Thread: So what do you do if you can’t sharpen

Without any presumption on my part perhaps the Unicorn method may be a possibility as it removes the massive amount of repetitive hand movement that conventional sharpening entails. There has been some discussion in recent times on this forum about it and if you search on Youtube there are some instructive videos to be seen put up by DW who also posts here. Hollow grinding followed by the Unicorn buffing procedure requires very little hand work on a stone. DW might even chime in here to add more as well.

Hi Arron

The use of a sharpening service is really only viable for items which require intermittent sharpening, such as thicknesser blades or saw blades, both hand or machine types. It is quite untenable for chisels and hand planes, as these need constant attention - sometimes several times in a work session.

Assuming that you literally cannot sharpen by hand, I would recommend that you purchase a machine to do the work. Three come to mind. The first is a Tormek-type machine - a slow grinder with a buffing feature. The second is a bench grinder with a decent wheel (such as CBN) on one side, which you finish by buffing on a second buffing wheel on the other side. The third choice is a WorkSharp machine, which uses flat diamond disks.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I had access to a Tormek T7 in good condition at our men’s shed and I used it a lot until lockdown closed the shed. I didn’t think it excelled at sharpening - pretty good but not excellent. It wasn’t fast, either. If I had one I guess I would use it and be happy but I wouldn’t pay $1000 for one.

Yes, I realise there is a need to maintain the edge between sharpens. I’ve always done that with a buffing wheel and some type of paste I’ve had for years and never been able to identify. That I can do - it’s just holding a chisel to the wheel for a few seconds. It’s the sharpen, not the hone, which is my problem. I find the more you hone, the more time consuming is the sharpen that must surely follow.

Anyway, I’ve just returned from picking up some saw blades from the local fellow and gave them a try. First class results at $14 for a ten inch saw blade. I left him some chisels so it’ll be interesting to see what I get for $5 each.

I sympathize with your challenges.
I was taught freehand sharpening by a full-time, professional wood carver.
I learned a whole bunch of things that I did incorrectly.
I learned a whole bunch of things which don't seem to be written anywhere.
I decided that I would try to practice enough to get to be really good at it. Yes, I am.

1. Your body becomes the jig. You sharpen from your knees, not your elbows or hands.
2. For ever step, use black felt marker on the bevel to follow progress.
3. Measure the bevel angle. The game is to be consistent and keep that.

Let's suppose that you have roughed out a wood carving. In the process, you have used a lead core 30 oz/940g mallet
and bashed on a 5/35 and a 2/30 Pfeil gouges.

Step One: How bad is the edge? Hold the edge up to a very bright light, LED are perfect for this.
Look at the edge with a 10X magnifier. If the edge was 'sharp', there would be no flat places to reflect light.
When you can see "sparks" of reflected light, that tells you the edge is folded, worn or crumpled.

To me, that means I need to begin on 600 grit (3M automotive sandpaper) to grind away just enough steel to make those sparks disappear.

Step Two: Arrange your abrasive, what ever you like, at and parallel to the edge of your bench. Stand up if you can (this is very hard for me.)
Pick up the gouge in your fingertips. Doodle some black felt marker on the bevel. Clamp your arms tight to your sides. Now we begin by swaying forward to the left or right from the knees.

Step Three: I begin on one corner of the gouge on one corner of the abrasive. Sway to make a pull stroke the length of the abrasive.
As I do this, I will rotate the gouge in my finger tips to cover the entire sweep in each pass.

Stop. Lift the gouge straight up. If you move your elbows, you kill the flatness of the bevel. Back to the start to begin a pull stroke which starts on the other corner of the sweep. Straight down for every stroke.

Step Four: After maybe 4-5 pull passes alternating starts, Check progress with the light and the 10X magnifier.
I'll do some testing in the wood that I'm carving, make a few shavings. None of this hair shaving nonsense as I don't carve hair.

Step Five: I will do this until the "sparks" of light are gone. Then I repeat with 800, 1,000, 1,200 and 1,500 grits
Finally, use CrOx/AlOx honing compound on some sort of a strop.

Materials: I used to use gouges a lot. I used water stones for sharpening. Work well and not as messy as some try to make you believe.
As I have taken to using the crooked knives and adzes common here in the Pacific Northwest, I use 3M fine automotive finishing silicon carbides and papers. Wrapped around mandrels of one size or another. The adzes have cupped blade bevels, a tennis ball is just the right size.

= = =
If you got this far, I hope there's something in my technique that helps you along.
The entire body posture thing was my biggest error.

Originally Posted by Arron

I had access to a Tormek T7 in good condition at our men’s shed and I used it a lot until lockdown closed the shed. I didn’t think it excelled at sharpening - pretty good but not excellent. It wasn’t fast, either. If I had one I guess I would use it and be happy but I wouldn’t pay $1000 for one.

Yes, I realise there is a need to maintain the edge between sharpens. I’ve always done that with a buffing wheel and some type of paste I’ve had for years and never been able to identify. That I can do - it’s just holding a chisel to the wheel for a few seconds. It’s the sharpen, not the hone, which is my problem. I find the more you hone, the more time consuming is the sharpen that must surely follow.

Anyway, I’ve just returned from picking up some saw blades from the local fellow and gave them a try. First class results at $14 for a ten inch saw blade. I left him some chisels so it’ll be interesting to see what I get for $5 each.

Arron, the cost and slow speed of a Tormek is an issue for me as well, but there are those who like the machine. For someone such as yourself, with a difficulty gripping a blade, you will have to accept a compromise - machine sharpening will never be as good as hand honed. Having said this, a honing guide is another way to go.

A primary bevel is created on a machine for most, myself included. I hollow grind all blades on a bench grinder. Can you do this as well? If you cannot do this freehand, then adding a Tormek BGM-100 blade holder to a bench grinder would do it for you. To hone, either use a honing guide or buff on a wheel.

Regards from Perth

Derek