Grinding angle for chisels and plane blades

[daveboling]

I recently picked up a handful of wood chisels and a couple of planes (low-angle block and a jack) at a yard sale. The faces on the chisels and blades have a variety of angles ground on the cutting edge(some look as if they were sharpened on a blacksmith's anvil with a hammer). I've read Bob Smalser's articles on rehabilitating chisels and planes, but missed the part that tells what angle to regrind the face. I've found 25 degrees to be a common angle mentioned on different articles on the net. The chisels are all fairly small. The blade on the largest is ~1" wide by 6" long. The planes are both old model Stanleys. Is 25 degrees a good basic value to use in rehabbing these tools?

Thanks,

dave boling

[bob easton]

Your research is right on. 25 degrees is common for Stanley planes and a lot of bench chisels. The plane irons came from the manufacturer ground to that angle and you won't go wrong refurbishing them to that angle (as long as they are long enough for regrinding).

If you dig around more, you can find recommendations for other anges, but those are usually for special purposes such as handing exotic woods with strange grain patterns. Being this is a boat building discussion, the wood types we use are readily worked with standard plane set ups.

Oh yeah, grinding. Keep em cool. Heavy grinding can heat them up too much and ruin the temper.

[rdrishel]

You have it worked out, 25 degrees is preferred. Be aware of polishing the back sides as well. If they are pitted by rust they will never produce an edge.
Rod