Sharpening question

What is the best way to maintain a keen edge on carving tools such as the
gouges, etc.? Back when I was a chef, I never let my knifes get dull.
Everyday I would fine tune them with a few strokes on a hard stone so they
were like a hot knife through warm butter.

Carving chisels are a different thought altogether with the polishing and
mirror finish needed to glide through the wood, not to mention the many
different shapes. Would a minute or two on a power strop be what is needed
to maintain a keen edge? Or, is a stone then polishing required each time?

I just purchased a small sheet of leather and some compound to try out the
old method of stropping without power, which seems that it would be good on
the straight chisels but a pain for the rest. Any thoughts would be greatly
appreciated on this subject.

Thanks,
Patrick

depends on the shape of the gouge.

The more curve the gouge, you must sharpen in a figure 8 motion on the
bevelled edge.

Very hard to explain but i can show you

Steve

On a stone or leather?

Thanks, I am sure that I will have another question after this.

Patrick

Nowadays I use differently shaped diamond hones in stead of wetstone, and I
still have
found nothing to beat the arkansas for polishing.

Bjarte


Interesting! So you don't use leather or a felt wheel on a grinder or
anything, just a stone for polishing? I kept thinking that I was missing
something with what I see and read in the catalogs, but never really could
find any definitive answers to back up what I saw.

Thank you,
Patrick

patrick skrev i
lsouth.net...
What is the best way to maintain a keen edge on carving tools such as the
gouges, etc.? Back when I was a chef, I never let my knifes get dull.
Everyday I would fine tune them with a few strokes on a hard stone so they
were like a hot knife through warm butter.

Carving chisels are a different thought altogether with the polishing and
mirror finish needed to glide through the wood, not to mention the many
different shapes. Would a minute or two on a power strop be what is
needed
to maintain a keen edge? Or, is a stone then polishing required each
time?

I just purchased a small sheet of leather and some compound to try out the
old method of stropping without power, which seems that it would be good
on
the straight chisels but a pain for the rest. Any thoughts would be
greatly
appreciated on this subject.

Earlier I used an electic wetstone for setting up, and an arkansasstone for
polishing.
I had arkansasstones of different shapes for the different insides of the
irons.

Nowadays I use differently shaped diamond hones in stead of wetstone, and I
still have
found nothing to beat the arkansas for polishing.

Bjarte

I have invested quite a bit in the tools that I am using, ("Pfeil" or is
that "Pfiel"?), and have given them a lot of thought and truly respect them
as I did when I was a chef with my knifes. It is in this respect that I
wish to keep them for life and only add to the collection over time and try
not to replace them. I ask these questions so as not to *******ize them and
thank you for your input. Your methods cross what I believed that I would
end up doing but I needed to hear it from someone who could validate my
thoughts. It makes sense what you say along the various times and needs to
keep a keen edge. It has been my goal to keep the bevel that was created by
those who made the chisels and not to create a new one.

Thank you JT and all the others who have answered my post. I value your
experience.


JT wrote in message ...
Three or four strokes on a leather strop charged with a stroping compound
every hour or two should be enough to keep a sharp tool's edge keen for
quite a while. If you're carving found wood or harder woods like cherry or
walnut, you'll need more frequent touch-up on your stone. If the tool
quality is poor or the bevel angle is incorrect, the edge will need
attention more often.
I once asked a teaching, professional carver about the advantages of his
expensive power strop set-up vs. my manual strop. His response was that he
used a power strop because it allowed him to sharpen his, and his
student's,
tools quickly. Because he spent less time sharpening, students got more
instruction. Be careful not to overheat your tool when using a power
strop.
The keen edge can heat up in a heartbeat if you press too hard or have the
wrong angle or strop speed.
When one of my tools does need more than a stropping (and wasn't dropped or
dinged) I usually make a couple passes on 2000 grit silicon carbide paper
adheared to a glass plate (Scary Sharp system) and finish up with a few
stroke on the strop.
Diamond hones are OK but aren't available in grits fine enough for
precision
tools. I got tired of cleaning and dressing stones so I switched to Scary
Sharp.
JT

Three or four strokes on a leather strop charged with a stroping compound
every hour or two should be enough to keep a sharp tool's edge keen for
quite a while. If you're carving found wood or harder woods like cherry or
walnut, you'll need more frequent touch-up on your stone. If the tool
quality is poor or the bevel angle is incorrect, the edge will need
attention more often.
I once asked a teaching, professional carver about the advantages of his
expensive power strop set-up vs. my manual strop. His response was that he
used a power strop because it allowed him to sharpen his, and his student's,
tools quickly. Because he spent less time sharpening, students got more
instruction. Be careful not to overheat your tool when using a power strop.
The keen edge can heat up in a heartbeat if you press too hard or have the
wrong angle or strop speed.
When one of my tools does need more than a stropping (and wasn't dropped or
dinged) I usually make a couple passes on 2000 grit silicon carbide paper
adheared to a glass plate (Scary Sharp system) and finish up with a few
stroke on the strop.
Diamond hones are OK but aren't available in grits fine enough for precision
tools. I got tired of cleaning and dressing stones so I switched to Scary
Sharp.
JT

Silicon carbide sandpaper up to 3000 grit - Scary Sharp system - works
quite well and has the advantage of beilng inex0pensive.

Fred
"patrick" wrote in message
. ..
I have invested quite a bit in the tools that I am using, ("Pfeil" or is
that "Pfiel"?), and have given them a lot of thought and truly respect
them
as I did when I was a chef with my knifes. It is in this respect that I
wish to keep them for life and only add to the collection over time and
try
not to replace them. I ask these questions so as not to *******ize them
and
thank you for your input. Your methods cross what I believed that I would
end up doing but I needed to hear it from someone who could validate my
thoughts. It makes sense what you say along the various times and needs
to
keep a keen edge. It has been my goal to keep the bevel that was created
by
those who made the chisels and not to create a new one.

Thank you JT and all the others who have answered my post. I value your
experience.


JT wrote in message ...
Three or four strokes on a leather strop charged with a stroping compound
every hour or two should be enough to keep a sharp tool's edge keen for
quite a while. If you're carving found wood or harder woods like cherry
or
walnut, you'll need more frequent touch-up on your stone. If the tool
quality is poor or the bevel angle is incorrect, the edge will need
attention more often.
I once asked a teaching, professional carver about the advantages of his
expensive power strop set-up vs. my manual strop. His response was that
he
used a power strop because it allowed him to sharpen his, and his
student's,
tools quickly. Because he spent less time sharpening, students got more
instruction. Be careful not to overheat your tool when using a power
strop.
The keen edge can heat up in a heartbeat if you press too hard or have
the
wrong angle or strop speed.
When one of my tools does need more than a stropping (and wasn't dropped
or
dinged) I usually make a couple passes on 2000 grit silicon carbide paper
adheared to a glass plate (Scary Sharp system) and finish up with a few
stroke on the strop.
Diamond hones are OK but aren't available in grits fine enough for
precision
tools. I got tired of cleaning and dressing stones so I switched to
Scary
Sharp.
JT

"Would a minute or two on a power strop be what is needed"

Yes.

- Marc