desparate but hanging on

[therenow]

Folks..I have posted about sharpening. I have tried on and off to carve cowbloys, etc with limited success but a lot of enjoyment. Many of you have been at it for a good number of years and your advice is greatly values and appreciated.

I simply cannot get my couges sharp enough by hand. I have waters stones. the sharpening CD, Arkansas stones, Ceramic stones ( works great for my hip carving) just bought a razor wheel and burned a couple what are now trash gouges. Mu gouges tear thorugh the wood, causing chip outs and splitting. I am using the bestbasswood from Heinecke. I just sent my gouges to little shavers and await their return. So far, I have ripped through 12 feet of 2X3 Basswod trying to get a cowboy face and a shelf top Elf which is now providing us with warmth in our firelace (in AZ, something we really can do without)

So, since I retired, I discovered there is no Santa Claus and the nice Tormeks, Jet and Ultimate sharpeners and just $1.00 too much for the budget.

What about using the wet sandpaper method ( 400 grit-800 grit) and then a drill driven leather stropping wheel at 400 RPM. I can shape a tool but the wire?

Any advice will be deeply appreciated

[RUssL.]

Desperate,

Keep on trying. It will come. There are tons of effective recommendations here on the message board that don't require the Tormek or a knock-off of one.
I wrote this a little while back and I still believe it to be true:

Re: sharpening
The sad and un-mysterious truth about the secret of gouge sharpening is this: Practice. Period.

Do it until you have ruined several (at least) cheap gouges.
Do it until you have pushed through the idea that there is more to it than simply practice (there isn't).
Do it until you think you have done it too much, and it must just be you in all the history of mankind that can't sharpen a gouge (YOU can!).
Do it until you think that if all it took was practice then you should be there by now because you HAVE practiced (...but just not enough).
Do it until you have finally sharpened your gouges successfully (it will take you waaaaay longer than you think it should).

and if you have done all that and you still can't sharpen a particular gouge...send it to Rick at Little Shavers.
...then practice some more on all your other gouges (or at least the cheaper ones).

I know where of I speak. I have been there. I AM there.
The more I practice the better I am getting, but it has been a long, steep practice curve.
One wants to spend time carving, not sharpening.
But if you want to get the most out of carving as a hobby or a past-time or a skill, then time spent learning to sharpen (read: "practicing sharpening") is time well spent and wisely invested.

It's a skill. Skills takes practice.
There is no microwave, push-button shortcut.
If you want to learn how to do it...you have to learn how to do it...

Good Luck,

Russ

[Dan S]

Hey there,
Sorry to hear about your frustration. It has taken me a lot of years but I can finally say that my tools are sharp. I do have a couple of suggestions although Russ pretty much said it all.
1. take your time. Sharpening can be become a relaxing break of you start thinking of it that way.
2. I also use the razor wheel to good effect. If you fried a gouge you are pushing the sharpener way too hard or you are using a high speed grinder and 6" wheels. Mine are 8" and are attached to a 50 year buffer motor tat runs slower than the plate says. My buddy Ray has 6" wheels on a high speed grinder and even I can burn an edge with it in about 0.5 seconds. When using a wheel let the rouge do the work. Use light pressure and keep the tool moving. Take your time. If the tool starts to feel at all warm, dip it in water right away.
3. You don't need a fancy Tormek or any of the others you already have everything you need.
4. Lastly it may be worth your while to track down a pro to give you a class. There has to be someone in your area that can sharpen a tool really well. Find a good carver or look at places run by old men that sharpen scissors and knives. Some of those guys have forgotten more about sharpening than we will ever know.

Well good luck and don't give up. By the way, do you own a drill press? If so I can tell you how to build a quick sharpener that you may like for about 2.00.

Dan

[Simplyme]

Dan,

I have a drill press.......tell me your secret

[Ron T]

Sorry about your frustrations but even though I can make my own carving knives, sharpening is a hit and miss for me.

Dan, please post your secret.

[Joy]

I still struggle with sharpening. My biggest improvement was getting a magnifying light that I put over the sharpening wheel. I thought I could see how the gouge lay on the leather wheel, but until I started using the magnifier my gouges weren't getting sharp.

[Dan S]

The drill press thing is easy enough. Take a piece of 3/4" MDF (particle board) and cut an 8" circle with about a 3/8" hole in the center. Into that center hole insert a 3" piece of 3/8" rod. You can also use a bolt. Glue the bolt in place with some epoxy. This bolt will mount in the chuck on your drill press. Cover both sides of the MDF with leather and you have a nifty slow speed power strop. By putting leather on both sides of the disc you can strop your knives.
The thing doesn't sound like much but it does work rather well.
Dan

[redhand rik]

have you tried using a polishing compound on your strop? something very mildly abrasive like ZAM or jewelers rouge works very well

[therenow]

Thank you to all who have taken the time to share. After a good nights sleep..and a pity party thrown for me by my wife...she served me a breakfast along with a platter of my gouges.....today?..

I will do as my wife tells me....sharpen up big guy.

Ed

[Iowa Carver]

Ed, sorry for all the frustration. If your gouges are not totally ruined at this point, consider sending them to Rick Ferry at Little Shavers ( Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply ) and have him properly sharpen. Once sharp you really only need to strop or buff.

Couple options for you, look for a used 1 inch belt sander to attach a leather belt to strop on. Also consider a 6 inch 3450 rpm grinder and mount The Woodcraft Shop.com buffing wheel and compound. This is how I keep my vtools and gouges sharp unless I drop them and nick them. Just takes a 5 seconds and a real light touch and they are razor sharp.

Sharpening on stones etc. takes a long long time to learn and is a long road. I believe the biggest reason carvers quit carving is sharpening. You want to enjoy your carving so start with a sharp tool and get a buffing wheel and don't sweat it.

Hope this helps.

Corey