8 Common Chisel Sharpening Mistakes To Avoid

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

If you liked this, check out Rob's new "Chisel" playlist to see all of Rob's chisel related KZbin videos at: kzbin.info/aero/PLqUOljnY0d9cHRdFZUUFTwuOoZH7FjMCv

[@2112kustoms.]

I personally think the number 1 issue is, people dont enjoy sharpening. Once you get over the fundamentals and get a grove for it. It makes wood working so much fun, knowing you can sharpen anything, it works to the best of your abilities and you creativity with the given tool. Such a pleasure. ❤

[@steh8217]

Totally agree, whereas I enjoy sharpening, but I don't have a dedicated sharpening station, and I use wet stones. So setting up for sharpening and packing away is a whole thing. I'm considering moving to diamond plates and setting up a dedicate sharpening station and then I won't mind sharpening in the middle of doing something 👍

[@2112kustoms.]

@steh8217 as rob always stresses, Get The Best Sharpening Gear! I use my shapton stone pretty offen, and I Sharpen other people's knives and tools to shoe the level an edge can become. A couple are going on 6 years. Zero issues, and top notch results.

[@tektrixter]

I'm the oddball that enjoys sharpening and sanding :)

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Well stated

[@kentboys5017]

Sharpening is the most important skill I learned at the workshop when I was there. Great video! Take care👍🏻

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

And you sharpen so well!!!

[@ued_general5805]

Great video! I would love to see sharpening methods on rounded tools like scorpe.

[@barry.w.christie]

Excellent explanation of how to sharpen chisels properly ... one of these days I'm going to spend a few days and take some bog standard chisels and make then sharp ... I'll be referring to your videos again before I do that 👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

And I bet you get very sharp chisels

[@glencrandall7051]

Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Same to you

[@b-radg916]

Thanks for this timely video! I’ll try this technique next time. I’ve sharpened kitchen knives for years, but am just starting to do chisels and haven’t tried a plane blade yet.

[@dpmeyer4867]

thanks

[@horsetowater]

Thanks for explaining #1 like this.

[@marcmcgettigan3580]

great video. thank you

[@LukeBillins]

How often should the primary bevel be restored at the grinder absent any chips or damage to the chisel? Thanks!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Main reason I do it is to shrink the secondary after it has grown too wide.

[@danthechippie4439]

Hi Rob, I noticed that shapton supply very course stones, 120, 220 and 320 grit I think. Have you ever been tempted to try them in regards to speed up the flattening of the back of the chesils?

[@מעייןהמלבלבתחייםםםם]

Thanks! Free hand sharpening changed the fluency of my woodworking dramatically!!! Keeping it fast and simple! Thanks to you!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Glad you found your sharpening groove

[@RipsteinBuilds]

What brand of stones do you use? Great video by the way

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Shapton

[@arthurmccutchan7000]

Thankd

[@charlesgarnier4255]

Thanks, bud

[@artswri]

Great info Thanks?

[@purpleyams8738]

Where did you find your sharpening tray? Would you mind sharing a link please?

[@daveklein2826]

I don't know about his but I measured my stone holders and went to a few stores and found a winter boot/shoe tray and it has worked great for a few years now

[@mkplante]

Hi Rob, spent quite a bit of time recently on a "Pfeil" chisel from Woodcraft. 15 hours total. First time. Got 3-3.5" of mirror finish, but I don't want to repeat that experience! It had a back bevel, either due to manufacturer error or my incorrect technique. Did all Shapton after realizing Trend is concave at about 30-40um. So Shapton DGLP, 500,1k,2k,4k,8k,16k, sometimes stepping back and starting over. Flattened stones frequently with pencil grid. Running water. So I have a few questions before I dare touch my shiny new IBCs (which do not quite pass the fluorescent tube test). 1) can you flatten on the side of a grinder? (I have CBN, so no risk of shattering, but fixturing is an issue) 2) is it worth practicing on a hardware store chisel first? or will it be more frustrating than educational? 3) how did you make your mirror polish go much beyond the width of a shapton stone (3")? Is it just that flat to start? Or do you ever work from the end instead of the side of the stone? Thanks for your great videos!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

No to the grinding wheel. No to practicing on a cheap chisel. When I do an IBC chisel I take the handle off and run it parallel to the length of the stone. This way it flattens from bow to stern.

[@tunglam8210]

I would like to buy a chisel set . Should I sharpen them before use ?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes

[@alexanderkononov1113]

Nice!

[@JamesSmith-su3oz]

Now that I have watched this video x2 I can now not sque my 1/4 and 1/8" chisel with out the " what did I do" disappointing result. Thanks Rob and team.

[@fayz44awad]

❤thanks

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You bet

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Yes sir

[@croney90]

I always have the issue when flattening wider chisels and plane blades where it feels like I'm hydroplaning over the finer grit stone such as my 12,000 grit. Is there a technique to avoid this?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Apply a few drops of liquid dish soap to your water bottle and see if that helps

[@dennishanes2165]

What is the grit of the diamond / flattening stone, please ? Thx

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

325 grit

[@johnlovett8341]

Awesome! I'm still not there with my chisels yet, but great to see your work My secret sharp chisel plan is move to Rob Cosman's home, befriend him, then save his life so he's forever indebted to me. OK. That came out weirder than intended.

[@edualbergaria10]

May I ask you to do the pressure you do sharpening on a scale? So we have a mesured go to pratice.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

The description we give is. The pressure your would press on a grape without breaking the skin. If I can only use light, medium and hard then its light pressure

[@edualbergaria10]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking I mean, literally a scale. To be mesured in grams and pounds. That grape thing do not work for me.

[@daveklein2826]

Guess you better learn grape pressure

[@edualbergaria10]

@@daveklein2826 there are 5 kinds of grapes in Brazil. Each one with diferents pressures.

[@daveklein2826]

Eddy, if you know that5 different kinds of grapes have different pressure points... You certainly can figure it out....if not, have someone else sharpen your tools....thank for playing

[@brewtalityk]

Your hair is so dope bro. oh yeah thanks for the great content

[@anthonysteventon1518]

wanted to know how to make Robs dovetail chisel , remember watching a video Rob had done ,showing the process of grinding the side bevel on his bench grinder, have searched and unable to find it, can any one help?

[@daveklein2826]

Just buy his chisel

[@anthonysteventon1518]

@@daveklein2826 I like making tools. It’s enjoyable to me

[@Putnik1988]

Мужик , привет тебе из России! Я давно на тебя подписан , и давно смотрю твои видео . Удачи тебе 🖐️

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

😏😀

[@jlinkels]

I am wondering why you use ceramic stones for actual sharpening. As you point out, these get unflat and you need a diamond stone to flatten them again. Why not using diamond stones to sharpen. Just asking.

[@ChefS.Keller]

Diamond stones do not go as high of grit as ceramic

[@dennisspiehs4593]

What is your opinion of Clifton hand planes

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Old Clifton or new Clifton?

[@dennisspiehs4593]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking new model

[@robohippy]

Still trying to wrap my head around how you progress through the grits on the back side of the chisel, but skip grits on the micro bevel, or in your case, micro bevels. I am still stuck in the old school thinking of you need to polish out the scratches from one grit before you progress to the next grit. Supposedly the human eye can see grit scratches up to the 600 or 700 range and then after that, you need magnifiers. If I don't polish out the scratches, then is seems to me that I would still have 600 or so scratches on my cutting edge. I do realize that most of the time you are just touching up the micro bevel, and most of the time it shouldn't need anything beyond polishing.... I can still feel a burr after using the 16000 grit stone. Not so with the 30,000 one though. I still strop. Old habits....

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You have to progress through the grits on a chisel back because of surface area. On a bevel, employing micro bevels, the surface area is measured in thousandths of an inch. Hence why you can make the jump so quickly.

[@robohippy]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking Hmm, still pondering this. I don't think my secondary bevel ever gets to 1/8 inch, though 3/32 probably,. and then I regrind the primary bevel. I don't use the 3 bevel system, but may try it. As my bevel gets wider, I can see scratches from the coarser grits, though for touch up, I start at 1000. More experimenting ahead.

[@Gwarziggy]

As far as some people not enjoying sharpening goes, it’s all making. Wether it’s a box for your parents remains to a holder for pens to sharpening its all making. Enjoy all the steps in the process and therefore nothing is a chore. If you don’t enjoy the task there are multiple ways to spend your remaining time on this spinning globe

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Well stated

[@carlantaya175]

I got a couple hypothetical ruler trick related questions, not practical at all I'm just curious what your thoughts are. 1) If the ruler were inverted so that the blade is lifted up slightly and then back ground down until you have uniform line across... somewhere along it. You could then do the ruler trick again the standard way at the point of the grind marks on the back it should still function as long as the back of the chisel is slightly hollow? 2) If you were to somehow keep the ruler/shim on the back of the chisel it would still function? Thanks, love your videos.

[@trevortoop5166]

Jesus! You have risen!

[@billfeehan7336]

I bought two different trend diamond stones, and both were way out of flatness.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Who did you buy the trend stones from and when? We stopped carrying the trend stones about two years ago when trend changed to a Chinese manufacture and quality dropped

[@billfeehan7336]

@RobCosmanWoodworking I bought them both from Amazon. I think I got the first one about 2 years ago and the second one 2 months ago. I guess the timeline adds up.

[@mkplante]

@@billfeehan7336 I bought two from Amazon as well within the last year. Trend's tech support said they should be within 20um of flat. Feeler gauge under straightedge shows probably 30-40um.

[@CorbyQ]

I love the facial hair and head of hair.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

The hair is getting a bit bothersome

[@tylersmith9868]

​@@RobCosmanWoodworkinghave someone give ya a summer shave Rob!

[@c.a.g.1977]

​@@RobCosmanWoodworkingwell, sharpen those scissors then and cut it 😂

[@johnmack537]

Why a “fluorescent” light?

[@mattk6827]

My guess would be shape, fluorescent tend to be linear tubes vs a round spot glow spreading in all directions. If you have a length of light you can check for bends. Like using winding sticks vs a ball or small blocks, the added length gives a visual reference over distance.

[@mickeyd9369]

Oh no, the protest hair has been immortalized... lol

[@nmfam]

#Godmode"

[@JesusvonNazaret]

also don't use a strop on the mirror face of your chisels

[@adobotachibana732]

Why though?

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@adobotachibana732 Because the strop is not flat- so neither are the results.

[@beach3408]

Now, just keep Frick away from them!

[@myteric117]

I liked the tips and the explanations. I'm going to have to regrind my chisels after using the ruler trick. KZbin's algorithm led me from this video, to one by WoodCraftBySuman kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXvWgYKBrd12iJI. I can't help wonder what sharpness numbers Rob would get with his system. It makes me wonder if the means and methods of gauging sharpness, and the means and methods of creating sharpness are comparable. With craft-skills, I think it's important to recognize the level of artistry of the craftsperson/artist - it's a mixture of skills and techniques that becomes so nuanced that the 'how-to' becomes difficult to convey. I've always said it can be fascinating to watch artists/craftspeople at work - from arborists to woodworkers. We all recognize we could probably learn to do as they do. Even if we never do, it is true entertainment to observe.

[@Stevesbe]

Belt sander does it much faster

[@Mighty_Atheismo]

Cosman by far has the best hair on woodworking youtube

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Had! Back to short and the 32 second shampoo!

[@stalkingalex1915]

Center. Back to the left… center. Farrah knew. When brushing hair and sharpening chisels.