Found out I was sharpening my chisels wrong after 5 years of woodworking

I was at a friend's workshop last Saturday and he watched me sharpen my favorite 1 inch chisel. He just shook his head and showed me the tiny burr I was leaving on the wrong side. Turns out I had been dragging the chisel across the stone with the bevel flat instead of lifting the back edge just a hair. No wonder my dovetails always looked rough even after a fresh sharpen. I felt like an idiot but also relieved because now my joints actually fit tight. Has anyone else had that moment where a small change in technique fixed everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas6d ago

Oh man, that second bevel thing bit me too. I spent a whole year wondering why my paring cuts looked like a beaver had been at them - turns out I was creating a micro-bevel on the wrong dang side (the back, not the cutting edge). My grandfather (who taught me) would have probably smacked me if he saw me doing it for that long. I remember the first dovetail I cut after fixing my technique - it slid together like butter instead of needing a mallet and some cursing. Funny how something that small (maybe a couple degrees of angle difference) makes such a huge mess for so long.

blairm356d ago

a beaver had been at them" lol that got me. Solidarity man, been there.