How to Sharpen a Chisel (2024)

ByFamily Handyman

Step 1

Glue Sandpaper to Glass

• Prepare your sharpening surface by cutting a sheet of 80-grit sandpaper to fit your glass.
• Spray a small amount of adhesive onto the sandpaper and press the sandpaper onto the glass.
• Repeat with 150- and 220-grit sheets.
• Apply the sandpaper to both sides of the glass-this will prevent the glass from sliding around.

Family Handyman

Step 2

What is ‘Lapping’?

It’s easy to forget that every edge tool has two sides that need maintenance. They’re equally important, but let’s talk about the back of your chisel first. The back should be dead flat, which enables the tool to cut straight, and as smooth as the beveled side.

The process of making a flat, smooth back is called ‘lapping.’ Fortunately, you only have to lap a chisel once. Almost every chisel needs to be lapped, even one right out of the package, but some require much more work than others. In any case, you don’t have to lap the entire back-just the first 2 in. or so.

Step 3

Flatten the Back

The first steps in lapping are to find out how much metal you must remove and which grit to start on.

• Pressing hard, rub the back of the chisel a few times on 220 grit. Go in a diagonal direction.
• Turn over the chisel and look at the back. If it’s nearly covered with scratches, continue lapping on 220 grit.
• If there are scratches only on a few high spots, you’ll need to start with a coarser paper. First, try 150 grit; if that goes too slowly, use 80 grit.
  • Pro Tip: No matter which grit you start on, keep at it until the scratches extend across the full 2-in width of the back.

Let’s assume that you started with 80 grit. The next step is to make finer scratches with 150 grit.

• This time, push the chisel in the opposite diagonal directionrubbing in different directions so you can track your progress. Keep going until you can’t see any of the 80-grit scratches.
• Repeat the process on 220 grit. Push the chisel in a new direction in and out until the 150-grit scratches disappear.You only have to do this once on a chisel.

Family Handyman

Step 4

Set the Honing Angle

The most efficient way to sharpen an edge is to use a honing guide. The guide holds the tool at a fixed angle so that every stroke counts. With most guides, that angle is determined by the distance the blade projects from the guide. You could use a ruler to measure this distance (30 mm, or 1-3/16 in. on the guide shown here), but it’s awkward.

Here’s an easier way:

• Draw a line 1-3/16 in. from the edge of a piece of wood, then extend the chisel to the line; this will produce a 30-degree angle.

Family Handyman

Step 5

Sharpen on Sandpaper

• Start by rolling the honing guide on the 80-grit sandpaper to sharpen the chisel. You don’t need oil or water for lubrication. Make your own super-strong sandpaper with this tip.

Family Handyman

Step 6

Feel for a ‘Wire Edge’

• Keep honing until you can feel a slight ridge of metal start to form all the way across the chisel’s back. This ‘wire edge’ indicates that the chisel’s end is sharp. Also, this indicates that the bevel has come to a point.

Family Handyman

Step 7

Remove the Wire Edge

• Remove the wire edge by rubbing the back of the chisel on 220 grit sandpaper. A few strokes should do it.
• Next, to produce an even sharper edge, hone the bevel on 150 grit until you develop a new wire edge.
• Remove the wire edge on 220 grit again.
• The last step is a bit different: Hone the bevel six strokes on 220 grit, then flip the chisel over and rub the back six strokes.
• Repeat this four or five times and you’ll have a sharp chisel- potentially the sharpest chisel you’ve ever used.

Family Handyman

Step 8

Want It Even Sharper? Polish the Edge

• If you need a super-sharp edge, continue honing with finer sandpaper or buffing compound.
  • Pro Tip: Buffing compounds come in different grits. They all work, but we recommend Ryobi ‘D’.
• First, pull back the chisel about 1/16 in. in your honing guide so you’ll be sharpening only right at the chisel’s tip.
• Rub the compound on a piece of plywood, then pull the chisel and honing guide across the compound a dozen times or so. (Don’t push, or the edge will dig in.)
• The buffing compound creates a mirror polish, resulting in an edge that’s wicked sharp!

Family Handyman

Step 9

How to Fix a Chipped Chisel?

If the end of your chisel is nicked or rounded over,sharpening on sandpaper would take forever. To remove a lot of metal quickly, you need a power tool-preferably, a bench grinder.

Family Handyman

Before we get going on the grinder, remember this: Heat kills. Grinding will naturally heat up your chisel, but too much heat will kill the steel’s temper, rendering it unable to hold an edge. Dunk the blade in water every two passes (three to four seconds) to keep the blade from burning. If the edge suddenly turns blue as you grind, you’re cooked. The only remedy is to keep grinding and remove the soft, blued steel.

Family Handyman

Step 10

Not All Grinding Wheels Are Created Equal

You can use two kinds of aluminum-oxide wheels to sharpen your chisels; one is blue-gray and the other white. We used the darker-color wheel, which is harder and will keep its shape longer. The drawback, however, is that it grinds hotter than the softer, white wheel. Too much heat will weaken the steel. The soft wheel will need more frequent shaping with a dressing tool, but you’ll be less likely to burn the edge of your chisel while grinding. For best results, use a 100-grit wheel to shape your chisel blades.

Family Handyman

Step 11

Clean the Wheel

Here’s how to prevent overheating.

• First, use the coarsest wheel on your grinder. (Fine wheels create more friction and heat than coarse wheels.)
• Second, set the grinder’s tool rest to about 90 degrees and renew the wheel’s surface with a dressing stick.
• This simple step is crucial: To cut fast and cool, your wheel must be clean.
• Keep at it until any shiny bits of metal embedded in the wheel are gone. Check out the bench grinder basics you need to know.

Family Handyman

Step 12

Blunt the End

• Next, draw a ‘stop’ line across the back of your chisel with a square and felt-tip marker to indicate how much metal you need to remove.
• Place the chisel on the tool rest, bevel side down, and gently press its end into the coarse grinding wheel to remove any nicks. Don’t grind any farther than you have to.

Blunting the chisel-like this allows you to grind a new bevel faster. Here’s why: Heat builds up rapidly on a thin edge. You must stop frequently to cool the edge by dipping it in water. Heat builds up slower on a blunt edge, so you don’t have to quench it as often.

Family Handyman

Step 13

Which Honing Guide is Right for You?

Some experts master the art of sharpening entirely by hand. But for the rest of us, a honing guide is essential. There are basically two types of guides: Some clamp a chisel from the sides, while others clamp top to bottom.

The side-clamping guide works only with chisels whose sides taper to an edge that’s less than 1/16 in. thick. If your chisels have thicker sides, you’ll need a guide that clamps top to bottom.

The side-clamping guide shown here is made by many manufacturers and is widely available in woodworking stores and online. Inexpensive top-to-bottom clamping guides, made by General Tools and Stanley, are harder to find in stores but are also available online.

Family Handyman

Step 14

Set the Grinding Angle

• Use a protractor to draw a 25-degree angle on a piece of cardboard, then cut the cardboard with a pair of scissors.
• Adjust the grinder’s tool rest to this angle.

Family Handyman

Step 15

Grind to a Sharp Edge

• Grind the chisel until its end comes to a point. To prevent overheating, dip the chisel in a cup of water every five seconds or so. (If the water sizzles, reduce the grinding time to four seconds or less.)
  • Pro Tip: The end of the chisel doesn’t have to be perfectly square. Close is good enough. But it really needs to be straight-keep grinding if the edge is uneven.

Family Handyman

Step 16

Two Bevels Are Better Than One

A new chisel has just one bevel, usually 25 degrees. But the tool should be sharpened at 30 degrees, which creates a new bevel. Why have two bevels? It’s all about saving you time and energy. The 25-degree bevel is called the ‘grinding bevel’; you’ll use a bench grinder to renew it. The 30-degree bevel is called the ‘honing bevel’; you’ll use a honing stone or sandpaper to create it.

Grinding goes fast, but honing can be slow. If your chisel had only one bevel-the 30-degree one-you’d have to hone its entire surface to get a sharp edge. Creating a second bevel at a lower angle-the grinding bevel-reduces the amount of steel you must hone. When the 30-degree bevel extends three-quarters of the way up the chisel, it’s time to go to the grinder and create a new 25-degree bevel.

Family Handyman