Stones for tiny - narrow gouges?

[Sean Rainaldi]

Hi,

I have some very tiny gouges, some of them go down to 1 mm wide and I even have a Two Cherries U gouge .5 mm wide.

I am trying to find a way to sharpen the inside edge of these gouges, but can not find any stones that narrow.

Does anyone make stones narrow enough to fit inside that small of a gouge?

Thanks.

[Jon McElwain]

I am not a carver, but it seems like these are usually meant to be sharpened on the outside. If you really do need to sharpen the inside, I would try a piece of sandpaper on the side of a chisel or straight edge or something metal with a sharp corner to sharpen. For the U gouge, I would just bend a piece of sandpaper to form into the curve and work it back and forth. Also, Spiderco knives used to make a ceramic honing set for their serrated pocket knives. I am pretty sure one of these would have the edge you are looking for. http://military.swords24.eu/product/description/1917/Spyderco_Ceramic_File_Set_400F.html

You could also try a jewelers site.

Anyway, try posting in the Neanderthal or carvers forum and I bet you get a whole host of replies.

Good luck!

[Mike Henderson]

It would be very unusual to have those gouges with the bevel on the inside (in-cannel gouges). Most likely you have the bevel on the outside and only need to hone the inside to remove the burr. If that's true, what I do is use a piece of leather charged with polishing compound to hone the inside (use a corner of the leather or trim the leather to fit in your gouges). If those are in-cannel gouges you can use the same technique as long as the edge is not damaged. If the edge is damaged on an in-cannel gouge that small, I don't know how you'd resharpen it.

Mike

[Sean Rainaldi]

Thanks so much for the info U 2.

Pardon my ignorance - what is an in-cannel gouge?

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks so much for the info U 2.

Pardon my ignorance - what is an in-cannel gouge?
Beveled on the inside instead of the outside. They are used like paring chisels (except they are gouges). Primary users were pattern makers.

Mike