- Joined
- Mar 15, 2007
- Messages
- 727
Hello people I’ve said on the traditional forum that I would put together a little tutorial about how I prepare a blade for whittling, so here it is:
1 In this photo you can see that a standard pen blade doesn’t allow curve or scalloping cuts specially if they’re tight because the spine hits the wood amid cut
1. Next you draw the approximate shape you want with a permanent marker, in this case I ended up marking both the heel and the point but only modifying the tip because it works well this way. I like this shape because the slicing action of the curved edge on the wood leaves a better finish, but you can of course make it a pointy Wharncliffe is so is your preferred shape, the important bit is that it’s thin(spine to edge) to be able to turn, I tape the pivot area for protection against scratches but also for preventing the blade from closing accidentally
2. In this case I’ve used a dremmel tool with a sanding drum, very important to have some water around to keep the blade cool. You could also use a half round file with very good results, don’t press too hard and let the tool do the cutting or you could end up snapping the blade specially at the fine tip
3. Shaping the blade sanding to the line, I get into a rhythm 1,2 dip to cool 1,2,3 dip to cool, the thinner the steel the faster it gets hot.
4. When you are on your line refine the shape with sandpaper over a round bar the closest to the shape possible, this step is not essential but is more pleasing aesthetically than the finish from the dremmel or the file
5. Now it’s time to grind the faces until the existing secondary bevels disappear to nothing, I don’t recommend reaching all the way to the edge with a power sander because is very easy to get it to hot and have issues with edge retention afterwards. The hand tool choice would be 60-80 grit sandpaper over a flat surface grinding back and forward. I usually alternate passes because it helps keeping the edge centered. In this blade I’ve introduced a little of distal taper too, putting more work on the tip and then blending the pass towards the heel
6. Then hand sand climbing through the grits, important to mount the paper on a flat support, here you can spend as much time as you want, depending the level of finish you like, in my case 150 220 280 600 grit
7.The tinkering is finished know time to sharpen here is the approximate angle of the edge, I recommend two or three passes at this angle and begin to drop your angle to almost zero but without reaching the flat face to avoid scratches, this is done for blending the shoulders with the primary grind reducing the friction and the wedge effect.
Start low with the first sharpening and go steeper if you have issues of edges rolling or microchipping
8. Go as high as you like with your sharpening grits, in my case I like a traslucent Arkansas and then strop 10-15 passes per side on stuff leather with compound (flex cut gold works great) and you have a laser in your hands. Careful the first few cuts because it can caught you unaware the easiness with which it slices through the wood
Happy whittling!!
If you have any questions or you like me to clarify something please tell me
Mateo
1 In this photo you can see that a standard pen blade doesn’t allow curve or scalloping cuts specially if they’re tight because the spine hits the wood amid cut
1. Next you draw the approximate shape you want with a permanent marker, in this case I ended up marking both the heel and the point but only modifying the tip because it works well this way. I like this shape because the slicing action of the curved edge on the wood leaves a better finish, but you can of course make it a pointy Wharncliffe is so is your preferred shape, the important bit is that it’s thin(spine to edge) to be able to turn, I tape the pivot area for protection against scratches but also for preventing the blade from closing accidentally
2. In this case I’ve used a dremmel tool with a sanding drum, very important to have some water around to keep the blade cool. You could also use a half round file with very good results, don’t press too hard and let the tool do the cutting or you could end up snapping the blade specially at the fine tip
3. Shaping the blade sanding to the line, I get into a rhythm 1,2 dip to cool 1,2,3 dip to cool, the thinner the steel the faster it gets hot.
4. When you are on your line refine the shape with sandpaper over a round bar the closest to the shape possible, this step is not essential but is more pleasing aesthetically than the finish from the dremmel or the file
5. Now it’s time to grind the faces until the existing secondary bevels disappear to nothing, I don’t recommend reaching all the way to the edge with a power sander because is very easy to get it to hot and have issues with edge retention afterwards. The hand tool choice would be 60-80 grit sandpaper over a flat surface grinding back and forward. I usually alternate passes because it helps keeping the edge centered. In this blade I’ve introduced a little of distal taper too, putting more work on the tip and then blending the pass towards the heel
6. Then hand sand climbing through the grits, important to mount the paper on a flat support, here you can spend as much time as you want, depending the level of finish you like, in my case 150 220 280 600 grit
7.The tinkering is finished know time to sharpen here is the approximate angle of the edge, I recommend two or three passes at this angle and begin to drop your angle to almost zero but without reaching the flat face to avoid scratches, this is done for blending the shoulders with the primary grind reducing the friction and the wedge effect.
Start low with the first sharpening and go steeper if you have issues of edges rolling or microchipping
8. Go as high as you like with your sharpening grits, in my case I like a traslucent Arkansas and then strop 10-15 passes per side on stuff leather with compound (flex cut gold works great) and you have a laser in your hands. Careful the first few cuts because it can caught you unaware the easiness with which it slices through the wood
Happy whittling!!
If you have any questions or you like me to clarify something please tell me
Mateo
