[nduetime]

I just purchased my first chip carving tool. It's a Wayne Barton cutting knife (wb-1). At the same time I purchased an ultra-fine ceramic stone. I've never had a class for sharping tools but have watched the DVD from Wayne Barton and have read my Pam Gresham "Basic Chip Carving" book.
I think I have the right technique down but am curious as to how much time it takes to sharpen a never used knife. I understand that it would go much quicker if I had a medium stone but I'm not sure I want to purchase another thing before I even slice my first piece of wood. Any help or pictures would be of great help.
Thanks-b.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

It takes a long time to get a really great edge on a chip knife......I lay my chip knives flat to sharpen them......in my opinion forget the 10 degrees etc. A faster and easier way to get where you want to go is go with the scary sharp sandpaper method....hard flat surface, several grits of sandpaper, I use 400, 800, 1200 and 2000, you will bring the edge down in no time then strop.....


I say that and I just sent a "Sarge" knife off to Rick at little shavers ha ha.....I need to go back to the scary sharp, have gotten into the habit of using the Burke sharpener and I tend to screw up my chip blades, something about the compound angles, a problem I don't have on sandpaper?......hummmmm physician, heal thyself? ha ha

[pallin]

I'm surprised that the chip knife from Wayne Barton isn't in pretty good shape when you received it. I bought Pfiel "Swiss-made" knives and they were well honed when received. I sharpen mine on a hard Arkansas stone, but I don't make a fetish of sharpening.
Phil

[nduetime]

Actually when I purchased it the sales person told me I should go with the ceramic stone because it didn't require any oil that I assume would eventually find it's way to the wood. And I didn't even try it when I first got it, I was told that sharpening it would make cleaner and easier cuts. I suppose I've already committed to sharpening at this point, oh well. I just want things to go smoothly when I start to practice.
I've read a little about the scary sharp method but will read more about it. For those without the "Swiss-made" knifes or any other pre-sharpened knife, how long can I expect to spend before it's good? I don't have someone I can show the knife to, no real previous experience to gauge from. I'm sure the knife can always be sharper but there's no point in spending hours upon hours sharpening mine if a sharp knife is ready after 45 minutes of sharpening. I suppose it depends on the knife, method, etc., I'm just looking for helpful guidance here. Thanks-b.

[JIM QUILICI]

b ,
sharping is something you have to master if you want to really carve. a dull knife will cut you......instead of griping and cutting the wood it slides off and cuts you ....once you learn to sharpen you got it . but it will take practice, and practice, it just part of carving. i have tried a doz. different things to sharpen my knives . even today , i use several ways to sharpen depending how bad the knife is. like hi ho I use scary sharp, and a strop all the time. I also use a grinder with a 6 in hard felt and a 8 in cotton wheel, and a lot has to do with how much pressure you you put on the knife when you sharpen it, and the compound you use . you have to experment with that to see what works for you. . i also use a leather wheel that i put in my drill press , at a very slow speed with a compound and wowzers tht really sharpens the knife. i know that sharping knives is not fun ........unless you name is rick ferry.....but it is something you have to learn.
Jim

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Hope you have a piece of basswood and have read up on how to chip carve, if so, make a cut or two, you will soon know when the blade is sharp! If it "pushes" the wood fibres, keep sharpening lol I have a mandrel and one of these days will find a very slow motor, maybe 500 rpm and make one of those paper wheel sharpeners.......someday lol

[heineda]

nduetime,

When I took a chip carving class with Wayne a couple of years ago, several people in the class bought new knives from him at the start. We spent the first 2.5 - 3 hours sharpening our knives. Doing by hand takes a long time on the black(medium) ceramic stone, and about 25-30 minutes on the white. Only then did I fully unserstand what the meaning of sharp was. All of the problems I was having were being caused by a dull knife. I bought a new Barton knife for my uncle for Christmas this past year, and I spent about 20 minutes on the fine side, and another 20 on the super fine side of my DMT Duosharp diamond stone. I then spent about ten minutes a day for a week on the white ceramic stone. It requires a lot of effort to get that knife where it needs to be.

I also purchased a chip carving knife from Ron Wells. The handle works very well for me to keep my grip correct, and it arrived razor sharp and ready to use. All I did was strop it for a few minutes.

One final note, Wayne does not recomend stropping a chip carving knife. Too much danger in rolling the edge. Dennis Moore does recomend stropping, so what do you do? I have found that stropping evry 5 - 10 minutes lets me spend a lot more time carving, and very little back on the stones. I have a very flat, hard peice of maple that I use for stropping. I just rub the compound directly on the wood, and it reduces the chances of rolling an edge. Taking the class with Wayne helped me to become a much better chip carver, and I would highly recomend a lesson of some type. It's a very hard thing to learn from a book.

Kerbschnitzen is a wonderful art.

Enjoy,
Dan Heine

[nduetime]

I appreciate all the replies.
I was told by the sales person that sold me the knife and stone that she took a class with Wayne, offered at their store. She added that the first few hours was spent solely on sharping the knives. Thank you all for your help. I'l keep sharpening with my white ceramic stone and continue to read up on the various ways to sharpen my knife.

One last question:
should my ceramic stone be completely flat on the top and bottom? I ask this because on one side when I make a few passes with my knife, the blake poweder that covers the stone left from the knife shows that there is a part that isn't coming into contact with the knife (still white). I appologize for the lack of proper terminology, still learning. While the other side does it, it's not as bad.

Thanks again-b.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I sharpen flat.....and you will have high and low spots in the steel so just keep after it.....or...you can send it to Rick at littleshavers lol. A neighbor bought one of Dennis Moors knives and it was supposed to be sharp..it was a factory edge and hadn't been touched...not Dennis' fault, it was the secondary dealer, anyway this dealer told him to put 15 degrees on it...I disagreed and called Dennis, he agreed that laying the blade flat on the stone or sandpaper was the way to go.....imo, the secondary bevel gets in the way when making a cut.....