Before You Start…

GEOMETRY & EQUIPMENT

Sharpening Angles

Sharpening angles are one of the many things within this topic that can spark debate. However the majority of people will agree that a 25 degree primary bevel and a 30 degree secondary bevel is the best place to get started. Therefore we will be using this geometry throughout this lesson. Don’t worry if those numbers or words don’t make any sense at the moment. We will cover them later in the lesson.

Honing Guide vs. Freehand

I would strongly recommend using a honing guide as a beginner as it increases your likelihood of producing a sharp, consistent and clean edge. They can also be relatively cheap and take no longer than 20 seconds to setup.

Sharpening freehand is slightly quicker as there is less setup involved, however you will likely face a steep learning curve while developing your muscle memory. You may also find that you spend longer trying to grind out previous mistakes caused by freehand sharpening, than you would have if you just used a honing guide straight away.

It’s completely up to you, but please take advice from experienced woodworkers with a pinch of salt. While they are able to produce a sharp edge using freehand techniques, be aware they have been practicing and developing that method for many more years than you have.

Side note: If anyone tells you that using a honing guide is ‘cheating’ and you are a not a ‘real woodworker’ if you cannot sharpen freehand. Walk away. They are likely too self indulgent to be wasting your time listening to. 

How to Make a Protrusion Stop

A protrusion stop is an invaluable jig when sharpening as it helps you to save time, effort, and allows you to get back to the fun parts of woodworking.

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Choosing a Sharpening Stone and Grit

Fundamentally, the choice of stone doesn’t matter too much. Some cut quickly, some cut slower, some create a mess, some are relatively clean. The main thing to ensure is that the abrasive surface is flat. If not, your chisel will not descend perpendicular to the piece you are working on, which is a huge problem.

Grades of abrasives for sharpening can be loosely categorised into 3 types. These ranges may vary depending on who your ask and to be quite honest, it doesn’t matter too much. This is simply a rough guideline.

Which Grits Do You Need to Sharpen?

If you want to do all your sharpening with just one grit, you can! It’s perfectly possible to re-grind a chisel using a fine 5000 grit abrasive as opposed to a coarse 240 grit abrasive. Why wouldn’t you do this? Because its going to take ages and may wear out your sharpening stone, let alone thoroughly increase your heart rate both through exercise and frustration.

As another example, you could grind a chisel to 25 degrees using a 240 grit stone then jump to polishing on a 5000 grit stone. However it may take ages to remove the scratch marks left by the 240 grit on such a fine abrasive. In this situation, it would most likely be quicker to use a honing grade in between grinding and polishing.

In order to efficiently produce an extremely sharp edge, you will need one grit within each of these ranges.