Sharpening

Having a miserable cold, and being able to do feck all, I tried sharpening up a few chisels. It's theraputic. Back and forward, back an forward, change up a stone, repeat.

Of course we all know the Back of the chisel is the important part for sharpening. Here's a simple idea to make it a little easier to hold the chisel steady and flat on the stone, and make life a lot easier on your fingers.

Just whip a pencil onto the chisel as shown with heavy string. Every second loop, go around the pencil and change direction - this locks the pencil in place.

Two whippings 1 1/2 inches apart is about right.
You just can see in this picture, a low spot just at the business end of the blade (top as you look at the picture). It will never be sharp until I get down to that spot. One thing that helps is only flatten the last inch.
The traditional test it shaving hairs off the back of your arm. For those who think that's a myth.... Dada.... Real Live Arm Hairs


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