Just ordered my first set of chisels. Now what..?

[Eric Schubert]

I'm just starting to get into woodworking again, having not really done much at all since high school wood shop (so, about 15 years). I just ordered my very first set of chisels from Lee Valley - the 4-chisel Narex Classic Bevel-Edge set and a single 1/4" Narex mortise chisel. I figure these should set me on the right path and give me some decent tools to start out with. I also ordered the Veritas MKII honing guide to help me get them sharpened up.

But being a newbie to true woodworking, where should I start with these chisels? Do they require some preparation before use?

I've read posts about people flattening the chisels before sharpening. Is that something I'll need to worry about, just starting out? Or should I just concern myself with getting a nice, sharp edge on them and dive into some practice cuts? Where would you recommend I start, once these tools arrive on my doorstep?

Also, are there any good places that might have lessons to watch/read and practice how to use chisels?

[Andrew Fleck]

Your going to have to flatten and polish the backs to get that nice sharp edge. There are lots of ways to do that. Just do a search here. I prefer using sandpaper and granite for initial flattening if it needs it. Sometimes you can get lucky and you won't have to do much flattening. That only happens for me when I spend a lot of money on a premium chisel.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I would definitely flatten the backs. Even the best chisels you can buy are likely to need a little attention on the backs. And to sharpen the bevels without flattening the backs, the chisel might cut well but it won't register properly.

There are a bunch of youtube videos regarding chisel use and prep. Search the Lie Nielsen videos or Rob Cosman videos and they will give you a good idea of what to expect.

What will you be sharpening with?

[Eric Schubert]

Sounds like the first course of action is flattening the backs of these chisels to get a nice, straight edge.

As for my sharpening plan? Initially, I intend to use sandpaper for setting a bevel, then moving on to a Naniwa 1K Superstone to refine it, and finishing up with either my coticule or honing film (the film will be the most-likely candidate). Does this sound like a decent plan of action?

I actually bought these items to hone straight razors, which is more difficult than I had anticipated. But I'm glad that I can use them as multitaskers for now.

[Andrew Fleck]

Sounds like the first course of action is flattening the backs of these chisels to get a nice, straight edge.

As for my sharpening plan? Initially, I intend to use sandpaper for setting a bevel, then moving on to a Naniwa 1K Superstone to refine it, and finishing up with either my coticule or honing film (the film will be the most-likely candidate). Does this sound like a decent plan of action?

I actually bought these items to hone straight razors, which is more difficult than I had anticipated. But I'm glad that I can use them as multitaskers for now.

There is nothing wrong with using what you have to get an edge. I would pick up a couple cheap chisels to practice on before I went to town on those Narex ones though. Now I keep a couple of old chisels and plane irons around for the times that I try something new. When I first started flattening backs my technique wasn't very good and I was dubbing them a lot. This created a lot more work for me and as result I have had to remove quite a bit of metal to make them right. Do you have anything to keep your 1K flat?

[John Coloccia]

Just ordered my first set of chisels. Now what..?

Now you spend the next 3 months experimenting with every sharpening stone/disc/contraption/strop you can find and/or afford. When your chisels are so sharp that you can slice end grain WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING THE WOOD, then next you either have to go to ebay and find the oldest, most rusted Stanley plane you can possibly find (this process is known as "fettling") or you must buy brand new Lie-Neilsen planes. In a pinch, you can buy Lee Valley planes, eh.

Now we need to build a workbench. The top must be 12" thick, made of alternating layers of Honduran Mahogany, Maple and unicorn horn. You must have enough vices...style doesn't matter as long as there are at least 4 or 5 of them. It is absolutely critical that these vices be dead flat and level or your drink will not balance properly on them. If you don't drink, don't worry...you will.

Check back next week when we build our first project...the sharpening stone display case!

[David Weaver]

once these tools arrive on my doorstep?

Well, if these doorsteps are wood, then you can see how far the chisels cut into them with hand pressure and then test mallet strikes

Just find something that accurately describes the preparation and sharpening process (there's probably a whole lot of *crap* on the internet that makes it sound harder than it is) and get yourself something fairly inexpensive to sharpen with.

Avoid buying any guaranteed whiz bang sharpening machines at this point, they are not cheap and you may decide you don't like them (I don't like them, and I've pretty much tried them all).

[Adam Cruea]

Now you spend the next 3 months experimenting with every sharpening stone/disc/contraption/strop you can find and/or afford. When your chisels are so sharp that you can slice end grain WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING THE WOOD, then next you either have to go to ebay and find the oldest, most rusted Stanley plane you can possibly find (this process is known as "fettling") or you must buy brand new Lie-Neilsen planes. In a pinch, you can buy Lee Valley planes, eh.

Now we need to build a workbench. The top must be 12" thick, made of alternating layers of Honduran Mahogany, Maple and unicorn horn. You must have enough vices...style doesn't matter as long as there are at least 4 or 5 of them. It is absolutely critical that these vices be dead flat and level or your drink will not balance properly on them. If you don't drink, don't worry...you will.

Check back next week when we build our first project...the sharpening stone display case!

*facepalm*

Like David said. . .avoid whiz bang, but I'll say "do what works for you". As long as you can sharpen to a straight edge and not make a convex bevel, you'll probably be good.

[Andrew Fleck]

Avoid buying any guaranteed whiz bang sharpening machines at this point, they are not cheap and you may decide you don't like them (I don't like them, and I've pretty much tried them all).

This is probably the best advice. I wish I would have listened to people who said this when I was learning to sharpen. If your like me and probably a lot of other people these are going to start looking attractive after a while. I have a Worksharp 3000 that collects dust. It's a good thing I didn't pull the trigger on the Tormek too because it was a mouse click away more than once. I'm not saying things like those don't work. I'm saying you certainly don't need them to sharpen efficiently. In the end I use a cheap 6" grinder for my bevels and now freehand on stones. Quick and easy once you get over the learning curve which isn't too bad.

[David Weaver]

I only use a 6" grinder, too. Despite having a belt grinder, and having had a tormek (which I eventually sent off to George).

Some of the other gadgets (like a belt grinder) are useful if you're going to make or restore very badly pitted tools, but there's a difference between being someone who does that and being someone who buys a set of chisels that are new and wants to get to work and not fiddle with the tools much.

[Eric Schubert]

There is nothing wrong with using what you have to get an edge. I would pick up a couple cheap chisels to practice on before I went to town on those Narex ones though. Now I keep a couple of old chisels and plane irons around for the times that I try something new. When I first started flattening backs my technique wasn't very good and I was dubbing them a lot. This created a lot more work for me and as result I have had to remove quite a bit of metal to make them right. Do you have anything to keep your 1K flat?

I'll definitely see if I can find some more information about flattening chisels. It seems like this will probably be necessary to create a nice, straight bevel that won't crumble at the first strike of a mallet. I have a couple things I can use to keep my 1K flat. I have a piece of granite countertop, and a marble tile. Both should be sufficient for my needs, I would imagine. I may pick up a DMT at some point, but we'll see how this goes first.

Now you spend the next 3 months experimenting with every sharpening stone/disc/contraption/strop you can find and/or afford. When your chisels are so sharp that you can slice end grain WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING THE WOOD, then next you either have to go to ebay and find the oldest, most rusted Stanley plane you can possibly find (this process is known as "fettling") or you must buy brand new Lie-Neilsen planes. In a pinch, you can buy Lee Valley planes, eh.

Now we need to build a workbench. The top must be 12" thick, made of alternating layers of Honduran Mahogany, Maple and unicorn horn. You must have enough vices...style doesn't matter as long as there are at least 4 or 5 of them. It is absolutely critical that these vices be dead flat and level or your drink will not balance properly on them. If you don't drink, don't worry...you will.

Check back next week when we build our first project...the sharpening stone display case!

LOL! I love it! I can definitely relate, and love how some people just take things to the extreme sometimes. I actually already have a few planes that need to be cleaned up, then have some new irons sharpened and tested. But I've seem some guys take the sharpening to the extreme, when it comes to straight razors. They get digital microscopes and measure the scratch marks, test out different sharpening methods (natural vs synthetic stones), test out different honing pastes (diamond, chromium oxide, etc.). They get very scientific about it. I'm an engineer, so I can understand the fascination. But I don't really have the desire to go that far with it.

Well, if these doorsteps are wood, then you can see how far the chisels cut into them with hand pressure and then test mallet strikes
...
Avoid buying any guaranteed whiz bang sharpening machines at this point, they are not cheap and you may decide you don't like them (I don't like them, and I've pretty much tried them all).

I figured I would only use the Veritas MKII honing guide. I imagine that grinders put a bit of a concave bevel down, that may or may not be desirable. In any case, if I can't sharpen them with this honing guide, I need to learn more about the process. I don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy sharpening system. Stones have worked just fine for many, many years. Plus, it's a skill I'd like to learn, not only for my chisels but for my knives as well.

This is probably the best advice. I wish I would have listened to people who said this when I was learning to sharpen. If your like me and probably a lot of other people these are going to start looking attractive after a while. I have a Worksharp 3000 that collects dust. It's a good thing I didn't pull the trigger on the Tormek too because it was a mouse click away more than once. I'm not saying things like those don't work. I'm saying you certainly don't need them to sharpen efficiently. In the end I use a cheap 6" grinder for my bevels and now freehand on stones. Quick and easy once you get over the learning curve which isn't too bad.

I did try a bit of freehand sharpening with a plane blade, which didn't go too well. I ended up rounding the bevel over because I didn't hold the iron steady enough. But that may be difficult because the iron was quite thin. I imagine it's much easier to do when you use some of the thicker blades out there, since the wider bevel is easier to feel when it's flat against the stone.

[Andrew Fleck]

I did try a bit of freehand sharpening with a plane blade, which didn't go too well. I ended up rounding the bevel over because I didn't hold the iron steady enough. But that may be difficult because the iron was quite thin. I imagine it's much easier to do when you use some of the thicker blades out there, since the wider bevel is easier to feel when it's flat against the stone.

It sounds like you were freehanding a flat grind. It is much easier to freehand with a hollow grind that you get from a grinding wheel.

[David Weaver]

Eric, your honing guide will serve you fine with these. You may get to the point that you feel it's cumbersome and interrupting workflow, but sharp first is more important. It's like everything else - there's a term in stringed instrument practice - go slow to go fast. If you can't do a good job slow when you're learning, it won't happen fast, either.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, David. I think that patience will be a huge key to success. I've notice that when I start honing my razors too quickly that I start making mistakes. So, I need to start slowly and build some good muscle memory before trying to go quickly. That's excellent advice.

[Jim Matthews]

Lots of us have trod the path you just started.

I went with Diamond plates and light oil to grind, hone and polish my chisels and plane blades.
Sandpaper on a granite (or other suitably flat) surface will work, but it generates more mess than I care for.

I suggest you look into either the Diamond plates (which are expensive, but last a long time and need not be flattened)
or today's excellent oil stones. Either abrasive will do the job, and most are large enough that you can employ a guide.

I free use no guide, and that took about four attempts to get right.

Lots of video on YouTube covering the subject.

The important thing is to find someone who can demonstrate what a sharp tool looks, and feels like.
I thought my tools were sharp up until 18 months ago.

The difference between what I was using, and what I have now isn't subtle.

Search this forum for lots of prior discussion on this essential topic.