Remember when we all had to sharpen our own chisels?

Back in the 90s, my first boss made me spend an hour every Friday afternoon sharpening the whole shop's chisels on oil stones. It was a quiet job, but it ate up a whole afternoon. Now I just run them over a diamond plate for maybe 30 seconds each and they're ready to go. I switched over about ten years ago when I started doing more detailed trim work and needed a perfect edge faster. The old way taught patience, but the new way lets me finish a door casing in one go without stopping. Anyone else still keep an old oil stone around, or did you toss yours?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_stone1mo ago

Honestly, you still have that oil stone? I keep mine in a drawer for plane irons. Sometimes that slow, even grind from the oil stone just works better for a long, straight edge. I'll use the diamond plate for quick touch ups on site, but for a full sharpen at the bench, the old stone still comes out. It's not about being faster, it's about the right feel for the tool.

holly_craig1mo ago

Yeah I get that, oil stones just give you a different kind of control. I mean, you can really feel the edge coming together with the slower cut. I keep a cheap can of mineral oil next to mine and it works fine, no need for the fancy stuff. Diamond plates are great for speed but sometimes you just want that quiet, steady rhythm at the bench.

betty12616d ago

Used to be all about diamond plates for everything, but you two are making me want to dig out my old oil stone and give it another go. Never really got the "feel" part until reading this conversation, maybe I was just rushing through it.