Instructions for Sharpening Hollow Chisels

Plane blades and chisels are much easier to sharpen than hollow chisels, as tools that match their cutting shape (flat!) are more readily available. The inside of hollow chisels can be honed with a variety of cylindrical aids, such as wooden rods covered with leather. These can be quite easily made to fit. However, if you want to hone the outside of a hollow chisel, you first need to find a tool whose shape exactly matches the chisel's cutting edge.

The appropriate shape can best be made with the chisel itself. Take a wood block with straight grain and no knots. The softer the wood, the better. Use the hollow chisel you want to hone to cut a groove in the block. Make the groove deep enough so that the entire cutting edge is below the wood surface. The cross-section of the groove should now exactly match the shape of the cutting edge of the hollow chisel. Now generously apply Veritas polishing paste to the surface of the groove.

Press the hollow chisel into the groove so that the cutting edge and the bevel behind it touch the wood. Now pull the chisel backward through the groove as many times as necessary until the cutting edge shines like a mirror. If the inside of the chisel is well polished, you now have a ready-to-use, razor-sharp chisel.