good edge. When you think that you have a burr then test it by dragging your finger away from the edge, if you can feel a slight roughness in the edge then the blade is ready for the next stage; use the slip stone which you should use to sharpen away the burr that you formed.
Once the burr has been sharpened away with the slip stone you will need to work the edge with the leather strop. Again this will need to be done evenly on both sides. The leather strop will take the last remnants of the burr away and leave the edge sharp.
Test the blade by very gently resting the sharp edge on your finger nail. If the blade sticks to your nail, rather than sliding, then you know it is sharp enough.
Remember that repeated sharpening of your chisel will eventually damage it, like any woodworking tools, looking after the blade so you dont need to sharpen it is your best bet. Store your chisels properly and use them properly. My chisel is already quite old but I expect to get a lot more use out of it.
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