Workshop Projects and Honest Tool Reviews
Garrett Dunn · October 23, 2026
I ignored stone flattening for an embarrassingly long time. I kept chasing a wire edge that would not form evenly across a chisel, blaming my technique, my angle, the steel — and the actual problem was that my 1000-grit stone had quietly worn into a shallow dish in the middle. A hollow stone grinds a … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 17, 2026
Over in the corner of my shop where the hand tools live — past the vise bench, on the shelf next to my stone collection — there’s a wooden paddle with a dark leather surface worn smooth from five years of use. That strop has transformed more mediocre edges into genuinely dangerous ones than anything … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 15, 2026
Sitting on my workbench right now is a mortise chisel with an edge that holds sharp through three hours of serious work. Six months ago, that same tool would go dull in under an hour. The only thing that changed wasn’t the chisel—it was how I learned to sharpen it. That difference is visible in … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 15, 2026
My neighbor stopped by the garage last month and asked why I was spending ten minutes touching up a chisel when I could just grab a sharper one from the bin. It’s a fair question—one I would’ve asked myself years ago. But the answer is exactly why I built a dedicated sharpening station, even though … Read more
Garrett Dunn · June 28, 2026
No universally optimal sharpening methodology exists. However, an optimal approach for your specific situation certainly does, contingent on your sharpening duties, frequency, and resource commitment tolerance. Should I restrict myself to one instrument? Diamond plate, without hesitation. Stays flat, covers everything, demands minimal fussing, and welcomes newcomers warmly. When I’m devoting two hours perfecting the … Read more