How Long Does Your Scraper Stay Sharp

[jim oakes]

I used my hand held card scraper a lot 30 years ago. From what I remember it seemed to hold an edge for several 5 minute scraping sessions. I've tried it a few times lately and I get shavings for about 4 or 5 minutes of heavy scraping, then I get sawdust.

Did I imagine longer edge life from 30 years ago? I may have had a better burnisher back then and a better scraper.

What is the most minutes you've produced hardwood shavings from your best scraper right after it's honed and good burr is burnished? Is 4 or 5 minutes typical?

What brand of scraper do you use and do you use a carbide burnisher?

Thank You.

[Greg Cole]

Hi Jim,
IIRC I have Cliftons & a couple other kinds I don't remember.
I use a Lee Valley carbide burnisher to roll the burr, but that's after I file away any remnants of the old one with a bastard file. Also make sure to file square & true, use a 90 degree reference if needed.
I can use mine for long enough to need to set it down and let the fingers relax & cool off when not using the Lee Valley scraper holder doodad. When I start to lose the curly shavings, I find varying the angle of the scraper to the work helps as does "flexing" the scraper a wee but more too.
Never timed my scraper usage, but its much longer than 5 minutes.
The scrapers are made of pretty hard steel, so I'd doubt your scraper is inferior material.
Search for Derek Cohen's post on sharpening a scraper for much more detailed info, as he was the one to really get me to get mine "right".
BTW, some of the best spend $ in the shop if you ask me.. is a well sharpened scraper.
Cheers.
Greg

[Joe Jensen]

4-5 minutes is all I get as well. I did a ton of scraping a few years ago and the time didn't increase, but my time to sharpen decreased a ton. I became much less precise, and I would re-roll the edge a few times before re-filing. Also, I think it's from Leef Valley, that holds a file to refile the edge to 90 degrees. This makes filing fast...joe

[Jason Beam]

minutes? heck, i did my whole maple workbench in two sharpenings - 25"x73" of hard maple. It was a "Woodsmith" scraper, dunno where i even got it from. But I think 99% of edge life is in burnishing technique. If I settle for a less than perfect burr, it doesn't last as long, I've found.

Also, scraping technique is also a factor for me. If i keep it straight on, the burr goes away much faster. Skewing it at about a 20-30 degree angle really really increases burr life. Thankfully that technique also produces a better cut.

If I really pay attention when I'm rolling the burr and settle for nothing less than a continuous - defect-free - burr the entire length of the edge, I find that it lasts a whole lot longer than if I have one that might not be even all the way across.

[Peter Quinn]

Ditto Jason...mine last longer than I do. I'm real careful to joint the edge with a mill bastard file and a shop made guide, then hone the sides flat and the edge smooth with a water stone. It only takes 4 or 5 passes with the burnisher to establish the burr at around 7 degrees I think, just sort of wing that part though there is a guide available for more precision.

I have a few Bahco's and just got a Lie Nielson that I haven't used yet. The Lie Nielson came with good instructions for preparing, so there may info on there site you can use. They say you can expect to roll the burr 4-5 times effectively on the burnisher before jointing and honing is necessary again, and the Lie Nielsons come jointed and honed so you just need to burnish the first time unlike the Bahco's which need the whole monty out of the package.

My burnisher is a Hock I got from Highland Hardware, the unhandled model, hardened to rc64, tool steel, not carbide. I've been meaning to stick a handle on that thing for years, but I only think of it when I'm busy fixing the scraper, so it may never get a handle!

[glenn bradley]

My scrapers don't have a pedigree. I don't even remember the brands just now. I have an edge go south pretty quick now and then. This probably means I wasn't thorough in my sharpening on that edge.

Normally I file them, stone them and burnish them with the Veritas do-jobber for consistency's sake. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry, I short change the steps. I'm pretty sure these are the times my edges don't last. Just proves the old saying about not having time to do it right but, having time to do it over, eh?

[Bill White]

I have Sandvics. New name now for them, and I can't remember.
I made a burnisher from a wrist pin (gas engine). Put a little 90 wt. on the burnisher so it won't gall the edge. Works well.
Bill

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Jason,
Funny you mentioned a Woosmaster scraper. Mine came as a free gift when I bought something else. Last week I ran into a problem with a project and decided to take a break from it and sharpen a bunch of scrapers. I have several. I usually reburnish a few times then change blades. When it is time to sharpen, I do a bunch. Anyway, I had never tried the Woodmaster. I have several brands mostly bought in search of " the perfect card scraper. Later I found the perfect sharpening method is more important. Since I am planning to live to 100 or so, I probably won't need any more. Who am I kidding? I'll buy the next one that looks good to me. Back to the topic, I noticed the quality of the metal when I sharpened the Woodmaster and after rolling a nice wire edge, I tried it out. It is wonderful. It produced fine curls and a wonderful finish. I played around with a piece of mahogany with some crazy grain and worked several minutes. The edge held up better than most of my scrapers.
In answer to Jim's question, the edge on my scrapers lasts between 30 and 50 strokes. Then I lose the curls. However, given four edges on each card and the fact that I keep a few cards ready to go and I can re-burnish each edge several times between sharpenings, I can usually kill my hands before I run out of edges.
Faust Ruggiero

[Ron McAllister]

I have a Robert Larson Two cherries scraper. Used it for the first time today on cypress. They said it was pre-prepared. However, I burnished it just the same. Seemed to work much better. Read the post using oil, great reminder. Where did my basics go for tooling? Thanks for the brain jog Bill. Left a glassy finish. Although it seemed to me the edge died a little soon. ( Shoulda used oil!)But is this due to the wood smoothing out and producing only dust? How do you guys hold and burnish your scrapers?