3 Easy Methods Of Sharpening Wood Carving Tools Like Gouges
Every carpenter, crafter, or carver needs to know how to correctly sharpen their carving tools for both safety and precision. Regardless of your skill level, the state of your tools can have a big impact on how well you carve and what you produce. You must learn how to properly maintain your tools in order to make them last longer as you develop your artistic abilities. Start by using the advice provided below to sharpen your wood carving tools. When sharpening carving tools at home, there are two main processes to follow. A stone made specifically for this usage is used in the first stage. This method is used when your blade needs a lot of maintenance and has grown incredibly dull. The second technique is referred to as "stropping." In order to keep your instruments as sharp as possible without harming the blades, you'll strop more often and frequently.
Method 1: Sharpen Wood-Carving Tools With A Stone
As long as you have the correct tools, learning how to sharpen wood carving tools using a stone is rather simple. For wood carving tools, it is worthwhile to spend money on sharpening stones of superior quality that offer several grit options for various phases of the process. For the first stage of blade sharpening, the Schaaf Tools 400/1000 Grit Diamond Sharpening Stone features a 400 grit surface, while the second step, which requires a less abrasive touch, uses a 1000 grit surface.
- Start sharpening on a medium-grade grit if your instrument is very dull to effectively flatten the bevel and smooth out any abnormalities along the blade.
- For a crisp edge, complete the sharpening using a fine grit stone.
- When the blade is not very dull, it is also possible to do routine maintenance on a surface with fine grit.
- When holding the blade against the stone, choose the approach that seems the most natural to you. Push the knife away from you as though you're trying to cut a slice off the surface of the stone, and position the blade nearly flat (imagine there is a dime under the back edge).
- Another technique is to place the knife on the edge of the stone that is farthest away from you with the sharp edge facing away, place your imagination beneath the knife's back edge, and pull the it towards your direction.
While some people use small circular motions, it might be challenging to maintain the same angle with the blade against the stone. Regardless of the method you select, keep going until you can feel a bur or "wire edge" that is the same length as the cutting edge.
This wire edge demonstrates the sharpening of the entire edge. Afterward, proceed to the finer stone. The smaller stone will be created when the finer stone breaks off the wire edge. Repeat the carving technique until you can feel the wire edge on both sides of the blade.
Method 2: Sharpen Your Wood-Carving Tools Using Stropping
When you're done with the stone, you polish the cutting edge and remove the wire edge using a leather strop. Anytime you feel your wood-carving tools are not cutting as well as they once did, go back to the strop. A flat leather strop that is easily made will be useful for gouges and straight instruments. You might want to make or buy a strop with grooves made to fit gouges and V-tools, though, if you're serious about your art and want the most accurate sharpening for your curved tools.
- With a butter knife or the back of your knife, begin with a block of stropping compound and remove a little quantity of the chalky powder. Apply the compound to the leather strop. You won't need to add the powder each time you use the strop because it will embed itself in the leather.
- With the blade of your instrument facing away from you, press the flat, beveled edge against the strop. Pull the instrument towards you while applying pressure. Repeat on the opposite side.
- Up till you remove the wire edge and polish the edge, repeat the entire process. At this point, it shouldn't need a lot of time or work.
- To maintain tools in peak shape, use the strop often. You will need to visit the diamond stones to restore the edge if you wait until they become very dull.
Method 3: Sharpening A Wood-Carving Gouge
- Similar techniques are used to sharpen various-shaped woodcarving tools, like gouges. But it's crucial to have a strop with the appropriate grooves for every tool.
- You can still use the flat leather surface to sharpen the outside edge of the gouge, but the action will be different. You roll the edge as you pull rather than drawing the blade straight and maintaining it in one position. More of the blade's surface will be polished in this manner, and the edge will continue to be even.
- Select the strop groove with the exact same shape and angle as the tool you are sharpening for the inside of the gouge blade. Otherwise, you risk unevenly sharpening your tool or possibly significantly altering its shape. Make sure to apply even strokes to the whole blade as you pull the blade across the strop using the same rocking action. It will also work to use dowels of various sizes charged with stropping compound.