Small Chisel Problem

[Rick_B]

I started to reacquaint myself with a Super Grind 2000.  I had an 1/8'" chisel where the back was not flat (angled side to side) and the bevel also was angled side to side.  I squared off the bevel on a bench grinder and attempted to flatten the back.  Then I used the Tormek abnd reshaped the bevel - the bevel went back on a side to side angle.  Not sure why this is happening. I have the SE-77 and tried using the fine adjustment to no avail.  I'm wondering if the back is so bad that its not being held properly in the jig?

Rick

[Jan]

Rick_B, sharpening narrow chisel is generally more difficult than sharpening a 1/2"chisel.

Your chisel is probably twisted and the fine adjustment may not be able to compensate it.
Mount your chisel with smallest possible protrusion and deviate it slightly from the jig shoulder. You have to find the deviation angle by a trial and error method. Use the black marker for each new setup.

Jan

[Rick_B]

Thanks Jan - generally speaking if the angle goes from right to left (when looking from the sharpening position) would you deviate the front or back of the chisel from the shoulder?

Rick

[Jan]

Rick_B, the shoulder inside the jig is shown as red line. You will deviate (rotate) the chisel from the shoulder several degrees to the right or to the left. You will see what direction is necessary to get square edge.

Jan

[Rick_B]

I tried your suggestion Jan and was able to get the bevel mostly square - still some work to do.  I had to rotate the chisel A LOT but I think that was because the back was/is so distorted - angled side to side.  I did that trying to flatten the back on the side of the Tormek stone a number of years ago.  I don't thionk the chisel is recoverable without some significant shortening to get to an undamaged back.  I may do that just to experiment.

Rick

[Ken S]

Rick,

You are learning the value of premium chisels, like Lie-Nielsen and Veritas. They cost more, however, they leave the factory with almost perfectly finished backs, thus saving much labor. I would rather have three or four premium chisels than a "complete set" of chisels requiring major back work.

Ken

[Jan]

Rick_B, thanks for your feedback. Chisel with distorted back behaves similarly to chisel with twisted steel. It is common that you get the bevel only almost square and not exactly square.

Jan