Replies

1. 
   RLMillard | Apr 09, 2002 01:31am | #1

   I grind the edge if necessary being very careful to maintain a square end, and not burn the steel. I hone them on oil stone, by holding the handle at right angles to the length of the stone, and rotate the handle as I guide the gouge down the length of the stone, there by working the whole bevel. Again I’m careful to maintain a square end (it’s very easy to round back, the extreme outside edges of the gouge, and this makes it difficult to carve crisp shapes). I go up to a hard Arkansas. Then remove the bur on the inside using a 1000 grit sandpaper wrapped over an appropriate shaped dowel or something similar. There are 2 schools of thought on whether there should be a small bevel on the inside, some people say the inside should be left flat, like the back of a chisel, while others (like me) say the inside should have a very small bevel. I think this bevel helps a great deal when you use the gouge "upside down". I finish by charging a buffing wheel with some compound and polish the edge to a mirror finish. Use a light touch with the buffer as it can round the edge and can generate a surprising amount of heat. Also, it should go without saying, but the tool has to be presented to the wheel so that the wheel is rotating away from the tool’s edge.

   Check your finished edge by carving the end grain of some pine. A properly sharpened tool will leave behind a polished cut, free of any dull spots of ridges.

2. 
   RickL | Apr 09, 2002 12:58pm | #2

   I use an abrasise system where the belt goes in the opposite direction of a grinder and a buffing wheel on the other end. Very fast and easy. I'm thinking on trying a felt buff in the future. There's no wrong way to sharpen. What ever works. It's a trial and error thing.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/9/2002 6:04:09 AM ET by rick3ddd