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The newest Luthier Tips du Jour instructional video is on Youtube. The topic is Sharpening. Subtitles are available in both English and Portuguese and you can translate them into any other language by using the CC option on Youtube.
As always, comments and discussion are welcome.
Enjoy!

Another fine job, Robbie.

This makes me think of a question, how is the proper way to sharpen a curved chisel like these. I do them by hand but there must be a better way.



Fred

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Fred Tellier
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The pic of those chisels makes me think of the Picasso clock pic. haha If it doesn't fit in the honing jig then you just have to do the best you can which means by hand. With a little practice it is easily done.

I think you mean Salvador Dali clock pic

Great video!

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Thank you for the video.
Chuck

Great video Robbie. I think I may graduate myself shortly from scary sharp to water stones.
I like that little angle setup stop too.

You are quite welcome Chuck and thank you Edward. Work sharp!

7:50 - yes, you could do that, or you could let the strop take care of it.

The marker tip is a good one.
In the video I show flattening the entire back of the tool. This is not really necessary unless you just like showing off the mirror finish on the back of your tools. You could just flatten the back of the tool near the tip. It is a lot less work.

In shining the back there is something there about 'til your arm falls off.' How does that normally translate to minutes?

Hugh

For a high dollar chisel it goes fairly quick, perhaps 15 minutes or so if you know what you are doing. For a cheap chisel it could literally be until your arm falls off.

What chisels do you personally use? I have a set which are probably mid-range but I would like to get 1 or two top quality chisels for the more intricate things. The issue we have is every maker uses the name Marples, which used to represent quality, now every Tom, Dick and Harry uses the name and you can end up with awful chisels .

I can get a pretty good polish on the blades, but to get what you have, I have had to have my arms re-attached several times now, but hey, I must have put at least 2" on my bicep .

I have used several kinds over the years. The ones you see in the video are Lie Nielson

Robbie,
Another great demo.
Thanks.

One thing that we rarely have an opportunity to discuss or experience is a qualifier or standardization of just how sharp, sharp is. I had carved braces and done all the other work necessary to close my first box up with the sharpest tool I'd EVER worked with. It was great. Then, while trimming the overhang a woodworker friend took my chisel and actually sharpened it. When he handed it back to me, I put it to the overhanging edge of the back and pushed on it in a manner I was familliar with and put that blade all the way through the material and into the side of the instrument.

It convinced me that I needed to learn how to sharpen tools, which is very close to the method you demonstrated. I do use the strop often to keep the edge and don't find a need to go through all the steps you demonstrated other than when I drop one on the concrete floor or buy a new one.

I believe many newcomers and some veterans alike have never experienced a truly sharp edge on their blades.

So professor, when you come up with a qualifier better than 'shaves the back of your hand' and less technical than 'no bigger than a 2 micron edge' Please let us know.

Until then, keep up the GREAT work!

Dave

Dave,

Thank you for the compliment.
I think you are correct. Most folks don't know what a sharp chisel is. Hopefully my video will help a few folks find out.
Yes, you do not need to go through all those steps everytime you sharpen. Once you get the back flat it is pretty easy to keep the bevel tuned by using the 4000 or 8000 grit stones and the strop.