[Brian T.]

I have just chopped out 8m/24' of ceramic tile with a Chraftsman 1" chisel. More waves in the end than the ocean.
1. Joint/square off the end just beyond the last of the damage/wear.
2. Paint the bevel with black felt marker and SCRUB on a coarse oilstone to reestablish a 30 degree bevel.
3. Go through 2 finer grits of oilstone at 30 to refine the bevel. Pull strokes only at this stage.
4. Do some refinement on the back to smooth it out and take off the gross wire edge.
5. Maybe 800 to make it look pretty.

Pull strokes alone, particularly with freehand sharpening as I do, allow for far better control of the developing bevel.

If this were one of my carving tools, I'd go on to a 4K waterstone then 40,000 grit to hone on a strop to see "carving sharp."

I see no reason, other than esthetics, to spend much time fooling with flatting the back for the work this chisel is expected to do. I have 3 days in which to totally trash an entire kitchen, appliances and all. To finish with an empty box of a room with a sewer connection and H & C water stubs.
9P Saturday. I can see what all to do tomorrow and I'm done.

 

[Brian T.]

Well, good. If all you plan to do is shave arm hair and cut paper, you're done!

How well does that edge cut in the wood that you intend to use? For carving, I have "try sticks" of every kind of wood that I use. I test edges in that wood as I have no urgent need to carve arm pit hair, fingers or paper.

If you need a really shiny surface, you need to "hone" the face of the bevel with a honing compound on a strop.
1. The honing compounds are 0.5 micron and smaller, that's possibly 40,000 grit. No, anyone who tells you that these are polishing compounds is full of hooey = the edge is so finely scratched that your eyes can't see it and you 'believe' that the metal is polished (use a 10X magnifier to prove what I say.)
2. "Push" rams the fresh edge into the sharpening medium = error. Each push undoes a pull.

For honing my carving tools and those for other carvers, I use chrome green which is a green colored chemical with a nominal partical size of 0.5 micrometer. Besides the common european style gouges and skews, I have 9 different crooked knives. Four of those are pairs of Mora #171 Hook knives = their edges, now at 12 degreees, are better than stock razor blades.

I'm not bragging. Making tools carving sharp is a learned skill. Over the past 10 years, I have learned to do that very, very well and I will endeavour to teach anybody how to do it.
BTW, I do it all freehand. Once you learn how to use your body as a jig, you are good to go. Veritas, eat your heart out.

How does flattening the first inch behind the bevel edge promote a good cutting edge?

 

[Brian T.]

Probably the same routine that I use to repair a fine wood carving gouge which has hit a sand grain.
I prefer to do all this freehand as I've never gained much experience with powered sharpening systems of any kind.

1. Paint the existing bevel with black felt marker so that you can see what's happening.
2. Begin with a coarse oil stone. I use Pennzoil 5W40 motor oil. Hold the tool axis vertical and scrub the tip back to square with the axis. Tedious but has to be done once.
3. Draw the desired bevel angle on some sort of card stock. This will stand beside the sharpening medium until the end.
4. Put the old bevel tip on that same stone, same oil, and elevate the tool shank to match the angle card.
5. Scrub and scrub to re-establish the needed bevel. I have skews at 25 degrees, spokeshaves at 28 degrees and my Stanley #5 at 30 degrees. I like those angles. Most western wood carving tools are 20 degrees. For a mortise chisel, that may not put enough steel behind the edge for support in that task.
6. I'd go through my 3 oil stones refining the bevel, the top might be approx 220 grit (unknown, all of them.)
7. 600, 800 then 1500 grit W&D automotive finishing sand papers.
8. From step 5 onwards, you'll notice a good wire edge develop. Alternate a few strokes on the flat, maybe pull strokes only. Takes time but it will break off.
9. How fine you need to go is up to you. Who sees the inside surfaces of a well cut mortice?
10. I don't like sanding my carvings. As such, then, the tools mark the surface. I hone my edges with chrome green on some sort of strop = might be leather, might be crackerbox cardboard, might be a 4" x 6" filing card. With a nominal particle size of 0.5 micrometer, that makes my honing process about 40,000 grit.
= = =
Looking again at the tip, it is so very rounded off, is there a possible reason for that shape, not just simply wear and tear?

 

[Brian T.]

Don't have any idea what the proper name might be, BUT. . .
if you turn it over, it looks like a round-nose, wood turning, lathe tool. Approx 60 degree bevel. I have tuned up a few of those over the past couple of years.