I've Got The Edge

I finally tired of having only dull chisels in my workshop. Many had acquired nicks and dings over time but I didn't want to use a standard bench grinder on them and having them sharpened commercially becomes too expensive. My DMT Diamond Whetstone arrived this afternoon and I put it to work right away. I purchased the combination Extra Fine and Coarse model (8" x 2-5/8") so that I could remove nicks more quickly using the coarse side and finish with a really keen edge using the Extra Fine side. Everybody who gets a new tool has to give it a quick "test" right out of the box. My quick test lasted for five dull chisels that are now very, very sharp. I found that the coarse side of the stone removed a few pretty significant nicks in short order. The course side also worked well in flattening the back side of the chisels (a must for a good square edge). Using the extra fine side was a breeze. A few passes were all that was needed. As a testament to the edges, I'm wearing two band aids over cuts received from mere brushes against the sharpened edges. The combination stone is great. If I had it to do over again, I would purchase the larger version of the stone.