Spent two years cutting dovetails by hand before a guy at a woodworking meetup pointed out my chisel was dull

I was at a guild meeting in Portland last month showing off a drawer I built, and this old timer just grabbed my chisel, ran his thumb across the edge, and asked if I liked making extra work for myself. He took two strokes with a sharp one and suddenly all my gaps closed up without any sanding dust. Has anyone else found out years into a hobby that they were doing the whole basic step wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna_jackson2813d ago

OH MAN that hit close to home. I have a quick correction though - you said the old timer ran his thumb ACROSS the edge, but that's actually not how you test a chisel safely. You run your thumb along the edge lengthwise, not across it. Across the edge is how you slice your thumb open real bad. I learned that the HARD way after watching too many youtube videos where people just swiped all casual like it was nothing. But yeah the whole sharp tool thing is a COMPLETELY different world. I was on a shaving horse for like six months with a drawknife before someone gently told me I was basically scraping instead of cutting. Felt like such a fool but now I teach beginners and I make them sharpen everything first thing.

ramirez.caleb13d ago

Oh man, you're absolutely right about the thumb across thing. I did the exact same stupid move when I started woodworking. Watched some guy on YouTube do it all smooth and thought sure, I'll try that. Next thing I know I'm bleeding all over my workbench wondering why nobody warned me. Took about three stitches and a lot of shame to learn that lesson. The scraping thing too - I spent a whole summer with a spokeshave just pushing it along without any idea it was supposed to actually remove material. Someone finally showed me how to feel for the edge digging in and suddenly everything clicked. Now I tell every beginner the same thing you do: sharp tool first, technique second, and keep your thumb off the blade edge no matter what.