Flattening the Back of Chisels and Plane Irons

I use diamond stones for flattening the backs of chisels and plane irons. I like to first test the back with fine grit diamond stone. By using finer grit on a flat surface I can test whether the back is flat. If there are any areas that are not abraded by the fine grit I know that the back is not flat.

Once I have determined that the back is not flat I move to a coarse diamond stone. I find the diamond stones cut fast and stay very flat. Once the surface is uniformly scratched with the coarse stone I move to the next finer stone and repeat until I am at the extra fine diamond stone. At this point I will switch to my finest water stone for the final polish. If you do not have a set of diamond stones I suggest you use sandpaper backed by float glass to flatten the back of the tool.

If after the initial test with the fine stone the back of the tool appears flat, I just proceed with the next finest grit until I get to my finest water stones.

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