DO BEVEL ANGLES MATTER?
Some people insist on a precise angle for pine, a different one for oak, another altogether for cherry, one angle for long grain, another for end grain. If you work with a lot of different woods, you'd need a hundred different planes or chisels set up with different bevels, or else you'd be regrinding your tools to nubs with the constant changes.
ADDRESSING THE STROPPING MYTH
There is so much misinformation out there about stropping your woodworking tools, even I was confused for a long time. Does stropping make tools sharper? Is it necessary for woodworkers? Will soft leather round over the edge? Why not use MDF instead? What about charging strops with paste?
In this post, I’ll try to cut through the nonsense and answer those questions so you can get the edge you need with minimal expense and hassle.
THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY BEHIND JAPANESE CHISELS
While Japanese chisels as woodworking implements have existed for centuries, it was the makers of the famed samurai swords that may have given us the chisels OF today. In this post, I'll share that forgotten story and help decode the fascinating technology that makes Japanese woodworking chisels so different from modern Western-style chisels. By the end, you'll have a whole new respect for this strange little tool with the dented backside.
THE TRUTH ABOUT HOLLOW GRINDS: DO THEY REALLY WEAKEN YOUR EDGE?
Millions of people sharpen their tools by grinding them on a round wheel. This isn't a new idea; grinding wheels have been used for centuries. However, as often happens on the internet, it has become trendy to overanalyze and pick apart long-held beliefs, claiming that everyone has been doing it wrong. I’ve heard many people argue that an edge sharpened on a grinding wheel will become brittle or dull more quickly than one sharpened on a flat stone.