help with shapening

[George Pell]

Hello,
My son and I are learning to carve and we could use some advice about sharpening. There are so many sharpening products out there that we’re sort of feeling lost as far as what we need, so we’d appreciate it if someone could suggest a basic list of what we need to sharpen chisels. I’ve searched on-line and in various forums and understand the basics of sharpening, but don’t understand some things, such as the differences between oil, water, and diamond stones, and how many different grits we need. I’d like to keep it basic so we can learn how to do it the right way and then move on to the more advanced stuff. Thanks.

George

[Johnm Chase]

George it’s probably a subject that has come up several times. But I guess the rules are the same regardless of whether you’re sharpening carving tools or chisels. You need to have a good edge on the tool from sharpening on a diamond or Arkansas stone which means some careful detail sharpening and then use a leather strop to remove the burr from where you just sharpened the tool. After sharpening using a leather strop with sharpening compound will keep the tool in good shape for many hours or days of carving. it would depend of course on the nature of the wood how frequently you need to sharpen and hone. I think you should get a good book on the subject or else have someone show you how this is done reading about it wouldn't do it justice.

see this thread
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...pening+carving