Must-Have Sharpening Techniques

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If you’re using tools in your shop, you need to know how to sharpen them. It’s an old adage, but true, that dull tools are more dangerous than sharp tools. You’re likely to force a dull tool, and that leads to accidents. Your woodworking will just be easier and more pleasant when you’re working with sharp tools.

Defining Sharp and Dull

A good sharpening class has to start with helping you determine if your tools need to be sharpened. It can be difficult, especially for new woodworkers, to know if the problem lies in technique or tool. There are some very simple tests you can do on your tools to see if they need to be sharpened.

Tools of the Trade

One of the fun things about woodworking is that there are so many ways to do a given task. The same is true of sharpening. You can sharpen tools completely by hand, or you can take advantage of power sharpening techniques. We’ll show you a number of different products that allow you to choose the sharpening approach that’s best for you.

Router Bits

It’s easy to quickly dress the carbide wings of a router bit to optimize its performance. Even if a router bit isn’t, technically, dull, it’s not a bad idea to give the cutters a little attention before using it on chip-prone material. This can be the difference between a great cut, and a marginal cut.

Bench Chisels

One challenge in sharpening bench chisels is getting the angle just right. You’ll learn a handful of approaches to help you hit the right angle every time. Whether you want to stay low tech and sharpen freehand on a plate of glass, or mechanize your sharpening, we’ve got you covered. Micro bevel? Yep, we cover that too.

Plane Irons

Sharpening plane irons is very similar to sharpening bench chisels. You’ll be able to transfer a lot of what you learn about chisels to irons. Once you’ve mastered these techniques you’ll have your planes peeling off paper thin shavings in no time.

Lathe Chisels

It isn’t uncommon, on a given turning project, to sharpen your chisels a number of times. The better you get at sharpening lathe chisels the more time you can spend turning. And you’ll get better results off the chisel, which means less sanding. You’ll see how to sharpen lathe chisels on whetstones, the WorkSharp, and how to freehand sharpen on a low-rpm grinder.

Card Scraper And Cabinet Scraper

These tools baffle some woodworkers, primarily because they never learned how to properly sharpen them. Sharpening scrapers is completely different from sharpening other cutting tools. Your goal is not to create a sharp edge, it’s to create a cutting burr. A good burr starts with good prep work. We’ll show you how to achieve both.

Forstner Bits

Don’t try to overcome a dull forstner bit by pushing harder. Instead, spend a little time with a rotary tool or file to bring those cutting edges back to life. Your forstner bits should be giving you shavings, not dust. These sharpening techniques will help you bring your bits back to life.

Bonus: More about Sharpening

Learn more about the critical importance of using sharp tools.

Meet Your Instructor

Learn more about your instructor, George Vondriska.