Realized I'd been sharpening my chisels wrong for almost a decade

Been a carpenter for about 12 years now. I always thought you had to hold the chisel at a steep angle to get that razor edge. Got into a conversation with an older guy at a jobsite in Portland last fall, and he watched me for a minute before saying, 'You're grinding the life out of that steel.' Turns out I was using around 35 degrees when I should have been at 25. He showed me his setup with a simple guide block and a wet stone, and my chisels cut way cleaner after that. Felt pretty dumb but also grateful. Anybody else have a basic skill they messed up for years before someone corrected them?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliotjenkins25d ago

Did you at least get a free beer out of the deal, or just a bruised ego and sharper chisels?

gavin_knight3925d ago

And there's something humbling about finally getting called out on a bad habit you didn't even know you had. That old-timer probably saved you a hundred bucks in chisel replacements over the years too. Sometimes the best lessons come from someone just watching you work and telling you where you're going wrong.