Chisel Sharpening with Shapton Glass Stones

[@dennisboyce813]

I would have have given many thanks if my chisel had a hollow like yours did and would have left it as long as possible. Thanks for the video.

[@majinkakashi20]

Awesome. I really like your set up and video as a whole. Thanks man

[@CarlStammerjohn]

You are welcome!

[@JamesSmith-su3oz]

The shapton glass stones are top $$ but work. Have you tried the non professional shapton stone's, lower cost and color to grit is a helpful to new wood worker like me.

[@CarlStammerjohn]

I'm not familiar with the non-pro stones (I assume you mean the Ha No Kuromaku stones). I occasionally had students who brought in the professional stones, so I was able to try those out, but I never saw the non-pro stones. I'm sure they are fine; as I stated in the video you need to determine their "personality." I found the pro stones to be a little more difficult than the glass stones to get a good polish, but I only used them briefly each time.

[@JamesSmith-su3oz]

Yes, the ha no stones. They that type of stone ( same co. ) was not ment to be used in a humid environment and can easily brake But for the price they work.

[@majinkakashi20]

Really? I live in Florida, its like 100% humidity all year. Im glad i read your msg. I just ordered a 1000 kuromaku, but since they dont have a 3000 kuromaku i was going to get a 2k then 3k glass stone. Since its too late for the 1k, ill go ahead and get the next 2 in the glass line. I didnt know the glass were considered higher grade bcus the kuromaku cost more right now. Anyways cool. Good to know thanks

[@peterweth]

Hello, great video. I’ve been using the Tormek and have been considering selling it because I don’t like the hollow grind. It seems my chisels don’t hold a good edge and it’s a process setting up when all I want to do is freshen up the edge. I’ve never considered following up on a stone to create a sort of micro bevel though. I’m going to give it another shot though. I may have missed it, but what grit diamond plate are you using on the wheel? Do you ever follow up with finer diamond plates? Or just the one pass before honing?

[@CarlStammerjohn]

According to the DMT website the lapping stone is 95 micron or 160 grit. We used it at the school to freshen up the Tormek grinding wheel instead of using the wheel dresser. The stone is much quicker and doesn't remove as much material, although we did use the dresser when the wheel got out of round. We did not follow it with a finer stone since we only used the Tormek for hollow grinding. The honing was done, as shown in the video, with waterstones. Most students used a combination of King and Norton stones, as that was the cheapest alternative that worked well. (There are other options but students who tried them were typically very disappointed.) See my video using those stones - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaDQd6lvbcZ3aLc Since you already have the Tormek, I wouldn't get rid of it. Although it's slow, it does a fine job of hollow grinding and is easy to use.

[@peterweth]

@@CarlStammerjohn thanks for the reply. I don’t have a good collection of stones yet, but since watching this, I had some 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper I taped to the top of my glass table. I did what you did in your video and, WOW, what a huge difference! In a matter of seconds it was shaving my arm hair. Glad I found this video. I was actually just looking for glass stone reviews. I think I’ll keep it now. As for chisels, Amazon has a set of Irwin marples blue handles on a cyber Monday sale for $66. Do you think they are good chisels? Or should I skip the entry level and go with something like two cherries?

[@CarlStammerjohn]

@@peterweth Glad to hear you made some progress! Watch out with the sandpaper, however. I know some people swear by it, but it inevitably rounds edges a bit. The Marples are a mixed bag; used to be good when they came from England but the Chinese versions are not so good. I like Two Cherries, although they are typically polished and that tends to round edges which can be an issue. Make sure your sharpening technique is good before going that route - I saw many students buy nicer chisels and then ruin them with bad technique. If you have further questions email me at [e-mail]

[@peterweth]

@@CarlStammerjohn thanks again Carl. I had a feeling they are not as good as they once were. Last night I played with your technique a bit due to not having the higher grit. After 2000 I went back to the honing wheel and touched it up. This is the first time I’ve felt I have truly gotten a sharp chisel that holds an edge. It’s like scary sharp. I nicked my finger tip and didn’t even feel it. It was a clean cut without any skin flap left. I saw a drip of blood on my work and started looking all over my arms and hands because at that point it was all over my hands. It was still razor sharp after shaving some oak end grain. Usually it would have a burr bent over at that point. I agree with you that sand paper will round edges, but I worked with what I had.