sharpening stones

Blithering said:

Why is it called scary sharp?

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Some folks get nervous about ultra sharp tools, but super sharp tools are easier to work with and much safer because you don't have to apply as much pressure to make a cut, so there is less chance of it slipping. A relative helped me install double french interior doors, and borrowed one of my chisels to cut a latch mortise. He said he'd never worked with a chisel that sharp before, it was like a hot knife through butter. Most people don't do the final steps of ultra high grit to bring the chisel to a fairly shiny appearance, then a leather strop with some sharpening compound to work off the slight burr on the edge.

I have a sharpening machine, but almost never use it, except to deal with a damaged chisel. I don't like wetstones because you must flatten them. When I use sandpaper, it's attached to a piece of half inch plate glass, which is ultra flat.

The only other consideration about using powered grinders is that they can overheat the blade so it loses it's temper, in which case it won't hold an edge very long.

Look up the method on YouTube. There are a lot of videos on the topic. Some include how to tune up a chisel or plane iron, which must be done before you use it the first time.

You might already know this stuff, so I wrote a bit long so someone who hasn't done this before gets the info.

Here's the Stumpy Nubbs video on the topic. Very detailed.

I too am a convert to the 'scary sharp' method (no idea about the origin of the name other than it does produce some scary sharp edges...!). Rockler has a kit, which includes a piece of plate glass and some rubbery feet to mount to the glass, along with a set of graded grit 'sand' paper. One set goes from 220, 320, 400, to 600 grit and another set goes from 800, 1200, 1500, to 2000 grit, I think the tempered glass piece is around a foot or so square and the sandpaper is 4-1/2" x 11" inches I've got it set up so I have the coarse grit set on one side of the glass and the fine grit set on the other. I cut the paper to just less than 3 inches wide so I could mount all four grits on one side of the glass. I use this mainly for chisels. What's nice about it is that I've got the glass piece stored in a plastic box I got at an artist supply store and it sits on the shelf above my workbench. When I need to touch up the edge to my chisel, I pull it out, grab my spray water bottle and in a few strokes, have the edge back to being scary. I confess I use a chisel holder to do this - I know the 'big kids' don't need that crutch and can just find the right angle.

I read an article about sharpening in either Fine Woodworking or Woodsmith that suggested that for chisels, it makes sense that the chisel have two angles - the final cutting angle at the tip (most of mine are 30 deg) and a smaller angle for the rest of the blade. So once that 'base angle' is set then using the scary sharp sandpaper method, starting with the coarsest grit, will give you a tip that's about 1/16 to 1/8 inch. Its also important to flatten the back. The Stumpy Nubs video mentioned above goes into this, as I recall. BTW, I have no relationship with Rockler other than being a usually satisfied customer...