How to sharpen wood chisels is something that anyone working with wood will need to know at some point. Over time even the best wood chisels can lose their cutting edge, and if left too long will only be good for cracking open tins of paint.
But it doesn’t take too long to get your wood chisels looking shiny and good as knew once again, so here are 3 simple tips on how to sharpen wood chisels.
1. Sharpening
A sharper wood chisel will mean more precise chiselling for future jobs. To sharpen your chisel, you will need a sharpening stone which anyone serious about woodwork or carpentry will probably already own.
First you want to flatten the bottom of the chisel. You do this by holding it flat to your sharpening stone and working it backwards and forwards, lengthwise, across the three grits (coarse, medium and fine).
Then to sharpen the bevel with the same action, across the same grits, but this time with the chisel face down on its bevel.
2. Honing
Step two when it comes to sharpening a wood chisel is honing. This brings the edge of the chisel to a finer point.
To to this you simply need some sandpaper that you have secured against a strong flat surface. You will want to use 600-800 grit sandpaper and end with a 1,000 grit micro finishing sandpapers for the actual honing.
3. Stropping
The final step in the wood chisel sharpening procedure is stropping. You do this by rubbing the micro-bevel on the rough side of leather which you will have secured onto the same flat surface you used for the honing.
Ensure you have smeared some medium polishing compound into the leather as this will polish the steel and finish the sharpening job.
If you were wondering how to sharpen wood chisels, well now you know! Your now super-sharp wood chisels are ready for work once again.
Wood Chisels from Tradefix Direct
Tradefix Direct stock a number of wood chisels made by Bahco, and range from 6mm to 38mm. The bevel edge chisels are designed to offer high performnace standards and are created from hardened, tempered steel with precision ground blades. These wood chisels are made for maximum sharpness and long-lasting performance.
Click to see our full range of wood chisels.