Struggling to Improve Sharpening Technique
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Relatively new hand tool woodworker here. I have really been enjoying using/learning Paul’s freehand “convex camber” sharpening technique. For the most part, I am experiencing good results, but I am struggling to feel truly confident in what I am doing.
I tend to focus on making sure that I am sharpening all the way up to the actual edge of the tool so that a nice burr forms on the back (thus proving that I have actually done something, as apposed to just pointlessly honing the convex bevel and not actually making it to the cutting edge as I find myself doing if I am not paying attention). This works just fine for a dozen or so sharpenings, at which point I often find that I have inadvertently increased the bevel angle to a degree that it becomes ineffective (especially on plane irons). So back to the honing guide I go in order to hone a useable angle back onto the tool, and then I start again. Ugh…
I know I could make all of this go away buy just using a honing guide and micro bevels for all of my sharpening, but the simplicity of the freehand method is so appealing to me. I really want to be efficient at it. The instruction that Paul provides is great, but sometimes I think he makes it look TOO easy. I feel like I’ll never be able to get it down without someone experienced with the technique watching over my shoulder.
Any thoughts on how to really dial in freehand sharpening skills? Or is it just practice, practice, practice?
Thanks,
T.BirdI cut myself a 30 degree wedge of wood which I used to ensure I was at the right angle or there abouts. If you start off next to this wedge on your first stroke and then check against it every now and then, you will soon find you can recreate that angle every time on your own. Sharpening in the same place every time and using the same grip are things you have probably already thought of. Persevere because it is quite satisfying when you get there but also don’t forget that plenty of great woodworkers use honing guides.
11 March 2018 at 8:04 pm #495148Muscle memory is a funny thing, if you think you’re doing something wrong stop it quick, use protractors and check your angles and posture frequently. If ou don’t correct it as soon as you can you will burn improper technique into your muscle memory and that is harder to break than it is to learn something from scratch. Make sure your body is loose and comfortable and your joints are in natural alignment. The last thing you want from this process is soreness from a cocked wrists, causing you to rest for a while and set back your progression. Practice, check, practice, observe, stretch, rest, keep practicing. I’ve been noticing enough improvement to not get discouraged and that’s all I need.
Maybe this will help: Keep remembering Paul’s admonition to spend a lot of time on the heel. Working the heel doesn’t help the edge you are trying to get at the moment, but distributed over many sharpenings, you are spreading out the work needed to deal with a thick edge. Doing this will reduce the work when it comes time to deal with the thick edge.
Some people don’t like the idea of using a coarse stone once a bevel has been polished out and like to resharpen with finer or even the finest stones. That’s fine, but you can still go to the coarse and stay only on the heel for a bit, then go to the finer stones for the other work. Paul doesn’t do that, but goes to the coarse and takes it all the way to the edge on each sharpening. That leads to the second suggestion…be patient and let the sharpening work its way to the edge rather than lifting the handle or otherwise increasing the angle. With time, you’ll probably start to notice there’s a grabby sort of feeling that happens as the sharpening reaches the edge and there’s a change in sound, too, to a bit of a scratchy sound.
11 March 2018 at 9:16 pm #495201Another thing you can try if you are sharpening jig phobic, is to cut a couple blocks at 25 and 30 degrees and place them near your stone.
Just having the angled block as a visual guide can be a big help in judging the correct angle.
And don’t sharpen directly towards and away from you like the iron is in a sharpening jig as your arms contract and extend, it hard to keep a consistent angle.
Angle the iron so the blade registers on the stone and doesn’t rock when you move your arms. Sharpen more parallel to the edge. You can do that in a straight line or in a figure 8 pattern, but try to use the whole stone.
When you sharpen gouges, the geometry forces you to do that and only rotate the gouge to get the whole edge.
11 March 2018 at 9:18 pm #495204Cutting a couple blocks at 25 and 30 degrees and place them near your stone is a good tip
Just having the angled block as a visual guide can be a big help in judging the correct angle.
And don’t sharpen directly towards and away from you like the iron is in a sharpening jig. As your arms contract and extend It’s hard to keep a consistent angle.
Angle the iron so the blade registers on the stone and doesn’t rock when you move your arms. Sharpen more parallel to the edge. You can do that in a straight line or in a figure 8 pattern, but try to use the whole stone.
When you sharpen gouges, the geometry forces you to do that and only rotate the gouge to get the whole edge.
I actually like to sharpen directly towards and away from myself. If you fully embrace the rounded bevel, then you don’t care about whether you stay at a constant angle. Here’s why I like the direct stroke: I start the work by placing the blade down on the far side of the stone and lifting the handle until I see the honing fluid squirt out. Depending upon my sense of things and objectives, I’ll either lift to a touch higher or drop to a bit lower than that. Now, I start making strokes. Exactly as Larry says, the strokes rock to a higher angle as I draw towards myself, and rock to a lower angle (my starting angle, approximately) as I push away. When I start making strokes, I only come maybe halfway or a third of the way towards myself. I do this a number of time listening and feeling. If my sense is that I’m not steep enough, then I simply lengthen my draw stroke (towards myself). If my sense is that I’m too steep, then I don’t come quite so close. So, length of stroke is my adjustment knob for angle. I don’t think of this as staying at the exact angle through the stroke or even hitting exactly the same angle on each pass, but on average I hit the angle I want near or at the end of the stroke. I wait for the work to reach the edge (change in sound or or feel as I transition from draw to push) or I decide it’s never going to get there and lengthen the stroke. Sometimes, I’m impatient and draw too far which leads to a thick edge.
This isn’t to disagree with what Larry says. Just a different approach. I won’t even say my approach is a good one, but it’s what I do. One down side is that, depending upon how you hold your hands, you can put a lot of stress on your wrist from cocking your wrist over to orient the blade. Actually, I think what I do isn’t truly a matter of pushing directly or obliquely. I can do it with the edge oblique to the stone.
For gouges, it’s a whole different thing and, as Larry says, I do the traditional “keep the angle perfect,” and rock side to side on the bevel. I’m no so great at gouges yet. Get the sharp? Sure. Get the shape you want? Sure. Get them both sharp and the shape I want? Not so easy.
I better add: At no time am I trying to lift or drop the handle while sharpening. It’s not a scooping motion. If anything, I’m feeling like I’m keeping a constant angle. But, since I’m not locking my elbows to my side and moving with my hips, the slight variation in angle just happens as part of the stroke. When I have something that needs to be flat rather than rounded, then I lock elbows, use hips, etc. It’s a completely different feeling and motion.
Lots of great advice here! Thanks so much everyone. I am currently making a sharpening plate holder (I have previously just been laying them out on a piece of shelf liner). Once that’s done, and once I cut myself a couple of 25 and 30 degree reference blocks, I’ll be back at it, but this time with a few more things to think about!
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