First page of the File archive.

Carving Knife Sharpening Supplement

Posted by bedhead on September 19, 2016 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , ,

I decided it would be a good idea to make at least one last video relating to the subject of how I sharpen Carving Knives See here for the original article. I always do my best to choose my words so the reader can envision what I’m talking about, but I know that some people are more visual learners. With this in mind, I made a relatively short video this morning and just posted it on Youtube. Just in case the player below doesn’t get along with your viewing system, the quick-link for the new video is: https://youtu.be/QLukWL0wC5Y

 

 


 

There is one thing I want to include, that I didn’t record in the video. Obviously for a knife (or any tool) to be sharp, both sides of the blade must be equally honed, as whichever side is less refined will be the limiting factor in actually getting the tool sharp. Most will have one side of the blade that is the most easy to hone, and its just a matter of finding what works best for you, when working on the “other” side of the blade. You can either leave the actual blade pointing in the same direction as when working the first side, and just flip the knife physically over, but that puts your finger in potential danger (either on one side or the other, in the flipping scenario), as the cutting edge will face them on one of the sides. The other option (which I use) is to hold the handle on the first pass, so the tip of the blade is pointing to my right, with the cutting edge upward. When I work the second side, I rotate my wrist so the tip of the blade is now pointing to my left, while again keeping the cutting edge upward. This is a safety net of sorts, since I might move forward slightly with the hand holding the sharpening media, and even if I were to move so far forward that my rear fingers contacted the blade, they would only touch the spine of the blade.

 

I hope this helps clarify how I’m sharpening blades with a hollow-grind. As I referenced in the first article, I use a similar process when I am honing other blades that no longer have a hollow-grind remaining, or have flat bevels from the maker. Let me know if there is anyone that is interested in me making a video where I show the steps and specific techniques I use on a knife with flat bevels.

 

Thank you for checking out this article. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

 

Lee Laird

@LeeLairdWoodworking – InstaGram

@LeeLairdWW – Twitter

Homestead Heritage – Lie-Nielsen Event December 4-5, 2015

Posted by bedhead on December 5, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , ,

I drove up to Homestead Heritage (608 Dry Creek Rd., 76705) in Waco, TX today, as it was the first day of the Lie-Nielsen Handtool event. As usual, Lie-Nielsen have two of their workbenches onsite, as well as their tool line, ready to hold, feel and see how they behave on wood, as well as a great staff ready to help customers with all facets of their visit.

One specific new item was on my radar, the new honing guide, which is built to the high-standards of Lie-Nielsen. I know almost everyone has used one of the ubiquitous inexpensive side-clamping honing guides before, and they can work just fine; especially after spending the time “tuning” them up. No tune up needed on the finely machined Lie-Nielsen version, which is completely obvious as soon as you pick it up, and the tight tolerances said to me “I’m a high-end tool”! The honing guide is made from stainless steel, brass and bronze, so rusting is not an issue.

The honing guide comes with the standard set of jaws installed, but Lie-Nielsen also offers other jaw sets, to handle specific portions of their tool line. The other jaw sets available are the Mortise Chisel jaw pair; Chisel jaw pair; Long jaw pair; 30-degree Skewed Jaw Pair, Right; 30-degree Skewed Jaw Pair, Left; 18-degree Skewed Jaw Pair, Right; and 18-degree Skewed Jaw Pair, Left. Remember this honing guide and jaws are made to handle Lie-Nielsen irons/chisels, so don’t expect them to work with every make of tool that needs sharpening, just so that is clear.

Guest demonstrators at the event are Dowd’s Vintage & Antique Tools, Texas Heritage Woodworks, and The Society of American Period Furniture Makers.

Saturday, December 5, the event is open from 10a.m. to 5p.m.

Homestead Heritage has also extended it’s annual Homestead Fair through Saturday, December 5, 2015, and it opens at 9a.m.

There is a lot to see and experience at one location. Go check them out.

Thank you for stopping by, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Lee Laird

 

Dowd’s Tools – Austin

Posted by bedhead on August 7, 2015 with 2 Commentsas , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last weekend we went down to Craft Pride, located at 61 Rainey Street in Austin TX, to see our good friends Lynn and Tracy Dowd, who were having their Dowd’s Tools event. They always have a large range of tools, and I almost always find something that must follow me home. While each event is […]

Re-use a damaged file handle

Posted by bedhead on June 21, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , ,

I don’t know about all of you, but I really hate to waste wood. I have a lot of small blanks around the shop, so I could have easily made myself a handle for a somewhat new file in my shop. During some re-organizing I have been doing, I came across a file handle that […]

First test of the new Saw Vise – Success!

Posted by bedhead on March 15, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , , , ,

After I finished some work last night, I knew I’d have a bit of free time, so it was time to put the new Saw Vise through it’s paces. I pulled an old, fairly unremarkable saw from my inventory, that is about 24″ long and has cross-cut teeth. It looked like it may not have […]