# Benjamin Best Carbide Chisels



## Ulises Victoria (Oct 9, 2012)

Hello all... I know I should have asked this BEFORE buying these tools Set of 3 Benjamin's Best Carbide Chisel Set at Penn State Industries 
but I am a compulsive buyer (sometimes)
They (PSI) say these tools "may never need sharpening", which I definitely don't believe. I am pretty sure they will need some sharpening sometime. My question is: would I need something special to sharpen these tools? 
Yesterday I tried to sharpen a skew using some water japanese sanding stones, grits 1000, 6000 and a white stone Im not sure what grit is but feels like a 10000. I got a very nice edge with these albeit it takes longer. Can these stones be used with these tools? Or what are your expert comments in general about these carbide tools.

Thank you very much for your time.


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## Wildman (Oct 9, 2012)

Might try these products to touch up edges. 

Credit Card Diamond File Set at Penn State Industries

4 Piece Diamond Sharpening Set at Penn State Industries


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## frank123 (Oct 9, 2012)

You'll need a green wheel or diamond wheel to sharpen them.

Which you probably won't need to do very often.


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## edstreet (Oct 9, 2012)

First let me say I have over $3,000 in natural Japanese Waterstones and I have been a follower of toji for some time now.

The answer is YES you can sharpen these tools on the waterstones or any other stone for that matter. 

NO you do not need 'diamond' stones.  Diamonds are 'hard' on the scale but not needed to sharpen.

The #1 problem you will have is consistent angle.  This is where jigs comes into play, lee valley has several that will hold chisels of various flavors at set angles.

I am not 100% certain but it appears these 3 chisels uses M2 steel.

As for 'never need sharpening' I have a bridge that is for sale if you buy that one.  Anything that will cut will need sharpening at one/several points in it's life span.


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## mredburn (Oct 9, 2012)

If its not HSS M2 but Carbide tipped
"Tungsten carbide (WC) is an inorganic chemical compound (specifically, a carbide) containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially among workers in various industries (such as machining and carpentry), tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide (without precise distinction from other carbides). Among the lay public, the growing popularity of tungsten carbide rings has led to some consumers calling the material just tungsten, despite the inaccuracy of the usage. In its most basic form, tungsten carbide is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery, cutting tools, abrasives, other tools and instruments, and jewelry. Tungsten carbide is approximately three times stiffer than steel, with a Young's modulus of approximately 550 GPa,[2] and is much denser than steel or titanium. It is comparable with corundum (α-Al2O3) or sapphire in hardness and can only be polished and finished with abrasives of superior hardness such as cubic boron nitride and diamond amongst others, in the form of powder, wheels, and compounds."


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## edstreet (Oct 9, 2012)

You should have said 'Cemented carbides' and not 'Tungsten carbide' as tungsten is very very old school.  Newer stuff uses Titanium-Carbide, Tantalum-Carbide and DLC.


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## PenMan1 (Oct 9, 2012)

In layman's (or in this case, redneck's) terms, the Benjamin's Best Carbide Tipped pen tools are "a whole bunch" sharper than any HSS tools than I have tried from ANY manufacturer. 

While HSS tools may be sufficient for wood blanks, they are mostly inadequate for many "alternative" materials. Carbide cutters (including BB's Carbide tippers) leave a nearly smooth surface where sanding can begin at 600 grit or better. HSS (even the VERY HIGH PRICED ONES) tend to leave "ridges" that are nearly impossible to sand away.

In terms of sharpening, the best method I've found to sharpen Carbide (and I've squandered hundreds on sharpening systems) is a $10 diamond credit card file. I forget the grits (2 different grits on either side) but starting with the "roughest" grit on the credit card file and proceeding through all grits, without jigs, etc the Benjamin skew can be sharpened in about 10 minutes.

I laughed out loud at the "never needs sharpening" advertisement, then proceeded cutting black TruStone Followed by Jade TruStone. In reality, I got about 40 pens before the first sharpening......BUT THEN, how much more can you expect from a $20 Chinese skew?

After about 10 sharpenings, it was time for a new skew......or in my case, a Woodchuck Pen Pro.

Respectfully submitted.


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## PenMan1 (Oct 9, 2012)

I do try to keep a new Benjamin Carbide skew on hand, just because there are some "finishing" cuts (barrel tapers, et.al.) where it is just easier to maneuver this small skew, that a 4-sided Carbide cutter.


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## edstreet (Oct 10, 2012)

General rule of thumb when it comes to sharpening.  If you TRULY sharpen the edge to 600 grit and switch to sandpaper then you will start at 600 grit, same with 60 grit, 200 grit or what not.   Nuff said.


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## Wildman (Oct 10, 2012)

Can pay little or a lot for hand-pocket diamond sharpeners, bottom line do not want to be that aggressive re-sharpening these carbide coated tools. Couple of swipes and should be good to go.  When finally wear through carbide coating, take to grinder to touch HSS edge or toss them. 

Sharpening Supplies - Pocket Sharpeners

Sharpening Supplies - Handheld Sharpeners

I like the pocket/hand held diamond cards for touching up HSS & PM tools have before going back to grinder. My old slip stones do not do much for HSS & PM tools. Only problem for me is remembering where set them down last time used one.


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