Appreciation post: That old timer who told me to sharpen my chisels less often

I overheard a guy at a cabinet shop in Portland last month telling his apprentice to stop sharpening chisels after every single cut. Said it wears them down way faster and you just need to strop more. I tried it on my last job building a set of oak shelves. I only sharpened twice during the whole project instead of maybe ten times and the finish cuts looked just as clean. My chisels are already holding an edge better after three weeks. Anyone else find they oversharpen and should back off a bit?

2 comments

2 Comments

david73919d ago

Yeah that old timer was right. I had a bad habit of sharpening way too much. One guy I worked under showed me how a light strop on some scrap leather brings the edge right back. It barely removes any metal at all. Now I only hit the stones when I actually roll the edge or chip it. Saves a ton of time and my chisels last way longer.

uma_webb2819d ago

Also worth noting that if you're using a strop, compound grit matters way more than people give it credit for. I messed up a few edges before I figured that out.