Sharpening a draw knife.

[blackrodd]

I've just acquired a draw knife, to shape some oak and give the carpenters axe and my right arm a change.
It arrived well packaged and very sharp, but it needs to stay that way, It's 8" wide cut and made in sheffield.
I really didn't want to do this, but having googled sharpening a draw knife, various methods came up, mostly knife to the stone, which, as the rounded bottom edge, which I assume is acting as a fence or limiter for the depth of cut, a skill
acquired by frequent use of the knife, I would think.
So, you folk that use and hone these draw knives, how do you hold and hone?
I've watched the Curtis Buchanan vids and Village Carpenter, Lie Nielson vids too.
Village Carpenter is the one I favour as his holding, stone to the knife technique my sharpening skills, will probably work out best as this is a little different from controlling chisels and planer blades safely!
Thanks and regards Rodders

 

[Cheshirechappie]

The late (and much missed) RichardT posted some time ago that he rested one end of the drawknife on the bench against a stop of some sort, and the other against his chest held by his off hand. He then used a thickish honing stone, held in such a way that his fingers were on the sides of the stone behind the working face, and thus couldn't come into contact with the cutting edge.

I use a very similar technique, with one end of the non-cutting face of the stone resting on the palm of my hand, thumb on one side and second, third and small fingers gripping the other, with index finger pointing along it providing a bit of pressure. As with Richard's grip, the fingers and thumb are behind the working surface of the stone, and thus protected. It's still worth paying attention whilst honing, though - and it doesn't work with a thin stone!

Grinding was another problem, which I overcame by freehanding on a Tormek wetstone grinder. The trick is to keep the blade on the move side to side, otherwise a nick develops in the cutting edge where it meets the stone's corner. It's slow, but with constant monitoring of where the grind is happening, quite controllable. Fortunately, drawknife grinding is only an occasional job.

 

[AndyT]

I can't claim to use it very frequently, but I do have one (well, two actually) and do use them sometimes:

I just hold the knife still, with one handle in my left hand and the other pressed against my body and gently rub the stone against the edge, using a circular motion while progressing along the length.

Be sure that your fingers and thumb are well behind the face of the stone.

Holding one handle in the vice also works well.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I do pretty much as CC describes. Taking the stone to the knife seems far easier, but all the warnings about watching where your fingers are are well placed, and make sure that the handle of the drawknife you aren't holding on to is securely located. Slicing cuts from a drawknife are best avoided.

One of my friends tells me he doesn't worry too much about the drawknife being really sharp in the middle - use the middle of the blade for ripping off the bark, splitting of the bulk ... the bits at each end which get less use stay sharp longest, so can be used for finishing/fine cuts.

 

[lanemaux]

I use a 2 pronged approach. For grinding, as I haven't a wheel of any real size, I clamp a cheap and nasty dollar store stone in my workmate. The stone is fairly large and quite coarse and I apply blade to stone using much the same motion that I would while using the knife. Surprisingly few passes will get out any knicks , as I can apply a fair amount of force safely.
To get the edge sharp and fine I switch positions. The back of the blade held in the workmate, stone in hand and work through grits to remove the scratches. rocking the rounded bevel. All in all , about a 10 minute job.

 

[D_W]

Rough work with stone on or raised on a board and fine work holding the draw knife and polishing with a circular motion.

If someone does rough work with hand on stone, it's only a matter of time before they cut themselves. Perhaps minutes, and perhaps decades.

 

[Racers]

Kevlar gloves are a must in the workshop for tricky tasks.

Pete

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Concentrating on what you're doing is a very good idea indeed when sharpening a drawknife; anybody who hasn't cut themselves with a edge tool isn't a woodworker. Always keep a few sticking-plasters handy, and learn some good old-fashioned Anglo-Saxon words to use when it does happen.

 

[Andy Kev.]

Benchcrafted have produced a jig for sharpening draw knives which is supposed to remove the safety risks and provide consistent results. I've not so much as clapped eyes on one myself but it might be worth doing a bit of Research.

 

[JimB]

Concentrating on what you're doing is a very good idea indeed when sharpening a drawknife; anybody who hasn't cut themselves with a edge tool isn't a woodworker. Always keep a few sticking-plasters handy, and learn some good old-fashioned Anglo-Saxon words to use when it does happen.

And make sure the blood is off the tool. It can cause rust and confuse the crime scene investigators.

 

[blackrodd]

Many thanks for the replies and shared experiences.
It was not aware of how very sharp and potentially blood letting it could be until it arrived!
I would think it safest to clamp at an angle, the two extreme blade ends, 2" each side of the 8" slicing area, and then stone to the knife.
We had "Holders" like that whilst honing the 24" & 30" cutters for the wadkin planer's in the mill and workshop.
Would probably work out finger friendly.
Regards Rodders

 

[D_W]

Many thanks for the replies and shared experiences.
It was not aware of how very sharp and potentially blood letting it could be until it arrived!
I would think it safest to clamp at an angle, the two extreme blade ends, 2" each side of the 8" slicing area, and then stone to the knife.
We had "Holders" like that whilst honing the 24" & 30" cutters for the wadkin planer's in the mill and workshop.
Would probably work out finger friendly.
Regards Rodders

Now you're on it. the danger is a lateral stroke after you've made 200 successful lateral strokes and have gotten the confidence to really make the strokes with serious vummer.

 

[bugbear]

Many thanks for the replies and shared experiences.
It was not aware of how very sharp and potentially blood letting it could be until it arrived!
I would think it safest to clamp at an angle, the two extreme blade ends, 2" each side of the 8" slicing area, and then stone to the knife.
We had "Holders" like that whilst honing the 24" & 30" cutters for the wadkin planer's in the mill and workshop.
Would probably work out finger friendly.
Regards Rodders

Jim Kingshott shows a drawknife pretty much embedded in a slot, ploughed in a block of wood.

Only the edge is showing, and the stone is used horizontally.

(rough diagram)

BugBear

 

[mouppe]

I love using my drawknife, for fine and heavy work. And I use it on dry wood as well as greenwood. I used to clamp it in my vice and use waterstones to sharpen it. Then I bought Peter Galbert's drawknife sharpening tool (made by Benchcrafted).

Yes it's a leap of faith. Yes, you can sharpen perfectly well without one. Yes loads of people on the forum will yap on about how it's unnecessary and expensive and the old-timers didn't use one etc etc. But if you want to sharpen safely, fast, consistently and really really easily, it's worth buying. Windsor chairmakers are probably the most traditional woodworkers out there, so it says a lot when one of their very best invents such a tool. After years of woodworking, I hardly buy any tools any more as I have all I need, but this is one little thing that I bought about a year ago and really appreciate.

It's called a Galbert drawsharp. You can see Peter Galbert demonstrating it on youtube.

 

[Jacob]

My way was to hold the stone in the bench vice but lengthways on, rather than sideways parallel to the bench, then to work the draw knife over it more or less in the same action as you would when actually using it, plus working it away from you as well. Easier if you box the stone in such a way that it's above the bench level and you have plenty of clearance around it (i.e. tall "box" - a joist end or something).
Alternatively make a long boxy thing to hold in the shave horse similarly e.g. sit the stone in a notch, or against stops, on a length of 3x2 and work the draw knife to and fro.

PS I'd add - Richard T's method sounds better (above) but you'd need a stone with a handle like a scythe stone, to avoid cutting yourself.
This sort of thing below would be ideal, or a long stone (8" too short) mounted on a board with a handle

 

[MIGNAL]

Just send an email to Veritas. They'll have a jig for you, up and running by next April.

 

[D_W]

I love using my drawknife, for fine and heavy work. And I use it on dry wood as well as greenwood. I used to clamp it in my vice and use waterstones to sharpen it. Then I bought Peter Galbert's drawknife sharpening tool (made by Benchcrafted).

Yes it's a leap of faith. Yes, you can sharpen perfectly well without one. Yes loads of people on the forum will yap on about how it's unnecessary and expensive and the old-timers didn't use one etc etc. But if you want to sharpen safely, fast, consistently and really really easily, it's worth buying. Windsor chairmakers are probably the most traditional woodworkers out there, so it says a lot when one of their very best invents such a tool. After years of woodworking, I hardly buy any tools any more as I have all I need, but this is one little thing that I bought about a year ago and really appreciate.

It's called a Galbert drawsharp. You can see Peter Galbert demonstrating it on youtube.

you do what you need to get the result you want.

If galbert teaches students, it's safe to assume that the contraption is for students, though, and not something he'd have developed without them.

But still, you do whatever you need to to get the result you want.

 

[mouppe]

I love using my drawknife, for fine and heavy work. And I use it on dry wood as well as greenwood. I used to clamp it in my vice and use waterstones to sharpen it. Then I bought Peter Galbert's drawknife sharpening tool (made by Benchcrafted).

Yes it's a leap of faith. Yes, you can sharpen perfectly well without one. Yes loads of people on the forum will yap on about how it's unnecessary and expensive and the old-timers didn't use one etc etc. But if you want to sharpen safely, fast, consistently and really really easily, it's worth buying. Windsor chairmakers are probably the most traditional woodworkers out there, so it says a lot when one of their very best invents such a tool. After years of woodworking, I hardly buy any tools any more as I have all I need, but this is one little thing that I bought about a year ago and really appreciate.

It's called a Galbert drawsharp. You can see Peter Galbert demonstrating it on youtube.

you do what you need to get the result you want.

If galbert teaches students, it's safe to assume that the contraption is for students, though, and not something he'd have developed without them.

But still, you do whatever you need to to get the result you want.

con·trap·tion
kənˈtrapSH(ə)n/
noun
a machine or device that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, and often badly made or unsafe.

If you have nothing pleasant to say, why not keep quiet? I'm offering my personal experience to a member of this forum- yes, what works for me may work for him too- is it necessary for you to constantly chip in and mock other posters?

I already posted that I don't need to use the tool to get a sharp edge, but it certainly makes it consistently fast and easy, which is of value to lots of people. Peter Galbert- it's a name so we capitalise it by the way- teaches a couple of classes a year, but is also an excellent professional chairmaker in his own right. He developed the tool for himself and uses it, as do many other chairmakers, professional and amateur. His students had nothing to do with the tool's development.

 

[D_W]

Read it through whatever lens you like - if you want to find the worst definition, go for it. This is one I'd refer to:

n.
a mechanical contrivance; gadget; device.

Of course, something contrived:

con·trived (kən-trīvd′)
adj.
Obviously planned or calculated; not spontaneous or natural; labored: a novel with a contrived ending.

Not novels we're talking about, but not spontaneous or natural is a good way to go.

It's important to point out that regardless of how capable a maker is, when they offer something to sell to beginners, it's often not something they'd have ever made without the presence of beginners.

I used contraptions when i started, they were in some cases, necessary to get the results I wanted. When it becomes easier to get results without them, then they disappear.

 

[mouppe]

I read it in the sense you intended it. In no way whatsoever did you intend to post a kindly or favourable remark. It's clear what you meant and as much as you try to wriggle out of it, it's plain to see.

Whatever. As is clear from the numerous threads in which you have bored us all to death with your pontifications on steel, cap irons, Lie Nielsen, marketing strategies, consumer psychology- the list is growing longer by the post- you're just a pompous windbag eager to tell people they are wrong and you are right.

To the original post to whom my first post is intended, I hope you find a solution to your drawknife sharpening. As I said before, the Galbert tool works well for me.