How to keep tools sharp

[Fish-n]

I am a very new carver, I went to a show and got some tools and a good knife but
what should i get to keep the knife and tools sharp. I have not sharpened any of these tools before so I know very little. HELP!!!!!

[wildhare]

Flexcut makes a strop that you can strop your gouges and knife on and it has a yellow polishing compound in the kit. I think around $12. For a knife, you can use a leather strop or an old leather belt glued to a stiff board. Check back for more answers.
Welcome to the site. What kind of carving do you want to do?
Wanda

[carverswoodshop]

hi welcome to the world of woodcarving,, i know that sharpening tools are the most asked question in carving, and everyone carver has their own way that works the best,, i posted a videos on this topic on this total of 4 videos in all, on youtube channel called carverswoodshop also how to make your own strop, and other tips on bandsaw etc and projects for the new woodcarver the link
YouTube - carverswoodshop's Channel
and put in sharpen in the search bar on my channel ,,
good luck and happy carving


blog carverswoodshop

[TreeWizard]

The first issue you have to determine is, did the tools come sharp. A lot of tools say they are sharp but you can't really carve with them. Look on the net for Scary sharp, if you follow the directions you'll notice a big difference in how well your tools carve.

[bigEd_H]

Welcome to the forum, Fish-n. You will get all sorts of answers to that question. If the tools are already razor sharp about all you need to maintain the edge is to strop right before starting to use the tool and about every 20 to 30 minutes depending on wood hardness. You can either buy a good strop or make one out of a length of leather and a flat piece of wood. Flexcut makes a good stropping compound called Yellow Gold and Rich Notto makes a real good one called White Gold. There are several other types of stropping compound as well and everyone has their favorite.

There are several types of stone for when the tool needs reshaping of the edge. The best stones are either ceramic or diamond. They come in various courseness all the way to extremely fine.

Arleen (carverswoodshop on youtube) has a couple good videos on sharpening and maintaining your knife at YouTube - sharpening secret #1 and YouTube - sharpening secret #2 .

Also do a Google search for "scary sharp" without the quotes.

Sorry for being so wordy.

Ed

[Mitchell]

Look in the "Sharpening"forum. LOTS of suggestions. Check this link -> Woodcarving Tools, Technology & Sharpening - Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board

Strop, hone, or buff would be the best answer if the angles are 'correct'.

[carver33]

Hello Fish-n, welcome to the forums. I Use a home made strop from an old leather belt glued to a piece of 1x2 and the flexcut gold stropping compound. I have a fine diamond hone that I use rarely to re-set the edges of knives. You can also pick up stropping compounds at your local hardware stores.

I also want to point out that if you use the search tab at the top right of the forum pages, and key in knife sharpening, you'll find many threads with good advice on this subject

[Dan S]

hey there,
Everyone else has prettymuch covered what you need to know. The trick is to strop your tools often and never let them get dull. At the end of your carving session yor tools should be as sharp as when you started. Never put them away dull. It will really slow you down as you will put off carving because you don't want to take the time to sharpen them.

Good luck,
Dan

[Howard Lobb]

First question I have to ask is what tools do you have? What are the shapes and sizes, chisels, gouges, knives? The one thing we all have in common is sharp. like you have already read how you get there from here is wide open on opinion. So... How do you know if it is sharp or dull? If you look at the edge of a tool and the sunlight reflects off any part of the edge it is not sharp second if you can see the edge it's not sharp... not an opinion simple fact. This isn't meant to intimidate or discourage, ALL of us have been where you are and started from there. You can get your tools SHARP and it doesn't have to cost you an arm leg or finger (carving humor). There are some great suggestion here. U-tube instructional. Panacea of equipment techniques, brands, cost is no limit as to what you could spend. I use a system that is as old as it gets after all there where great carvers long before any of us. Their works resound with their skill of sharp tools for all types of wood carving and shaping. They all started from day one as well.My Chris Pye has a PDF you can download as well as the ones mentioned already. FIRST gather the information! Then invest, Then it's, Practice, time, focus. Dull tools are EXTREMELY dangerous, Sharpe tools are just dangerous, that is an opinion.

[aulddiy]

All the above is good information.
It took me a year to learn how to get the most out of knive sharpening. There is a knack to it. Chisels , I have n't cracked it yet, gouges are the same. Sometimes I get it first time ,sometimes I do n't.
I'm not suggesting I'm any sort of yard stick, but it is a knack.