Looking for a high-quality chisel sharpening service (in US)

[Dennis Leahy]

Allow me to start by saying, yes, I know I need to be able to sharpen my own woodworking chisels, and I have, and I do. I have the "Veritas Mk.II Honing Guide System" a slab of granite, and various grits of carborundum paper. After a number of self-sharpenings, using several different sharpening guides (before I bought the Veritas MK. II), some of my chisel tips are slightly skewed, and none of them have ever truly had the backsides ground down and polished properly.

So, I would like to start over on a few of my chisels, and don't want to spend the hours doing that manually - especially if a sharpening service can do for around $5 what would take me hours to accomplish, manually.

I want a service that can completely flatten and literally mirror polish the backs of the chisels, as well as sharpen the tips to at least the level that I can "scary sharp" do with sandpaper. Then, I can touch-up the tips as needed.

A lot of places say they can sharpen chisels, but I'm looking for a service that does an exceptional job of sharpening, and actually can flatten and mirror polish the backs.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

-Dennis

[John Lankers]

Dennis, please don't get me wrong but I believe sharpening a chisel or plane iron is a fundamental skill every woodworker should have. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to do the initial sharpening / flattening / polishing and after that regular stropping on a slow turning leather wheel (WorkSharp) does it for me (freehand), sometimes after 5 to 10 minutes of use. It should become second nature after a short learning process and don't get to hung up on angles just pay attention when an edge tends to go out of square and apply a bit more thumb pressure on one side to bring it gradually back. You'll be surprised how sharp an edge becomes after only a few seconds.

[Dennis Leahy]

Dennis, please don't get me wrong but I believe sharpening a chisel or plane iron is a fundamental skill every woodworker should have. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to do the initial sharpening / flattening / polishing and after that regular stropping on a slow turning leather wheel (WorkSharp) does it for me (freehand), sometimes after 5 to 10 minutes of use. It should become second nature after a short learning process and don't get to hung up on angles just pay attention when an edge tends to go out of square and apply a bit more thumb pressure on one side to bring it gradually back. You'll be surprised how sharp an edge becomes after only a few seconds.

Hi John,

Yeah, I'm hoping that someone can take them, as they are, and create the initial blade geometry that I think has never been done properly. Then, I hope I can re-sharpen them (maybe a micro bevel), when needed, and it will only take me a few minutes.


Hi Bill, and thanks. PM sent. I'll go grab a copy of it and email it to you as well.

Dennis

[Ron Brese]

You're asking that someone that has a lot of developed skill work for basically $5.00 per hour. Can't see that happening. Put in the work to develop the skill set.

Ron

[Nicholas Lingg]

I think I know were you coming from. I've had good luck with a Work Sharp getting "Flea Market Chisel's" back to were they can be sharpened by hand.
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/148...harp-3000.aspx

[Marshall Mosby]

For $5, no one is going to give you mirror polish back. Also according to the description and extreme need to get them sharpened, I think you should forget the fancy part and look for someone who could just get them in working condition for you.

[Mike Henderson]

What chisels do you have, Dennis? In other words, are your chisels new manufacture or somewhat older. If they're fairly new, the backs should be relatively flat. If they're somewhat older, especially if they're antique chisels the backs may need some real work.

A machine shop could grind the backs flat for you but they wouldn't shine - you'd have to do that work yourself. Regarding getting the bevels square across, I use a WorkSharp and it makes short work of that task.

But even if all you have is the LV guide, you can get them in shape pretty quickly on a coarse diamond plate (using the guide).

Flattening the back of an old chisel is no fun, but it's a one time job. I use a coarse diamond plate (DMT) to do that, then on to the water stones.

Mike

[Chris Fournier]

$5.00 a stick? No way is there a service out there that will do what you want. The entire back of a chisel need not be brought up to a mirror polish for it to be perfectly sharp.. 6 bench chisels brought up to perfect working order from shabby should be an hours work at the most.

[Myk Rian]

I've taken mashed up chisels from garage sales that bricklayers used, and got them razor sharp with my WorkSharp 3000. Start with coarse and work your way up. I mark each one with the angle I cut them at.
Do not do this with paper, cardboard, or other combustibles near the unit. Steel makes hot sparks.

[John McClanahan]

WorkSharp 3000. Skip the water stones, scary sharp sandpaper, chisel holding jigs, ect.

[Cary Falk]

I have a WorkSharp 3000 also. I spent a couple of hours last week cleaning up all of my chisels. I started with 80 grit and finished with 3000. I did the whole back along with the bevel. I didn't bother putting a mirror polish on them since they are sharp enough to shave with and that is good enough for me.

[Phil Mueller]

My local Woodcraft store offers edge tool sharpening. I've never used the service, don't know what they charge, or quality of service, but if you have one in your area, you may want to give them a call.

[CPeter James]

"The sharpest edge no matter how painstakingly achieved is only temporary". How often are you going to take your tools to the "sharpening service"? Sharpening tools should be like voting in Chicago, do it early and often. People wait until the tool is really dull and then it requires extra time and effort to get a really sharp edge. If you sharpen regularly, it only takes seconds to touch up the edge, not minutes.

It doesn't matter machine what method or machine you use, just pick one, practice and get good with it and then sharpening comes easy and quick.

CPeter

[lowell holmes]

I favor diamond hones. I keep one out on the bench along with a leather on wood strop charged with green honing compound. (ala Paul Sellers)

Taking a moment to dress up an edge, even if it doesn't need it, breaks the tedium of an extended session on the bench.

I attended some of Paul's sessions at Homestead Heritage in Waco many years ago. One of the things he did was keep diamond hones out on the bench.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use a Worksharp 3000 also, and it makes the job you describe simple and repeatable. I keep a cup of water to keep the edges cooled during sharpening, particularly for the narrow blades, as they can heat up. You might talk to your local woodworking store about finding someone near where you live that has one who might be amenable to letting you try it out.

Doc