A friend gave me a 1 1/2'' chisel. It was square when I started out sharpening it free hand. It had a small low area on the left corner. I have been working it on a flat plate with 80g emery paper to get it all the same. It small area is getting smaller. When I held it up after about a total if 20 min. of working it it is no longer square. I have paid close attention to keeping the angle consistent and the blade flat to the surface.
Do I keep on plugging away until the spot is gone and that may square it up? I have had poor luck with even the most fancy sharpening jigs and often get the blades not square also.
Grinding is out of the question. I have burned up two old test irons in the past and lack the skills to do that.
I am of a mind to get the chisels and plane irons I have sharp and to heck with them being square. I can get them all sharp enough to take shaving off of end grain pine with no tear out.
I just do not understand why this happens. I might also add that one sharpening school I went to helped for about a week and it is back to the same old thing.
This is not a whiny crybaby post. It is just plagued me for about 25 years.