[DesertRatTom]

I use mostly fine diamond stones these days and retired all my so-so quality steel chisels and blades. Touch up after use, depending on how much I did with the blades or irons. Flatten the back a little further up than some, about half an inch, and polish til I get a mirror on the back. Do it once right and you won't have to flatten it again.

I have a couple of chisels that get very rough use, and I've had to use coarse (80 or 120 grit to get rid of the nicks. If I grind the dings out of the blade, I use an angle guide to line it up correctly. For touchups, I often hand hold the blade on a diamond stone with a light lubricant. I use the arm hair test to check my results.

I have a worksharp 2000 that gets the occasional workout, but I save that for serious grinding work. But sharpening takes practice and patience. And for that, you get the pleasure of using scary sharp tools, which takes a lot of labor out of your tasks.

 

[DesertRatTom]

This set me to recalling having a guy come help me hang a set of French Doors to replace a sliding glass door. When it came time to cut out a recess for a ball stop at the top, I had him use my freshly sharpened premium set of chisels. He was astonished at just how sharp they wer--he'd never used one that sharp before. It was cutting effortlessly and precisely. I had to make sure he didn't borrow them permanently.