I tried Brent Beach’s sandpaper-sharpening technique (FWW #184, pp. 64-67) and have had great results. On a hunch, I attached two round rare-earth magnets to the shaft of my chisel while sharpening. Lo and behold, the metal sharpening particles stuck to the chisel.

When done sharpening, I just take off the magnets, remove the chisel from the honing guide, and tap the chisel on a piece of wood (or blow it with an air gun). All the metal particles drop in the trash and none are left in the sandpaper. No oil, no mess, and it’s as clean as can be. This method works with any sharpening technique.

Drawings by Jim Richey.

Drawing by Jim Richey

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