Where to get old tools sharpened?

imahic · #1 11-12-2007, 06:09 PM

I bought a set of 4 or 5 chisels and gouges that are set of Miller Falls tools at a garage sale for 5 bucks. I thought it was not a bad deal but whoever had them before tried unsuccessfully to sharpen them. I don't think my skills are good enough to fix somebody else's mistake. Can anyone recommend someplace that I can send them to to have them sharpened by someone who knows what they are doing? I am in the Wichita Falls Texas area so if you know someone who can help me out please let me know. Thanks, Mike

xsailer · #2 11-12-2007, 06:13 PM

Most will tell you Little Shavers is one of the very best and for a very good price. The turn around is also good. No one wants to wait for thier tools.

http://www.littleshavers.com/Index.html

Bob

Thomp · #3 11-12-2007, 06:58 PM

i agree bob,
there is just some things best left to the professionals.. rick would be my choice

susieq · #4 11-12-2007, 08:32 PM

Hi Mike,
If the set of Millers Falls tools you are talking about is a little boxed set of smallish gouges.....my husband has found those at garage sales several times and bought them cheap. I found early on that they are difficult to sharpen and do not hold an edge. I asked my husband not to buy them any more but he forgot and a year or so later found another set. I would hesitate to spend the money on getting them sharpened. I won't even give them to a friend.... You can try, but I do believe you will come to the same conclusion I have about them. At least you didn't spend a fortune on them to begin with.

There are good tools out there at garage sales. We find them every now and then. Keep looking. German, Swiss, English tools are out there.
Good luck in your hunt for them. and when you find them, Rick at Little Shavers is the man to send them to for sharpening....

dryheat · #5 11-12-2007, 08:45 PM

Miller Falls must have made a zillion of these tools and I believe that not all are of the same quality. I've sent Rick at least 3 sets. They are different sizes and different handles and ,I supect, different quality. Rick has told me a few time that one or two of the tools that I sent, not neccassarily MF, would just not lhold an edge. I would guess that I've sent around a hundred tools to Rick and he has put an excellent edge on all but the exceptional one that just would'n hold an edge. I find most of the older tools in antique shops and on line. Also There is a man in Waterbury, MA that hits flea market and such looking for old woodworking tools and he keeps an eye out for carving chisels for me. I bellieve that MF made some tools for carving linolum blocks and I doubt that they are of the same quality steel as their wood carving chisels.
Now that y9u have them it's probably worth the postage to send them to Rick and see what he says.
Ed

imahic · #6 11-13-2007, 10:49 AM

Thanks for the replies. I get the impression that Rick is the man....lol. I will definitely be sending him my gouges and chisels when they need resharpening. SusieQ, that is the same set that I have I believe. They came in a wooden box so I bet we are talkiing about the same thing. Like you said, didn't spend that much on them so not much loss.

susieq · #7 11-13-2007, 11:26 AM

Actually, the set I was referring to came in a small cardboard box so maybe your set is a higher end tool.....I really hope so. Let us know how they hold an edge for you after you get them back.

Plain_Ol_Ed · #8 11-13-2007, 11:48 AM

I collect old tools and use what I collect. Have 5 or 6 different sets and styles of the Millers Falls tools and all of them are excellent tools.

My guess is if they are not holding an edge, somebody at one time or another, ruined the temper on them.

Gulf Coast Handyman · #9 11-13-2007, 03:09 PM

I have two full sets by MF and one skew that was given to me, had them professionally sharpened here in FL., the steel is different. One is smooth and holds an edge fine, the other seems much more rough, does not hold an edge the same as the smooth ones. I would have them sharpened for $10.00 and give them a try, if your not happy you did not loose much money.

Dave

cats pa · #10 11-14-2007, 12:42 AM

For a buck each, I'd use them to practice grinding and honing, if you want to develop those skills. Xsailer is right, nobody wants to wait for their tools, and if you learn to do your own, you're always first in line. Rick is very skilled, but his skills are also in high demand.

There is quite a spectrum of steel. I used to sharpen for money (before it became too much of a PITA) and I always had kids bringing me these Paki and Korean POS "looks cool" knives to fix. Of course, the steel is absolute garbage, next thing to pot metal. But they badly needed to get rid of some money, and so I told them: "any steel will take an edge, but only good steel will hold it" (I had a couple of door hinges I could shave with to prove it). I'd put about a 30 degree double grind on the blade, slice through a cardboard box, and charge them 5 bucks, which in some cases was more than they paid for the knife. They'd go out and slice another box, and then it was dull again. (2 bucks was the going rate for kitchen knives, old style Chicago Cutlery mostly, and I'd show the housewife how to use a steel to renew the edge in between sharps.) If the kids had only known, they could have carried paring knives and done better, but maybe for them it's not about cutting things...

Seriously, Mike, sharpening is not rocket science. With a minimum of equipment, you can sharpen your own tools to probly 80% of professional on your first try, and you only get better after that. With that skill under your belt, you can still send tools out to be sharpened, but you won't have to. Otherwise, you're gonna need 2 sets of tools in rotation to insure you won't be without at the moment of truth.

Maybe someone did ruin the temper. That's not rocket science either...

Just my two lincolns worth,
Parker