Sharpening Pen Knives & Other Woodworking Tools

Question from customer via “Ask the Expert“:

Would like to know the best way to sharpen pen knives, and other woodcarving tools. What angle do you place the knive on the stone, and which direction do stroke the knive across the stone. Does this also apply when sharpening wood gouges of various shapes? Also, is their a reference book that describes the sharpening process.

Thank you in advance.
Mike

Answer from Edge Expert, Richard Smith

Mike,

Concerning your question on how to sharpen pen knives, wood carving tools, and wood working tools covers a lot of different shapes and edges.

I would strongly suggest that you go to the Woodcraft web site at www.woodcraft.com where they carry a good selection of books on how to sharpen wood working tools. This would be a good start on understanding how the professional woodworkers sharpen their gouges and other tools and what special shape stones they use to accomplish this. It would be easier for you to see it in a book than for me to try to explain it in a email or blog post, but still I will give it a shot.

Depending on what tools that you are sharpening there are numerous shapes and sizes of stones, but you can probably narrow it down to about 6-10 different sizes and shapes of stones, which will handle most of your general sharpening needs.

When sharpening flat edges like on pen knives or carving tools the key to getting the sharpest edge is “Sharpening Angle Consistency”. This means keeping the same angle on both sides of your blade and by doing this it will give you the sharpest edge.

Concerning the proper angle to sharpen your blade I would suggest that you look at the grind on the blade to determine the angle that you need to re-sharpen the blade. Most of the woodcarving blades will fall into the 12-20 degree range, which is the angle for each side of the blade. Double this number and you get the total combined edge. I have found the angle that is most comfortable for you usually works the best even if it is a couple degrees off. Angle consistency on both sides is the key.

To start off I would suggest you take a black magic marker and run it down the ground edge of your knife on both sides. Then lay your blade flat on your stone and then rotate the back of the knife up from the stone until you think it is about equal to the ground edge on the knife. Then make a couple of strokes down your stone and this will remove the magic marker and show you if you are close to the factory edge and based on what you see then you can either raise or lower the blade to get to the proper angle. One thing to remember getting to the exact factory edge is not the most import thing, but keeping the “Sharpening Angle Consistency” of what ever angle you choose is the key to getting the sharpest edge.

When sharpening your pen knife you should place the knife blade at the end of your stone and raise the back of your knife to your desired sharpening angle with the cutting edge facing away from you. Then with downward pressure push the knife down the stone like you are trying to cut a thin slice off the top of the stone while pulling the blade from the heel to the tip. When you reach the end of the stone you should only have the tip of the knife on the stone, which at this time you should roll your wrist up and pull the blade off the stone. This ensures proper sharpening of the tip of your knife.

Flip your knife over and place it on the other end of the stone with the blade facing you and repeat the same action as you did before, but this time pull the knife towards you. REMEMBER: KEEP THE SAME SHAREPING ANGLE!!!!!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

You can also download this PDF of instructions from one of our kits which the pictures make easier to see what I am saying. Also, I will leave you with this little tidbit. The best way to keep a sharp edge is “never let it get dull”.

I hope this answers your questions. If I missed something please feel free to give me a call.

Best Regards,

Richard S. Smith
President