Cabinet Scraper Honing Guide

Posted 19 March 2018

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Getting a crisp 45° bevel on your cabinet scraper can be tricky. Paul shows how to make and use a honing guide that gives you a guaranteed angle every time.

58 Comments

  2. Paul great video my question is this technique only for the #8scraper? What about regular card scrapers I can never seem to get the burr so it will take shavings I only get sawdust. Thank you Sir…

    2. What I have found when burnishing my scrapers is DO not over work the metal. Just go back and forth with the burnisher 5 or 6 times, anymore and you can split or crack the metal which can gouge the wood. Also, after extended use, if you find that it is hard to get any kind of burr on the edge it is because the burnishing actually chances the density of the metal to a small degree. All you need to do is sharpen or grind (using water to cool) more off the edge to get back to the softer metal.

  9. Thanks Paul, another item for my ebay wish list.
    I wonder if there is a correlation between your tool videos and ebay prices spiking as everyone decides they need one…? 🙂

    I’m looking forward to the car-boot sale season to start again (what do they call these in the US?)
    I’ve had some luck in the past, you just need to get beyond the ubiquitous rusty files and screw drivers that have been used to open and stir paint tins.

      1. I was thinking the same thing.

        Also possibly worth pointing out that the grinding doesn’t need to happen with the file every time? I’m sure I remember Paul saying in a blog or video that developing a new edge is only needed every few burnishings, seems to work for me and my scrapers.

  13. An old blog post somehow resonated with me: “The old man I was working with was in his 80’s and he pulled out a 1” gouge, stuck it in his mouth and whipped it along the scraper edges half a dozen times with quick successive strokes. Then he peeled off two dozen shavings a foot or so long and the job was done. ” (excerpt from https://paulsellers.com/2015/02/scraper-burnishers-that-work)

    I’d been trying so hard to get the angles just right, yet I still hadn’t been able to develop a good edge. Then I remembered the post above, and I decided to do it more freehand and about as nonchalantly as I could. It has been working ever since.

  16. Thanks Paul.
    In your No. 80 cabinet scraper video, you consolidated the edge under the bevel 30 to 40 times with the burnisher, then consolidated the bevel 25 to 30 times and then turning the edge. Have you changed your technique?

    1. Hello Frank, the edge doesn’t need consolidating to that extent shown in the previous video every time, but can be. When turning the edge it sometimes takes more strokes to get a viable edge. The consistency of bevel from the honing guide often means this isn’t necessary.

  19. I use a similar process on the blade I use to scrape oboe reeds. Razor edges work well, but they don’t last. A burnished scraper edge last longer, probably due to strain hardening.

    It was shocking to see Paul Sellers use a modern electric drill-driver!

  21. Brilliant! For me this Video came just in time, quite on the spot. Having a Faithfull No 80 (Stanley replica), which does not keep the iron very good in place (another story, which I managed to get solved), I never had nice shavings. Now I have. A livesaver for the livesaver for the furnituremaker.
    Thanks for this simple, but excellent working tool. I am happy, Mr. Sellers, really happy. I am smiling like the surface now is shining.

    1. Straight jewelry burnishes with the oval cross section are used by some woodworkers. Others prefer a round rod.

      Either will work as long as their steel is harder than what you are trying to burnish and they are smooth enough.

      1. I have round rods and triangle shaped burnishers. Each feels too long to me. All of the shorter oval shaped ones I’m finding are labeled “jewelers” burnishers and I’m having trouble finding an exact hardness, but are described as being able to polish metal.

  26. Thanks for the excellent information here.
    I worked through the process and got a good ‘hook’ on the cutting edge.
    When I assembled the cutter in the holder I was not sure which way to line up the bevel but assumed it was on the side of the adjusting screw and not on the side of the securing screws.
    At first I got a juddering cut and interpreted this as a sign the cutting ‘hook’ was set too deeply. After re-setting it slightly higher I got very good shavings. Should Paul do similar videos like this on other tools could he show how to set and adjust the edges and include a demonstration of how to recognise and correct the problems likely to be encountered when using the tool. I am a willing apprentice but need to be guided by the experienced teacher while using the tool.

  28. Just found four oak table legs in someone’s trash and used my #80, sharpened and honed according to Paul’s method, to remove the paint finish. A couple of passes and I was down to bare wood!

  29. Could a similar jig be made for a chisel or plane iron? I put together some scraps and made a ramp that sat 30 degrees to a level platform. The iron lay on the ramp and the stone (diamond) moved, creating or refining the edge as needed. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

    1. You could do that. We might be more likely to make something similar to the spokeshave honing guide we made in the past. Buying or making a basic honing guide can be useful when learning to sharpen, but we see them as training wheels to learn the correct angle or to correct bevels. With practice, doing it without a guide becomes very intuitive and more efficient.

  30. Great video. I haven’t made the guide and don’t plan to yet. But this and the other video in cabinet scrapers did get me going with one last night.

    I’ve discovered the magic of the cabinet scraper. And I’m hooked!

  33. Your videos are endlessly helpful. What about sharpening a regular card scraper? I assume that technique would be slightly different. I’ve watched a few other videos about it but I always get the best results after watching yours. Thank you so much.

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