Thread: Sharpening spokeshave blades -newbie

What was the bevel angle on the spokeshave when you bought it?
All of mine were 28 degrees so I decided (there must be a reason) to stick to that.
With the angle card in front of me ("Star's Sharpening Journey" thread) I have a 30cm stick, bolt and wingnut
to hold the blade at the required angle.

Black felt marker on the bevel. Use that to see how and where the metal is coming off. Waste of tool to
develop a strong wire edge. Waste of time, too, Pull strokes, forearms tight against your sides = you are the jig, can't round off the edge at the end of a stroke.

I calculate that I pull the better part of a km (1,000m) with each spokeshave between tuneups.
That's 4K waterstone and hone with chrome green.
They are the elite, exotic Samona SS, $14.95 each, in the local hardware store.

Thanks for the reply. The bevel angle was 30degrees and the micro 35. Both bevels are in great shape, but just not as sharp as I think it should be and the tearing I was getting I feel was because of this.
With the honing guide set at 35 degrees, it was spot on to the existing micro bevel and didn't alter the angle at all by the looks of it.

So no wire on the back? Thanks thats good to know.

To me, a wire edge implies that I have taken off a lot of metal.
I can't answer the question: " Is that really necessary?"
If/when the edge is really badly banged up, yes.

I've just chiseled off 8m of ceramic countertop tiles with a 25mm Stanley.
Needed to find the countertop joints above the cabinets. Yes, I did.
I'll take pix of the repair.

That's where the black felt marker comes in.
If your sharpening process just wipes all of that off,
you must be running right out to the edge = go gently.

How long you need to spend on each grade of stone/ hone depends on a lot of different things. That's why people feel for a wire edge. It's the easiest indication for most people that you have finished with that grade of stone. Your not looking for a huge wire edge. Just the smallest one you can feel for the full length. If you have a big wire edge, it helps to strop it off before you go to the next stone.
RV is right with that point. You don't have to create wire edges to make something very sharp. It takes some well honed skill though. I cheat and make micro wire edges!
How long it takes you... Sometimes it can be done very quickly. If you are getting a good result with the time your spending sharpening then that's fine. In my opinion, hone stones don't take any more time than the previous stone. If you have done it right, it can take very few strokes on the micro bevel then on to stropping. Hand stropping does take time. I can't comment on that too much as I power strop after sharpening. I hand strop through out the day just to keep that edge a bit longer. I don't think I would have the patients to hand strop for a 1000m! If their was a stropping Olympics, my money will be on you RV! I bet the edge would be pretty impressive though.

BTW, it's not a stupid question at all. It's a hard thing to describe on a forum.
Tearout is not just the sharpness of the tool. It's the first place you look if your getting it though. If your sharp, dial it back for finer cuts, check the throat if it's adjustable, clean the spokeshave and check everything is tight. It's a little tool with a lot of edge and heat can build up pretty quick. Sometimes it's a 'funny' patch in the timber. If you can skew the spoke shave slightly, sometimes that helps over an odd patch.
Card scrapers can help if your in a pinch. They are a great alternative to sandpaper. Don't sand anything until you completely finished with the tools. It puts fine grit in the wood and dulls your tools fast. If your down to almost full depth, you probably don't want to test new tricks though. Post up a pic!

The only credit that I have earned is for the patience to keep trying to sharpen tools and to stick with it until I discovered how to do it and learned to do it consistently. As the only wood carver in my village, there was little choice but to bounce off the walls and figure it out. Now, I'm consistent enough to tune up tools for other people. To them, it's still magic.

You could stand there and watch me for 30 minutes and still not notice the "tricks" until I explained them (as I have done.) Elbows/forearms pressed to my sides. Standing. Felt marker. Pull strokes. Sudden stops, straight up lifts.

Hindsight has shown me that the technique for freehand sharpening, once learned, is the very same whether I use waterstones or fine W&D automotive finishing sandpapers. I have no choice but to do both, depending on the sweep of the tool.

Just get stuck into it, only a piece of steel.
Go gently to get a feel (hahahaha) for the process.

Have you thought about putting up a video of your sharpening routine RV? I for one would appreciate your take on it! You can never stop learning about sharpening!

Yeah, Ben, I did. Thanks for the reminder. Dismissed the idea (although a very good one) until I find somebody with an honest familiarity with digital video and uploading. I envy the octopus as I'm challenged with only 2 arms.

In the meantime, I want to settle down and do some damage control with pictures = I had to hack out about 8m of kitchen ceramic tile with a 25mm Stanley that was in no great shape to begin with. You need to see the edge(?) now!
I don't have a banged up carving gouge but I expect that the order of business will be exactly the same.

Won't get to it until the WX closes in. -8C Sun.nite and -5C last, expecting a few days of snow. So, as long as I can see the ground, I'll rug up and do some outdoor things (digging carrots, etc.)

Well pull that camera out RV! Your right about people missing the tips and tricks, so make sure you explain them as well. I for one would like to get better at hand stropping... I think I'm inpatient in that regard. It's easier to turn on the power strop.

Well I'm doing much the same today. I get free logs from the timber mill up the road. It's the bits in the middle that don't make good lumber or are hollow from the termites. They make great edging for veggie beds. I'm going to try growing peanuts under the sweet corn!