We previously covered sharpening knives (columns 6 & 7). Now we will look at sharpening chisels and plane blades. Here we are most concerned with getting the grinding & honing angles exact.

There are three steps to producing the perfect edge:-

1. Grinding - to create the major bevel,

2. Honing - to create the micro-bevel (the actual cutting edge),

3. Stropping - to polish and perfect the cutting edge.

We will not get into an in-depth discussion on angles here but what is more important is to emphasise that the two meeting faces that form the cutting edge must be highly polished & free of scratches - a ‘mirror' finish.
Shown here is a plane blade that has been sharpened properly - note the reflective finish. This can be time consuming but the WASP Sander can reduce this time significantly.

Here is a setup that you can make yourself. The piece of steel angle shown here is preferred to the sheet-metal plate supplied with the WASP because it is more rigid and more reliably flat - get it machined if you have to - perfect flatness is of utmost importance. The belt here is a silicon carbide 600 grit or 800 grit.

The first step is to prepare the back of the blade. This is probably more important than the bevel. It must be perfectly flat, no scratches, and highly polished. This is conventionally done with a sharpening stone but the WASP does it much faster. Start with a 180# belt if the blade is in poor condition then progress to a 800# or finer.

Use a very slow belt speed for all operations shown on this page.

Next - set up your blade in a honing guide (the type with a roller on the underside) to your chosen major bevel angle. 20 to 25 degrees is common for a chisel - it depends on the nature of the work to be done with the chisel.

Apply the assembled blade and guide to the WASP.
The belt grit chosen will depend on the amount of metal to be removed. Repeat this process for the micro bevel, increasing the honing guide angle by 5 degrees, and choosing an 800# belt or finer.

‘Stropping' is now done by slipping a leather belt on the WASP - still using the angle plate - apply a suitable buffing compound - polishing the back and the micro-bevel .

For a more detailed coverage of this topic visit the downloads page on this website to find an e-booklet file - and find out more about our sanding belts too.