Help!!!!

[Bart Leetch]

:eek: I've got this problem I can take a straight grained piece of wood & run one of my planes down the edge of it just to hear it cut & then feel how smooth it is just out of enjoyment of the feel of the tool. I also really enjoy sitting on my shop stool at the bench using my scary sharp system & sharpening a plane blade or a chisel is there any cure for this...:confused: :eek:

I haven't quite figured out how to sharpen my Rockford Greenlee draw knife. It does have some nicks in the blade. Can anyone explain how to do this.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Not an expert here, Bart, but here's a thought. I have a draw knife and I look at it like a very wide Chisel or skew.

With this thought, you ride the bevel/ heel(back edge) and bring the front edge down on your work. The front should be even, and sharp, so the nicks have to go, even if it means that you have to grind it so that there is thickness where it should be sharp, then start to sharpen it again.

Just MHO. Hope it helps.

Bruce

[Ernie Hobbs]

Try a belt sander with a high grit (220 or higher) and sharpen like a chisel. This has worked just fine for me.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Another approach is to hold the draw knife by one hand and tuck the other handle under your chin, or brace it against your chest/shoulder, sharpen it with your other hand. Be sure that hand is well protected with a carving glove or such, it's real easy to get carried away and forget that it's your fingers holding that stone.

Pam

[Derek Cohen]

I clamp my drawknife in a vise, then freehand stones over the edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jerry Palmer]

It is much easier to take the stone to the knife than it is to do vice versa unless you can set the stone up on a sawhorse or some such that allows the handles to clear the sides.

[Dan Forman]

:eek: I've got this problem I can take a straight grained piece of wood & run one of my planes down the edge of it just to hear it cut & then feel how smooth it is just out of enjoyment of the feel of the tool. I also really enjoy sitting on my shop stool at the bench using my scary sharp system & sharpening a plane blade or a chisel is there any cure for this...:confused: :eek:

Bart---Alas, there is no cure. You are merely experiencing the initital symptoms of the dreaded, insidious, Neander Syndrome. :eek: I'd tell you more, but I don't want to scare you.

Dan

[tod evans]

dan is right, bail now or you`ll be hooked:) tod

[Bart Leetch]

Thanks for the answers to my questions.

Help I've been Neandered & can't plug in.:eek: :D

[Ernie Hobbs]

As Roy Underhill says: Be careful pulling your drawknife towards you or you'll end up like my "half" brother. :eek:

[Dan Forman]

Sorry Bart, too late to bail, you're in it for the long haul.

Dan

[Jerry Palmer]

Sorry Bart, too late to bail, you're in it for the long haul.

Dan

Yep, Drawknives are generally down the neander road quite a ways. If you're already into those, you're lost for sure.:D

[John Keeling]

...but were afraid to ask:

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl

Look under our Bob's articles [Bob Smalser] and there is a whole write-up on sharpening and fettling drawknives.

[James Carmichael]

Since it is a knife, I've often thought something akin to a Lansky Sharpener might work well on a not-to-wide blade, though I'd use something else to establish the primary bevel.

I use a low-speed grinder followed by a hard arkansas, applying the stone to the bevel and the back.

The primary bevel is nice and long on a drawknife, so once it's established, its easy to follow when sharpening freehand.

[Steve Braman]

Hello and thanks for all your great posts. I have been lurking around quite a bit lately and have been amazed at the wealth of knowledge and civil interaction on this site. I actually found the site through a snide remark on another site that someone might be more comfortable here. I haven't been back to that site since I saw what was available here.

Back to the reason for my post. I have been trying to get a good edge on my drawknife and haven't been too successful yet. It is new and I am having a hard time getting the machine marks out. I have been using 220 grit paper on a piece of marble (no beltsander or grinder) and made a little progress but I think it will take me a week at this rate. Any ideas? The portions of the blade that are sharp produce amazing results, but at this point it is only the edges of the blade. Sorry for the long rambling post.

[Charles McKinley]

Welcome Steve,

This is a great place to hang out. We take our civility here seriously and have remove those that cannot control themselves. Glad that you escaped them as well.

I take the "stone" to the knife. Try cutting some MDF to about 11 (or what ever size your sand paper is X 3" and gluing sand paper to it. I get 3 strips of paper out of a standard sheet of sand paper this way. Hold one of the handles and rest the other on a table. Then stroke the knife with your sandpaper and mdf stone. You can get coarser paper or a coarse diamond stone as well.

I highly recommed the article by Bob Smalzer mentioned above. Bob not only has a wealth of knowledge but can write and explain it so even I can understand it. The mark of a great teacher and someone that has truely mastered the subject matter.

[Jerry Palmer]

Steve,
You might try big files to cut through grinder marks. I used one on my first drawknife to get past the nicks.