How to Sharpen a Chisel: Flat Back, 25° Bevel, 30° Micro

Flatten the first inch or two of the chisel's back on a coarse stone, then put the chisel in a honing guide and hone a 30-degree microbevel on top of its 25-degree bevel until you can feel a burr on the back. Work up to a fine stone, lay the back flat to slide the burr off, and strop. The back gets flattened once in the chisel's life; after that, sharpening is a minute or two on the microbevel.

What a sharp chisel edge looks like

Two surfaces make the edge. The back is the reference; the microbevel is the only part you hone each time.

The microbevel trick is what makes chisel sharpening quick. Instead of honing the whole 25-degree bevel on every stone, you lift the angle by about 5 degrees and hone only a sliver at the very edge. Family Handyman regrinds the 25-degree bevel only when the 30-degree microbevel has crept about three-quarters of the way up the bevel. Our best chisel sharpening jig guide compares the clamps that hold the angle.

Angles by chisel type

Chisel	Primary bevel	Microbevel	The trade-off
Bench chisel (general work)	25°	30°	The standard in Family Handyman's and KM Tools' guides
Paring chisel (hand pressure only)	20–25°	optional	Lower angle slices easier, but chips if you strike it
Mortise chisel (mallet work)	25°	30–35°	Steeper edge survives levering and heavy blows
Edge crumbles in hard wood or A2 steel	keep	raise 2–5°	More angle, more support behind the edge

Paul Sellers, who teaches freehand, considers anything from 25 to 35 degrees workable on a bench chisel. Precision matters less than consistency: pick an angle and repeat it.

What you need

A coarse surface for flattening: a coarse diamond plate such as the SHARPAL 162N (325/1200), or wet-or-dry sandpaper on glass. The folding DMT Diafold FWFC (45/25 micron) has the same kind of grits, but its plate is under an inch wide, so keep it for touching up edges rather than flattening backs.
A 1000 grit and a finishing stone around 6000; the Sharp Pebble 1000/6000 covers both and lists chisels among its uses.
A honing guide. The ATLIN side-clamp guide fits chisels from 1/8 to 1-7/8 inches wide, per its listing, and has a hardened steel roller. Family Handyman notes that side-clamp guides only grip chisels whose sides taper to less than 1/16 inch; thick-sided chisels need a guide that clamps top and bottom.
A strop with green compound. SHARPAL lists its 208H green compound at 1 to 2 micron particles.

Paper and glass are the cheap route: Family Handyman sticks 80, 150 and 220 grit paper to a 1/4-inch glass shelf. For finer work, a 400 to 3000 grit wet-or-dry assortment takes you up to a polish. Our best diamond sharpening stone guide explains why a diamond plate is worth it if you also need to flatten water stones.

Step 1: flatten the back (once)

Lay the back of the chisel flat on the coarse plate or paper. Hold it down with your fingertips spread near the tip, not by the handle; KM Tools warns that holding the handle tips the angle.
Rub it back and forth (on paper, pull only) until fresh scratches run right across the back, edge to edge, for the first 1.5 to 2 inches. Family Handyman laps 2 inches; KM Tools focuses on about 1.5.
Move to the next finer grit and repeat until the coarser scratches are gone. A slight hollow in the middle that never takes scratches is normal on many chisels and doesn't matter.

Fine Woodworking's "Get Sharp Fast" puts this at five to ten minutes on sandpaper and says the goal is simply a flat back with no heavy machining marks running to the edge, not a mirror. That same article describes the "ruler trick" (a thin ruler under one end of the blade to polish a tiny back bevel). It's a plane-iron trick. On a chisel, it ruins the flat reference you just made.

Step 2: set the guide to the right angle

A side-clamp guide sets the angle by how far the tip sticks out (the projection). Longer projection, lower angle. The ATLIN and Sharp Pebble guides both ship with projection tables. Three ways to set it:

Measure the projection from the instruction sheet and mark it on a stop block or the bench edge, as Paul Sellers does. Family Handyman's block uses 1-3/16 inches for its guide; your guide's number will differ.
Check with a digital angle gauge or bevel gauge on the clamped chisel.
For the microbevel without measuring, KM Tools' shortcut: set the existing bevel flat on the stone, then pull the chisel back slightly in the guide until the heel of the bevel just lifts.

Step 3: hone until you raise a burr

On the 1000 stone, roll the guide back and forth with firm, even pressure on the chisel near the edge.
Every dozen strokes, feel the back of the edge. KM Tools describes the burr as a thin ridge across the full width that clicks under a fingernail. When it runs edge to edge, move on.
Switch to the fine stone and do the same with lighter strokes. You'll see the microbevel as a bright band at the tip.

Our whetstone grit progression chart shows where an intermediate 3000 or 4000 stone fits if you own one.

A finished walnut and maple corner joint with crisp shoulders on a workbench — Crisp shoulders like these come from a dead-flat back and a fresh microbevel, not from a fancy chisel.

Step 4: remove the burr and strop

Take the chisel out of the guide. Lay the back flat on the finest stone and give it a few light strokes to slide the burr off. Keep it dead flat.
Strop the bevel, edge trailing, about 30 times (KM Tools' count), then a few light passes on the back. Add compound every few strokes.
Test: slice the edge of a sheet of paper, or pare end grain on a piece of pine. A clean, quiet cut means you're done.

The stropping guide covers the motion and compound in detail; it's the same edge-trailing stroke.

Fixing a chipped chisel on a grinder

A chip deeper than a stone can handle in a few minutes needs grinding. Family Handyman's method is the safest one we've read:

Draw a square line behind the chip. Set the tool rest to 90 degrees and grind the end square back to the line. Blunting first keeps the thin edge from overheating.
Set the rest to 25 degrees and grind the bevel back to almost a sharp edge, moving side to side.
Dip the chisel in water every few seconds. If the edge turns blue, the steel has lost its temper there and you have to grind past it.
Hone the microbevel by hand as above.

They suggest a coarse aluminum oxide wheel (around 100 grit), dressed clean, since a clogged or fine wheel runs hotter.

How often, and the two-minute touch-up

Strop whenever the chisel starts to feel draggy; KM Tools gets about seven or eight strop sessions before it re-hones the microbevel. When stropping no longer brings it back, put it in the guide at the same setting, a dozen strokes on the fine stone, burr off, strop. You'll only go back to the coarse stone after a chip or once the microbevel gets wide. Dry the chisel and wipe on a thin coat of paste wax or light oil before it goes back in the roll.

If you use a jig for knives too, our angle calculator converts angle to spine height for freehand work, and how to flatten a whetstone keeps your stones true, which matters even more for chisels than knives.

Method sources: Family Handyman "How to Sharpen a Chisel", KM Tools "How to Sharpen a Chisel", Fine Woodworking "Get Sharp Fast" and Paul Sellers' honing guide method, read October 13, 2026. Tool details from Amazon listings checked the same day. How we research · Affiliate disclosure

Questions people ask

What angle do you sharpen a chisel at?

A common setup is a 25-degree primary bevel with a 30-degree microbevel honed at the edge, which is what Family Handyman and KM Tools both use. Paring chisels can go lower, around 20 to 25, and mortise chisels that get struck hard often go 30 to 35.

Do you sharpen both sides of a chisel?

No. The bevel side gets sharpened; the back is flattened once, then only polished lightly to remove the burr. Never put a bevel on the back of a chisel, because the flat back is the reference surface that lets it pare straight.

What grit should I use to sharpen a chisel?

Around 1000 to hone, then 4000 to 8000 to finish. KM Tools says 6000 to 8000 is plenty. Use something coarser (220 to 400, or a coarse diamond plate) only to flatten a back or remove a chip.

Do I need a honing guide to sharpen a chisel?

No, but it makes the angle repeatable while you learn. Paul Sellers treats the guide as optional and sharpens freehand. A side-clamp guide such as the ATLIN fits most bench chisels; very narrow or tapered-side chisels may need a different style.

Can you sharpen a chisel with sandpaper?

Yes. Stick wet-or-dry paper to something flat, like 1/4-inch glass or a granite tile, and work up through the grits with a honing guide. Family Handyman's method goes from 80 to 220 for grinding and flattening; add 400 to 2000 for a finer finish.

How do you know when a chisel is sharp?

It slices the edge of a sheet of paper cleanly without tearing, and it pares a thin, unbroken shaving across end grain of softwood. If it crushes the fibers instead, there's still a burr or a rounded edge.