After 5 years I finally learned my chisel sharpening angle was way off

Been sharpening at 20 degrees since I started, then my boss handed me a protractor at a job site and I measured it at 35. No wonder I was spending so much time at the stone trying to get an edge. Anybody else find out they were doing a basic thing wrong for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_jenkins7d ago

35 degrees is basically a splitting maul edge. Surprised you got anything sharp at all. Spent a year sharpening at 25 thinking I was doing it right until my pattern broke and I realized I was just making a wire edge every time.

skyler_adams7d ago

Used to swear by 20 degrees because that's what every YouTube video said. Spent a whole year fighting with chisels that dulled after two cuts and blamed the steel quality. Wouldn't have believed angle mattered that much until I finally checked with a protractor and realized I was just grinding away metal for nothing.