Tool Sharpening Basics

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MOTHER'S HANDBOOK

Let's cut the mystery away from this vital skill.

By Pat Stone

Coaxing an edge onto a trusted tool can be a peace-bringing and fulfilling process.

I've been a tool sharpener for so long my pocketknife blade can trim a tick's toenails. My kitchen knives can slice a potato too thin to taste. And long ago I stopped performing the so-called expert's trick of shaving my beard with an ax. No sir, I use that tool's edge to floss between my teeth!

None of the above boasts are a bit true. Actually, I've always found tool sharpening to be very intimidating, partly because everybody else seemed to be an expert at it. Still, I knew it was an important skill to master. You simply can't do many jobs with dull tools, and you can perform any cutting task much better and more easily with a sharp one.

I finally decided it was time for me to get a handle on the subject. So I visited local tool sharpeners Roger Korning (who uses sophisticated Foley Belsaw machinery) and Collier Davis (a file-and-grindstone man). I got a two hour personal honing lesson from professional knifemaker Robert Parrish, who's famed among the gun and-blade set for his exquisite RP survival knives. I collected tips from Hollen Orr, a retired craftsman who's built a grandfather's clock and a set of violins by hand. I spent hours in the shop with MOTHER'S own workshop wizard, Dennis Burkholder. I even called up public TV's renowned woodwright, Roy Underhill, for advice!

The result? I'm not ready to trim my face fuzz with an ax, but I can now put a decent working edge on most of the tools my family uses. And here's betting I can tell other novice edge-keeners how to do so, as well.

"Do the job right,and you'll get a good edge in five minutes."

The pros know adull tool is more dangerous than a sharp one.

Rough Work With a File

Let's divvy up the doings right off into two groups—rough outdoor tools you can sharpen well enough with a file, and finer blades that need more specialized care. We'll start with the file jobs because they take less skill (if more muscle), yet illustrate many of the principles of fine-tool sharpening. In fact, let's get right to work by discussing tools many people have never even thought about sharpening— spades and shovels .

You won't believe it until you try it, but a sharp spade (the flat-faced digging tool) or shovel (the curve-faced one) will cut through dirt far easier than will a dull one. All you need for the job is a coarse hand file. (Hollen Orr says, "Use a file on everything it'll cut. With a file you can see where you've been.") It can be either single-cut (one set of lines—actually, rows of teeth) or double-cut (two intersecting sets of teeth). The double-cut will take more metal off with less effort; the single-cut will do a finer job.

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