Introduction to Sharpening 2F26

Whether you’re restoring old tools or refining your hand-tool skills, sharp edges are at the heart of good woodworking. In this hands-on course, students will learn the fundamentals of sharpening straight blades—including plane irons and chisels—while gaining a deeper understanding of steel, blade geometry, and what “sharp” really means at the bench.
Students are encouraged to bring their own tools to work on (tools will also be available for those who need them) as they learn practical sharpening workflows using bench grinders, water stones, honing techniques, and proper tool setup. Along the way, we’ll cover how to shape, polish, tune, and maintain cutting edges for clean, controlled results in the shop.
By the end of the course, students will leave with sharpened, well-tuned tools and the confidence to maintain them—an essential foundational skill for anyone interested in hand tools and fine woodworking.
Note: This workshop is taking place at our partner organization, Boston Building Resources, located at 100 Terrace St, Boston, MA 02120.
Izaiah Rhodes

I work primarily with wood and metal. I really enjoy making jewelry and welding but I have also been particularly into woodworking at this stage in my career. Initially I used this skill as a supplement to jewelry making and welding, but soon found myself enraptured by the life of trees and the tools used to transform them in their afterlife. I have gotten deep into the world of hand tools. I've moved almost completely away from using power tools. I feel so much more in control of the hand tools, they are so sensitive and offer a lot of feedback. I can feel every fiber of wood I cut through, especially immediately after I sharpen my tools. In every aspect of my work I've been looking into how crafts were done through a historical lens. For woodworking specifically, we have been using chisels since the dawn of our existence. For around 200,000 years we had been using this tool yet somewhere in the last 50 years we decided they don't matter that much. I don't want to dismiss chisels because every tool we use in a wood shop is essentially a chisel. Every tooth in a table saw or bandsaw blade is a chisel, the blades in a jointer are chisels, even some of the sandpaper we use has microscopic chisels in the form of abrasives. I think we are in an age of so much new and exciting technology and technique which is amazing, but it is also important not to forget the fundamentals of our craft.
Students should bring either a plane or a chisel that needs sharpening.