Hi all I picked up a 3/4 inch wide Japanese mortise chisel with a laminated steel blade on E-bay (a sickness that I can’t get over) it has never been sharpened except for the original grined from the maker. The current bevel angle is about 25 degrees which seems a little shallow. The question is should I re-grined it to 30 degrees or just sharpen it and see what happens.
Thanks
Troy
Replies
Japanese saws and chisels are often sharpened for cutting softwoods such as cedar and pine which are commonly used there for furniture making.
I would stay with the 25 degree angle as an experiment but if it proves fragile for hardwoods try increasing the angle. Even if you increase the angle, you may still find that the blade is more likely to chip because it is tempered a bit harder than normal which is fine for softwoods but can create problems when mortising hardwoods.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
ThanksTroy
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