Millers Falls Cigar Shave - How to sharpen?

[Rob Luter]

I found a Millers Falls Cigar Shave a couple years ago and was attempting to use it on some tight curves this weekend. The edge was lacking and when I attempted to hone it I buggered it up. A close look suggests sharpening geometry is critical. I scoured the web looking for instructions for sharpening and setup but came up empty. Any Creekers out there familiar with proper care and feeding for this odd duck?

[Scott Winners]

I have one that isn't sharp yet. I picked it up because I needed a spokeshave and it was available.

I am still using 150 grit sandpaper on the inside curve, wrapped on a dowel, held in a vise. Twist twist twist. I started with 80 grit to get down to exposed metal and used quit a bit of 100 grit also.

I am a couple vicodin into the project now, have a new Veritas spokeshave and hope to have the cigar shave sharp before i die.

I love my Miller's Falls 20 oz hammer with the moving metal block in the hollow shaft. I really really hope once I have the inside curve mirror polished I can maintain the edge from the outside with a flat stone for the rest of my life.

These things are supposed to be fabulous for small radius inside curves once the blade is correct.

[bridger berdel]

I also would like a good concise tutorial on the sharpening of the MF cigar shave.

[Jim Matthews]

If the blade can be removed :

https://www.gia.edu/bench-tip-how-to...den-ring-clamp

[Tom M King]

I turn my waterstones up on edge, and use the narrow sides of the stones. I do that for small chisels, and router plane cutters too.

[Mike Cornwall]

Never done that one and I’m no expert but I’ve had to clean up some gouges that were pitted badly on the inside. I found deep sockets from the garage with outer diameters that matched the inside diameter of the gouge, or in your case the curved cutter, and used sandpaper wrapped over the socket. Brown paper bag over the socket with some compound makes a good strop. Not sure if this is relevant to your question but that’s what I did.

I also used some stones from my valve seat grinder, my guess is the inside diameter of your cutter is less than an inch so a stone that narrow might not be available? If they are available they might be a help.

[Jim Koepke]

Search and ye shall find. This is from a post back in 2014:

I just got an e-mail from Tim (the modern copy above) about how he sharpens the curved blade. Here is what he said: "You do in fact hang the blade over the side of a stone. I use a dedicated stone (repeated sharpening will groove the stone) with a steel block (you can use wood) for the heel of the blade to ride on. By varying the thickness of this block you can adjust the angle of your cutting edge. With these tools angle isn't as critical as some others because you rotate the tool to control depth of cut--thus changing the angle of the cutting edge as presented to the wood."

The problem for me with searching is all of the other interesting finds and the time it takes reading them, such as:

http://www.oldtoolheaven.com/related...l-brothers.htm

My search > cigar shave sharpening site:sawmillcreek.org <

There was another one about using a dowel with sandpaper.

jtk

[Mike Brady]

I made a wood blade holder for the MF cigar shave that can be clamped in a cheap, generic honing guide. Here is how I made it:

Use a scrap of hardwood 4X3X1/2". Round a 3" side to fit the cigar shave blade curvature.

Attach the blade using two screws, exactly the way the blade is held in the cigar shave.
You will have to determine the correct projection by trial and error, but the bevel has to lie perfectly on you sharpening media. You can also adjust the blade by using the two mounting screws.
The steel in the original MF shaves holds and edge really well, so you won't have to do this honing very often. I touch up the edge on a strop. Hope this helps.

[Bill Houghton]

Brilliant, Mike!

[Randy Chesnut]

The main issue between this being a really sweet spokeshave and a total failure is the relation of the bevel of the blade to the mouth of the shave. If it is sharpened so that it is not truly tangential, the heel of the bevel will his the wood first and even the sharpest iron won’t have a chance because the leading edge will not reach the wood. You will then slide it back until the mouth is wide open (rotating the leading edge into attack position) and the shave will take great gouts of wood instead of shavings.

I also built a jig, similar to that displayed by Mike Brady. I found a dowel that just fit the inner curve of the iron (5/6”, I think, being away from the shop for now), drilled a matching hole through a block (keeping at perfect right angles), chiseled off the leading edge of the hole so that the glued-in dowel was exposed, then fit two mounting screws into the dowel so that the blade could be mounted. Again, as long as everything is parallel, the iron’s edge should be as well.

Then just a bit of trial and error with the Eclipse jig and Bob’s your uncle.

When this shave works, it is a joy!

Drilling Dowel Recess.jpgFitting Holding Screws.jpgJig in Eclipse Jig.jpg

[Mike Lemon]

I've never sharpened (or even seen) one, but as a general rule of mine- if it a blade hard to hold and sharpen, don't. Clamp the blade down and move the stone.

[Ken Martin]

I found this a while back on another forum.

Kelly Tool Works produced a cigar shave in the 1990s (?) and offered the following sharpening instructions with their tool.

Ken

C_ShaveSM.jpg

[bill howes]

Rob et al
There was an excellent post on WKfine tools on sharpening the#1 Millers Falls spokeshave which unfortunately has been taken down.
It explained that the shave is like a bevel up plane. The flat surface of the grind is actually the sole of the shave and this is where all the sharpening must take place if one is going to make it work. Any secondary bevel on this surface makes it very difficult to find the "sweet spot" when you are using the shave. any honin
g of the inside (concave side of the edge should only be to remove any burr if done at all.
As others have mentioned a jig is essential and the blade can be fixed to the jig with a couple of screws similiar the the way it is are fixed on the shave itself

SUSIESLAPTOP - WIN_20160228_150111.jpg

This jig is made with a 5/8 dowel
In the case of a damaged blade (usually innappropriate sharpening) one can start again by using the grinding wheel gently.

SUSIESLAPTOP - WIN_20160228_150024.jpg

The jig can then be clamped in viceto allowthe use of progressively finer stones to achieve an edge.

SUSIESLAPTOP - WIN_20160228_150600.jpg

Note- no sharpening on the inside of the blade.
When you put the blade back on the shave the openig betwee the blade and the shave should be fine (not unlike that of a plane set for a fine shaving with a plane)
To use the shave ,find the "sweet spot", or best angle to hold the shave by starting on the heel and very gradualy rolling the shave forward until the edge starts to cut. The more you roll it forward the thicker the shaving until the shavings start to jam the mouth.

SUSIESLAPTOP - WIN_20160228_152603.jpg

I must say that it was fun to restore this shave,and learn to use it, but I dont really reach for it that often, maybe finishing up after a rasp on occasion.
Regards
Bill