Back to the Grind

I was helping a student grind their chisel and it hit home how challenging it can be to get comfortable with the grinder. It’s a shame, because I think it’s an essential skill for proficiency in shaping and sharpening tools. I suggest buying a cheap garage sale chisel to practice on rather than using a precious tool. Like most skills, failure has to be an option during the learning process.

Lately, I’ve been upgrading my video set up (with the help of Ben Strano) to make shooting videos more fun and less time consuming. As I’ve been waiting on dongles to arrive in the mail (I know way too much about dongles now), I’ve been scheming about making a grinding video.

Here is part one (of two) of that video.

Yes, the sound got a little muffled when I was leaning on the microphone, but otherwise everything seems to be working. The technique I show is a slow but safe way to establish an edge while having clear clues on the bevel to guide the grinding. I don’t always have to blunt the edge as shown, but it’s a great way to lower the risk of burning the tool. This method also makes it easy to keep the cutting edge straight, because the abrasion that reaches the edge happens at the stones, not the grinder. Part 2 will be in the next post.

Let me know if you have any questions from the video. Also, I’d be happy to hear from you about topics you would like me to cover in a short video segment. This new set up is very fast and easy, which should make my upcoming Temple Chair shoot go quickly, but probably not as quickly as Jeff Lefkowitz is at drawing plans!

Jeff is moving at lighting speed on these