Russian Novel on Sharpening - long
Hi
When you ask what the best 'tool' is, you will get a lot of answers and perhaps a few questions as well.
Sharpening a chisel/plane iron can be broken down into at least 2 categories - grinding and honing (and some skip the honing) - or perhaps 4, if you include lapping and stropping.
Grinding can be done on wet or dry grinders or belt sanders. You can also approximate grinding with the "scary sharp" method using coarse sandpaper to rapidly remove metal. The goal for grinding operations is to establish a primary bevel on the blade or chisel.
Lapping, which means flattening the back of the blade. It's the intersection of the bevel and the back of the cutter that defines sharpness. If the back is not flat where it meets the bevel, or if the bevel is rounded over and poorly defined, you have no chance of getting a really sharp edge.
Lapping only needs to be done once (thankfully, because it's a major PITA) or once in a very long while. Lapping can be done with sandpaper on glass (scary sharp again) or on a well flattened stone - oilstone, water stone or diamond 'stones'. Some of the motorised grinding tools can also be used to lap your chisel/plane backs. Lapping can be done before or after grinding of the bevel.
Honing is the refining of the bevel you ground using progressively finer abrasives (grits). Each successive grit should remove the scratches left by the previous one. Bench stones, sandpaper or motorised machines that spin sandpaper or other abrasives can all be used. Honing can be done at the same angle as grinding bevel or just a small area near the end, at a somewhat higher angle (secondary or micro bevel). Motorised machines have clamps or guides to help you maintain the correct honing angle. Even if you hone by hand, there are honing guides to help you.
Opinions on abrasives are all over the map and some real battles have been fought over this subject in other forums. "How fine does the last grit need to be ?" is particularly contentious.
Stropping is considered essential by some, optional by others. There are power strops - felt, leather or wood/MDF wheels or discs are charged with very fine abrasives in wax or paste to remove any burr from the cutter's edge and to fine hone the bevel even further. Hand strops can be made of leather or wood (and probably other materials). The cutting edge is drawn along the strop, which may or may not be charged with abrasive paste.
So, there's no single machine that you can stick the chisel into and have it come out sharpened well enough for joinery or cabinetmaking. You have the option to go electrical or manual just about all the way through. I think most of us use a combination of both.
I use a high speed grinder with a white wheel and a Lee Valley/Veritas angle jig. I start lapping on a coarse, then medium diamond plate, then switch to water stones to finish the job. I've honed on water stones exclusively for many years, but I recently bought some good quality oilstones and I'm using them most of the time now. My stropping method is not something I recommend. I strop using the side of my hand for everything but the narrowest chisels.
Moral of this long story: sharpening is a huge area in woodworking. Entire books have been written on the subject. If I could start over, I'd find someone to teach me 1 on 1. As someone else said, touch plays a big part in the process.
I've tried to be as objective as I could. You have a few choices to make. People here will be glad to offer opinions. The one thing I believe most of us agree on is that you should choose 1 system and stick with it. There are many ways to get to that sharp edge.
Cheers