How to Sharpen a Chisel: Razor-Sharp

In this video, I'll demonstrate how I sharpen my chisels using a Tormek machine, a series of water stones (1000, 2000, 5000, and 8000 grit), and a leather strop for honing. I'll begin with the Tormek machine to set the initial edge, then move on to the water stones to further refine the edge.
I will also make a comparison: sharpening a chisel directly from the Tormek's grinding wheel to its honing wheel versus using the water stones as intermediate steps.
Although I highly recommend a Tormek machine, if you can't acquire one, I suggest starting with a 1000 grit stone, or even a coarser stone if the edge is in poor condition

[@ChessTurner]

Sharpening with stones gives a perfect cut. Thank you very much for the video, have a nice day and good luck

[@od_form]

Thank you!

[@ColePanike]

Wow! From your viral short, I feel like this is basically a master class!

[@superhund14]

Thanks for sharing very neat. Would be interesting to see a comparison with unsharpened chisels.

[@od_form]

Yes, I hadn’t considered that. The outcome would certainly vary depending on the dullness of the chisel

[@TheducksOrg]

You've done a great job with this, it's very useful, just remember that at a certain point, your hobby stops being woodworking and becomes chisel sharpening ;)

[@MedievalTrebuchet]

Thanks for sharing this! Super awesome

[@TomasRosberg]

Can't beat the Berg chisels 🦈🇸🇪

[@magicworldbyjorg]

,a cool video keep up the great content.. Thank you……

[@memilanuk]

So... sharpening to 8k on the water stones, vs stropping with the Tormek compound (~4k)? Makes sense the water stones gave a little sharper edge 👍

[@tobiasdlilja]

Awesome video. What brand chisels are you using? Also, does the brand matter a lot? Or could you get cheaper chisels like hultafors EDC just as sharp?

[@samponette3306]

You can get every chisel equally sharp. The quality of the steel will determine how long it will stay sharp. Softer steel means you need to sharpen more often, but that is great for practicing ;-)

[@GianniStorti]

Awesome result!
Do you think a diamond set would be enough for a diy-er? I was looking at the sharpal system for example, which has 2 grits (~400 and ~1200), plus a leather stripe

[@zokraft]

1200 is not high enough for cutting hardwoods endgrain like in this video. But there are sharpening compounds for leather honing with different grits. You can also use wet sandpaper on a piece of glass as a cheap alternative.

[@GianniStorti]

@@zokraft thank you for the answer. Yeah, I have some sanding papers sticked to some plaxiglass plates (I think I have them up to 6000 grit), but I wanted to upgrade without spending +100€ per stone.
These new diamond sets seem nice to me, quality-price wise

[@zokraft]

@@GianniStorti Good diamond sharpening stones are more expensive than natural stone. They come in different grits, so you'd need at least 2 or 3 to get a good result. The cheaper thin diamond stones are also workable, though their abrasive particles wear off after 20-30 sharpening sessions, which is pretty good. You can also use a combination of sandpaper, diamond, natural stone in different progressive grits to get you to the same end result.

[@GianniStorti]

@@zokraft Yeah, a mixing could be a good compromise. Did you get into natural stones when you started or did you started with papers?

[@zokraft]

​@@GianniStortiIf you watch Paul Sellers, he says sharpening chisels is taken to extreme nowadays. Rasor-sharp chisels are nice to have, but they don't last very long against hardwoods, and for most operations something in the 2000 grit range is enough. I do like to use leather honing but I also keep some chisels in less than ideal state because often you only need to rough out material or clean up glue. I started with sandpaper and some cheap stones that I stil use along higher grit natural and diamond stones that I could gradually buy.

[@Baerenbruder87]

What brand are the water stones?

[@od_form]

Shapton