[Dennis Taylor]

I use sandpaper to sharpen my woodworking chiesels...but how do you use it to sharpen carving gouges?...just start at the top of the sheet of paper and run the length turning the gouge on the bevel?....any info is once again appreciated.....I sharpen my knives with paper, but the gouges seem to be giving me a problem....Dennis

[Just Carving]

The same way you would do it on a flat stone. Holding the angle of the bevel, rotate the gouge back and forth as you draw the gouge across the sandpaper. To do the inside--there are thoughts that the inside does not need to be done--but personally, I do sharpen the inside. Like you would use a slipstone, using sandpaper curved over a dowel or a round metal rod that closely matches the inside radius of the gouge, I draw the gouge across the sandpaper. I am assuming you will be doing edge maintenance or minor repair of chips. But for routine honing/sharpening, I would use a strop before using the sandpaper.

Bob L