chisel sharpening

Maybe you’re liftng the handle of the chisel upwards, effectively altering the bevel angle. This is more likely to happen on the back phase. It should remain at a fairly consistent angle as you move back and forth, the only exception being the slight natural arc when at the end of the push phase.

I have the same problem. I think it might have to do with the way I rotate my wrist.. It seems like the smaller the chisel, the bigger the skew.

I’ve found that the key to getting a good straight bevel is consistency. It took me a long time before I could freehand sharpen to an angle. You just need to start very slowly and practice keeping your hand steady and moving straight.

You’ll eventually get a good feel for it, and be able to go faster as you practice. It feels and sounds rougher if you’re taking too much off somewhere or angling your hand the wrong way. If you’ve already got a bevel a bit out of whack, it may be a good idea to use (or build!) a guide to set the angle and get it sharp the first time, and then work on maintaining that angle while getting a good feel for the right motion and pressure to use free-hand.

The key here is to practice a lot, and before long you won’t remember why you were having trouble in the first place. Just like with planing and sawing, you need to get your muscles to learn what your brain already knows. Keep at it and it’ll be second nature in no time.

Kiyoshigawa makes a good point about muscle memory. It’s like learning a musical instrument, or a difficult passage of music on an instrument: you go slow to make the necessary connections in your brain first, then speed up, then perform it without really thinking too much about it.

If your having difficulty, just spend a month sharpening slowly, it may feel like your not making progress, but you’ll see how beneficial it is in the long run.