Razor Sharp Tools in Less Than Three Minutes

Reader Contribution by Staff
Published on March 25, 2011
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It might seem too good to be true, but there really is a way to quickly put a razor-sharp edge on chisels, planes, knives and carving tools. It only takes a minute or two, and it doesn’t demand a lot of skill. That’s a good thing because no matter how fancy and effective power tools get, hand tools are still an indispensable part of home maintenance and workshop success.


This sharpening technique is based on electric-powered buffing wheels that polish tools to a keen edge. I’ve used this method over the last 25 years of woodworking, and the hardware is simple and quiet. A small electric motor spins a hard felt buffing wheel that’s covered with a fine, waxy abrasive. Hold one side of a tool edge, then the other, against this spinning wheel, and the angled metal surfaces are polished, smooth and very, very sharp.  I use a salvaged 1/4 hp, 1,750 rpm motor, driving a ball-bearing mandrel spinning the buffing wheel at 3,450 rpm. A hard wheel like this is ideal for honing flat or concave edges. Use a softer, cloth wheel for concave surfaces on carving gouges. You can also mount the same kind of wheels on a manufactured bench grinder if you’re not into cobbling together inexpensive machinery like me.

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