Photo 1- Filing a scraper edge with a fine file.

I say supposedly because you can do reasonably well with a scraper without putting any burr on it at all. Either way, the first thing to do is file the edge flat (Photo 1). Use a fine file, like a "mill bastard." Then, if you choose, polish this edge on a medium and then fine sharpening stone. To lay on a burr, use any hardened steel, like a large drill bit, and with the scraper in a vise push the burring tool along the edge at a slight angle to turn over the burr (Photo 2). It only takes a few swipes with moderate to heavy pressure.

Photo 2- Drawing a burr with a piece of hard steel.

Hold the scraper at about 60-80 degrees to the wood and push or pull it along. The action is correct when you get a tissue-thin shaving. When you get dust, either the scraper has become dull or wasn't sharpened correctly to begin with.

To burr or not to burr? Putting a burr onto a scraper that will make a good shaving is not easy. Filing the edge is. I've gotten beautiful shavings from a scraper that was only filed. Do what works best for you.

It’s easier to put a burr on the tool using a jig to help you do so, such as the Timerline Burnisher, which you can get at Stewart Mac Guitar Supply. Plug "burnisher" into their search engine and it will come up.

SPOKESHAVES

As soon as a spokeshave begins to dull, it gets harder to control. Therefore, as soon as it shows signs of being harder to control, assume that it is time to sharpen, or at least hone the somewhat-but-not-really-sharp edge. When cutting hardwood endgrain, like on the splat foot in the oval side table, the cut will be impossible without a very sharp edge.

Sharpening a spokeshave iron is no different from sharpening any iron or chisel. First you establish a bevel of about 25o, then hone that bevel with successively finer stones until you get very smooth surfaces on both sides of the bevel. When both these surfaces are smooth, the edge where they meet must, by definition, be sharp. Because the cutting tip of this edge is very small, pushing it through wood wears it away and it becomes rounded, or dull. Sharpening grinds away metal behind the rounded area until the round is gone and again you have a bevel and two smooth sides.

Unfortunately you can't put spokeshave irons into those handy little roller jigs for running chisels and plane irons across stones because the spokeshave iron is too short to fit in the jig. So you must hold it by hand (Photo 3). This is a bit tricky, because if you hold it too low, you aren't grinding on the edge of the bevel, if too high, you change the bevel angle at the edge. Begin by holding it too low, then, while pushing it across the stone, slowly raise the iron. This gradually brings the tip to the stone. When it begins to contact you will feel a difference in the grinding action- as though the iron were trying to take a slice off the top of the stone.

Photo 3- Carefully hold the iron on a stone at a consistent angle while you push it along.

You can see when the edge begins to dull. Note in photo 4 that the center of the edge reflects the light, because it is rounded and so dull, whereas the two ends, unused and still sharp, do not reflect the light.

Photo 4- A dull iron reflects light along the rounded surface of the dull iron, which a sharp edge will not do.

A new spokeshave iron will be straight across its edge. It's a good idea to slightly curve the ends away from this straight line so that the whole edge is along a slight radius (Photo 5). This way the corners will not dig in, leaving ugly marks. Also, this limits the width of cut the tool will take. When the tool is adjusted for a very fine, thin cut, the width will be lesser because less of the curved iron is exposed. This is useful in endgrain situations where the less you cut along the width, the easier it is.

Photo 5- Put your iron edge up to a straight edge to see how much curve it has in it.

Different designs of spokeshaves have different means of adjusting the depth of cut. A flat sole spokeshave has two different pieces for the sole. The section before the iron pivots and is adjustable with a thumb screw as in photo 6. The rear sole is part of the body of the tool. Turning the screw causes the front sole to move away from the knife, increasing the cut, or toward the knife, reducing the cut. The iron is fixed to the body with a screw. Set the knife so that the edge is at, or protrudes just beyond, the plane of the rear sole.

Photo 6- Adjusting a flat sole spokeshave.

A curve sole spokeshave does not use an adjustable sole, rather it moves the iron in relation to the sole. Adjustable knobs push or pull the iron up or down. A fixing screw holds the iron steady. Loosen this before adjusting the depth of cut with the adjusting knobs (Photo 7).

Photo 7- Adjusting a curve sole spokeshave.

With any spokeshave, first set the cut as small as possible, then gradually increase the cut until it is where you want.

DRAWKNIVES

Sharpening a drawknife is tricky because you must bring the stone to the knife, not vice versa, otherwise the handles get in the way. Hold the drawknife firmly when you do this, because you will be moving your fingers very close to the edge, and you don't want anything to slip. One way to hold it is to prop it against a steady object as in photo 8, then apply the stone with some oil on it. Apply the stone at about 25o.

Photo 8- Sharpening a drawknife.

Resources For Sharpening Tools