When You Own Chisels or Hand Planers Blades, You Should Know How to Sharpen These.
Any woodworker knows, when you use tools with an edge you need to be able to keep them sharp and we offer some tips on sharpening your tools.
21/01/2021
If you are into woodworking and DIY, there is going to come a time when you need to use a wood chisel, perhaps a planer and possibly even a saw file. All these tools have a cutting edge that needs to be kept sharp for when you need to use them. For all my tools that need to be sharpened, I use my Dremel Multitool and a suitable grinding stone but there are other methods for keeping your tools sharp and we take a look at these below.
HOW TO SHARPEN A WOOD CHISEL
Wood chisels are used to chip out or shape an opening or edge in a piece of wood. The cutting edge of the chisel needs to be honed as sharp as possible if you want it to do the job it is supposed to do. A chisel with a dull edge will not only take longer to do the job, but it could also damage the surrounding wood fibres and leave an untidy mess.
If you don't own a Dremel Multitool as I do, you are going to need a decent sharpening stone. You can sharpen blades using sandpaper, but this type of sharpening won't last for very long and will need to be done regularly. A quality sharpening stone is the best to invest in or a Dremel Multitool.
While you can sharpen your tools with just a honing stone and oil, make it easier to do the task and ensure a precise cutting edge. Stanley offers a sharpening kit that includes an oilstone, white oil and a honing guide. Using a honing guide lets you sharpen at a precise angle for the sharpest edge. It's easy to set up and has preset settings for 25-, 30, or 35-degree angles for all your chisels. Plus, buying a kit takes the guesswork out of choosing the right honing stone, making it easier for you.
Did you know that the metal on your tools should never get hot when being sharpened? Rubbing the blade across a sharpening stone will ensure the cutting edge of the tool does not get hot. If the metal gets hot, as it sometimes does when using a powered bench sharpener, there is the chance of tempering the metal and weakening the structure.
GOOD TO KNOW: For standard chisels, the required angle for general DIY and woodworking would be 25°. To obtain a cutting edge that lasts longer, woodworkers agree that adding 5° to bring the cutting edge to 30° is the better option.
When you pop onto Tools4.co.za, you will be able to check out a selection of different honing guides. You can also get more information on using grinding paper on Common Woodworking.
Check out the Stanley Sharpening Kit at Tools4.co.za
HOW TO SHARPEN A PLANER BLADE
If you use a hand planer rather than a power planer, the cutting blade becomes dull over time, especially if you work with hardwoods. It is essential to keep the cutting edge as sharp as possible to avoid ripping the surface of any woods you are working with.
As with chisel blades, you can hand sharpen planer blades by hand without any guide, or make it easier and faster to do the process by using a sharpening guide as discussed above.
