[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

hmmm maybe ol' bill called them suckers? :P

[Mike_B]

I'm another novice carver that has recently joined the board and am in Seattle.
I noticed in one the of Rick from Seattle postings that he stated that the tools he sells are sharpened for carving bass wood. If I want to carve walnut should knives a nd chisels have a steeper bevel. If so what is recommended or is it a trial and error thing to suite the individual carver.

Mike,
It is difficult to toss out a perfect angle for every tool.
Mallet tools can handle a slightly larger inclusive angle than palm or hand powered tools.

Different steels require different treatment; most tools for basswood are ground to a 15 to 20 degree inclusive angle. Walnut and harder woods might require a 20 to 30 degree inclusive angle.

To clarify, the angle depends on the wood, tool style and metal quality.
When I say I sharpen for carving basswood, I mean the tool will cut basswood easily and the edge will hold up very well under normal use.

If I were asked to sharpen for cherry, I would use cherry to test the tool against instead of basswood.

When I finish sharpening a tool, I make 5 or 6 cuts across the end-grain of the wood to be carved. The last cut should be as clean and easy to cut as the first.

[Mike_B]

Thanks Rick.
That's kind of what I suspected.
Mike

[rolds]

whittlinwit , nice bunch of work on the history and all of the info of Pike and Norton stones!
I have a couple of the modern Norton stones crystiline or some such name man made and a dark grey color..

[Mike-in-WV]

Don't know what the name of my stones are but they work great and they are very old. My Dad had them for years before I was born and I'm 58 now . There is a set of three )( Corse, med. and very fine...like marble) and they are all oil stones and Dad always used real Olive Oil so that's what I use. I just steal it from my wife the way he did from my Mom's pantry, Lol. Mike

[big_Wayne_P]

They sound like they are the good

Arkansas oil Stones