Possibly one of the most important aspects of whittling or carving with knives, aside from actually having a knife or two, is making sure that those knives are sharp. Any fool can tell you that you’re more likely to have a nasty accident with a bluntknife than you are with a sharp knife, how to get your knives sharp though and how to keep them that way is something that, for many, is shrouded in mystery.
Probably for about the first year of my carving I was one of those people who just didn’t get it, and my knives became duller and duller … the truth is you really don’t notice it a great deal until you do sharpen them, then you find yourself thinking “Wow! This is so much easier now?!”.
A huge amount of the information online takes great joy going into the deepest detail about different sharpening stones to use, the different ‘grits’ available, the different types of steel, angles, techniques, approaches, yada yada yada … it’s all terribly dull (no pun intended!).
Here’s the key points:
- Two main types of sharpening stone are generally used, a water stone and an oil stone. The only real difference seems to be what you use them with … water or oil. I opted for an oil stone that I picked up in my local iron mongers (hardware store) because that’s what was available, and I’d heard of it before. They’re also known as whetstones.
- The ‘grit’ of the stone refers to how rough or smooth it feels. The rough one grind, the smooth one sharpens. Most stones that you buy have a rough grit on one side and a smooth grit on the other … this will do for most people.
- If you’re reading this then the type of steel doesn’t really matter, although there are those who will swear to you that stainless steel is evil.
- Much time is given over to the angle of the blade. The angle of the blade dictates the sharpness, the narrower the angle the sharper it’ll be, the angle also however dictates the strength of the edge and the more acute the angle weaker the edge will become. I tend to go for somewhere between 17 and 22 degree (half of a 45 degree or quarter a right angle if you prefer). Don’t get too hung up on this though as your own carving style will dictate whether or not you need a stronger edge or not, as will the age and types of wood you use.
- There are loads of different techniques avaialble and everyone swears their technique is best, it might be best for them but that doesn’t mean it’s best for you (or me for that matter), find your own way.
The video below is probably the most straight-forward that I’ve found and dispenses with the jargon and angle obsession that makes many of the other ‘how to’ videos so very tiresome, except for knife geeks … obviously.
If you’re looking to hone your sharp knife, maintaining the edge in between sharpening sessions, but aren’t sure about the technique the video below give a fair indication of a few techniques you may wish to try. Remember though, honing is not sharpening, it’s purely maintenance.
Tags: carving, craft, harder than it looks, knives, sharpening, whittle, whittling
