Brian Gray
Posts: 339
Joined: 2004-01-21
Location: Sandusky, OH
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Hey Dave.
First off, I would recommend buying Paul's video. Reading articles helps, but actually seeing it going on is much better. Then, of course, if you can manage to take courses, DO IT! My work took an amazing leap when I went to work with Paul live, and I can't wait to visit again this month.
You can read more here on Paul's website...
http://www.schurchwoodwork.com/tools/index.html#ten
I use a 1 1/2" chisel, but whatever feels good in your hand is what you want. My hand is normal size, and the 1 1/2 is fine for me.
When creating the slight rounding, I take some 220 sandpaper, and rub the tip for a while. Make sure to rub it from many different angles to create a round tip, not a chamfer.
Then sharpen like you would a normal chisel. When you finish, be sure to give the rounded tip a lot of buffing, as the stones probably won't reach the tip since you ground it away with the sandpaper. Then buff the back a little as well (yes, I said buff the back....you would normally NEVER do this to a bench chisel.) The whole idea here is to get the tip rounded slightly, and razor sharp. This chisel will never be used with the back side down flat, so if the cutting edge is slightly away off from the flat back, it's no big deal.
As a test, I would take a bench chisel that you would sharpen normally, and your veneer chisel, and see if you can tell a difference.
Cut some veneer with the standard bench chisel....you will notice that is cuts awkward, wants to follow the grain, and digs. Then try the veneer chisel. It should feel SUPER smooth, and always go the direction that you want, whether you are using a straight edge as a guide, or free-handing.
As far as a japanese chisel goes, I see no reason why to not use one. Just make sure to give the rounding a little more aggressive work, since the chisel is much harder.
Hope I answered your questions....post any more, and I'll help however I can.
bg
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