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Random guy at the hardware store told me I was sharpening my chisels wrong and now they actually cut
Was at Ace Hardware in Phoenix picking up a new tube of caulk and this older dude sees me staring at the chisel display. He asks what I'm working on and I tell him I'm building a bookshelf but my chisels keep slipping and leaving gouges. He just laughs and says 'you're probably riding the bevel like a new horse.' Then he spent ten minutes showing me how to keep the angle consistent by marking the side with a sharpie first. Tried it on my old Stanley chisel last night and it actually shaved wood instead of tearing it. Has anyone else gotten a random tip from a stranger that worked better than any youtube video?
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the_ruby4mo ago
Oh man, that's such a great story. I actually read a whole blog post about that sharpie trick once and it totally changed how I sharpen my plane blades too. It's wild how much easier it is to see exactly where you're removing metal when the ink is gone. I totally get what you mean about random tips being better than videos too, sometimes the old timers just have those little hacks that make all the difference. Glad your chisels are working now, that's a good feeling.
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emery9654mo ago
Gotta love those random hardware store gurus man. The sharpie trick is legit, I do it for my plane irons too and it saves so much guesswork. It’s crazy how one little adjustment from a stranger can fix a problem you’ve been fighting for weeks. Glad you got it sorted, nothing beats that feeling when a tool finally works the way it’s supposed to.
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