If you ask 10 different people to give you their advice on sharpening, you will likely get 10 different responses. This is my very simple non-scientific advice. Hopefully you have purchaced a good knife with good steel. Look for a well known brand. If you have any doubt about the quality ask a woodcarver or reputable knife dealer. Like I said before it need not be very expensive. I'll not mention a brand name here but there are some out there readily available by mail order for $10 and less that will do a good job. Caution!! Watch out for those out there who are out to make a quick buck. They realize that a beginning woodcarver is really enthusastic about his new found hobby and eager to buy tools. So before you buy, especially something expensive, seek the advice of a trustworthy third party.
Now that you have a good knife, remember to be careful. You can slice yourself up sharpening just as easy or easier than when carving.
Get yourself some good sharpening stones. Sporting and hunting supply stores, and most department stores should have them. I like the kind that comes glued to a triange shaped piece of wood that you can hold in your hand. On each side of the triangle is glued a sharpening stone, medium, fine, ultra fine. Start sharpening on the medium side if the knife is very dull. Then go the the fine, then the ultra fine. Some will tell you to sharpen in this manner:
Lay the blade close to flat, but at a slight angle on the stone and push the knife away from you as if you were trying to slice off a very thin layer of the stone.
Others will tell you: Lay the blade close to flat, but at a slight angle on the stone drag the knife toward you with the sharp side of the blade trailing.
Others will tell you: Lay the blade close to flat, but at a slight angle on the stone and make small circular motions with the blade.
The first method is the most highly recommended.
My advice is try all three. Use whatever works best for you. We're not all made the same and can't all do everything alike. If we could, we'd all be brain surgeons, right!
Get your knife as sharp as you possibly can in that manner then get out your leather strop. They can be purchaced and you can pay big bucks for one if you want, but you can easily make your own. Just find yourself a piece of wood, approximately 1 1/2 inches wide X 3/4 inch thick X 16 inches long. These figures can be changed to suit yourself. These are the dementions I used to make mine. I left 11 inches as is and carved a rounded handle with the other 5 inches. I drilled a hole in the end of the handle and put a piece of leather through it and tied the ends together with a knot. This is mostly for looks. Get a piece of leather 1 1/2 inches X 11 inches, from a shoe repair shop or a leather craft shop and glue it to the wood. If you have an old leather belt laying around in the attic of the approperate size, it will serve the same pupose. Of course you will want to glue the finished side down. I'll bet you can do that can't you? I put a handle on one end of mine but you might rather have a handle on both ends. Make it to suit yourself. I used 5 Minute, 2 Part Liquid Epoxy, the kind that comes in a double barrel plastic tube that looks sort of like a big hypodermic needle without the needle. You can buy it at any department store.
Get some sharpening compound. Ask 10 woodcarvers what is the best kind to use and you'll probably get 5 different answers. I have tried several kinds and I like yellowstone. It comes in a solid block 4 inches long X 1 inch X 1 inch and is packed in a little cardboard box. It has a consistancy similar to chalk. Scrape some of it off with the back side of your knife and let it fall onto your leather strop. In other words you are making a powder of it.
After coating the leather, it doesnt take much and after you get it imbeded into the leather, it will last through several stroppings. You dont have to put it on every time.
Strop your knife by laying it as flat as you can on the leather and while holding downward pressure on the knife, draw it toward you with the sharp edge trailing away from you. If you are using yellowstone, you will see your strop start turning black very quickly as you work your knife on it. This is the metal that is being cut from the knife. This lets you know that the strop and the yellowstone are doing their job.
Your knife will be razor sharp with just a little effort.
Your knife will be ready to use. When it shows the least sign of losing its sharpness, strop it again. Don't wait until it becomes dull. Strop it often and you will seldom if ever use the stones again.
I didn't go into degree of angle to hold the blade and all that techinical and scientific stuff. I don't know of too many people who are so machine like that they could hold a knife at a constant angle throughout a sharpening session anyway. Keep the blade of the knife protected by putting it in a case or toolbox where it want be bumping up against any of your other tools or it will be dull the next time you need to use it. If you just follow these simple guidelines, use common sence, and do a little experimenting on your own you will find a happy medium for the angle that works best for you. You should get good results.
Should you have any problem finding any of the above mentioned materials contact me and I will direct you to a source. Happy carving!!
