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Get a razor edge on tools that are tricky to sharpen. A dull tool is a dangerous tool. A lot of people struggle with sharpening their tools, but it is important to keep your tools sharp. A sharp [...]

This honing stone setup is part of my dedicated sharpening station. It consists of a plastic tray mounted in a plywood carrier box that also provides solid footing for a wooden stone holder that [...]

Understanding the Why is just as important as the How. Hand tools are a pleasure to use — if they’re sharp. Once you have a sharp tool in your hands, you’ll begin to realize why some [...]

Last week, after posting three videos showing my gouge reformation and sharpening process, I decided to compile them into one unified tutorial. In the video, I explain the process and cover how [...]

No one can match Pfeil’s sharpening quality—Pfeil gouges arrive perfectly honed with ideal edge geometry. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with the Chinese knockoffs I tested. Both straight [...]

My sharpening procedures involve a lot of buffing with compound. On one side of my buffer I’ve mounted a hard felt wheel, and on the other a paper wheel shaped to buff concave bevels. To prevent [...]

Turning tools come in many shapes. Here’s how to keep those shapes sharp. Many years ago, I was cooking with a friend who was home visiting his parents during a college break. He struggled with a [...]

Old chisels can be brought back to life using these simple steps. If ever there was a type of used hand tool that was a good candidate for restoration, it’s a chisel. Lots of good deals on old [...]

A Sharpening Handbook: What Every Woodworker Needs to Know About Sharpening If there’s one thing to be said about woodworkers, it’s that we’re old school and prefer to pick up a book (or a [...]

Flattening the back of a spokeshave’s blade on sandpaper is a pain. The blade is so small that it’s hard to get a grip on it. A 1-1/2″ thick MDF block sized to fit my hand makes [...]

If you’ve had trouble grinding a straight edge on a chisel or plane iron, try using your disc sander. All you need is a guide that slides in your sander’s miter gauge slot and an 80 or 100-grit [...]

These once-standard tools still have a place in the modern shop. Here's what you need to know about the use, care and keeping of drawknives and spokeshaves.