Draw knife sharpening

[buckhuck]

What do you all use to sharpen your draw knifes?  I have been using a fine tooth file which seems to do pretty well but I am curious what others are using.    

[ishiwannabe]

Yeah, me too! My brother took mine to a grinder....

[Pat B]

OH! you are supposed sharpen those things. I actually prefer mine to be on the dull side(relatively speaking)    Pat

[Clay Hayes]

I sharpen mine with a mill file; at least the one that I keep sharp.  

I have one I use for backing osage that's never seen a file.  On the other hand, the one I use for working Yew is sharp as a razor.

ch

[bigcountry]

I have been keeping my dull.  I have made so many bad mistakes with razor sharp draw knife.  But when I do sharpen, I use a mill file.

[Roy Steele]

First off its all right to have a razor sharp draw knife when you first start out on your stave as it gets closer to bow form.It's better to have a dull one. Always never use it on the bows back.
   Start with put your draw knife into a vice.Get a mill file to get an edge.Then go to a course diamond stone. Then down to a fine diamond stone.Get one that has a handle.It will take a while but once done,each time it gets a little dull your fine diamond stone will fix it right up with a few swipes

[No-sage]

I use a sharp knife for everything.  I never could figure why a woodworking tool should be dull.

There's not a woodworking task that's done better with a dull tool over a sharp one.  Saw blades...sharp.  Chisels... sharp.  Plane irons... sharp. Scraper blades.... sharp.  Drawknife.... dull?  Makes no sense to me... never did.

Sharpen just as you would any knife.  Flat side needs to be flat.  I use an oil stone for that, dragging the blade across the stone.

For the bevel, I use the same stone, only I clamp the knife in a vise and move the stone across the blade.

I would never use a file to sharpen any woodworking tool, except maybe a new axe.

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

I am with No-sage on this one.  Sharp or sharper is better than dull or duller any time.  If you are taking too much off with the knife it is because you are rushing and using too much effort.  The draw knife does take skill to handle properly.

Sharpening, Mill file first then stones.  I use a coarse diamond and then a fine Arkansa.  Keep it touched up and you won't need to use the mill file.  I now clean mine with acetone after every session and then apply a light coat of penetrating lubricant (WD 40)

pete

[Clay Hayes]

Originally posted by No-sage:
There's not a woodworking task that's done better with a dull tool over a sharp one.  

I couldn't disagree more!  The reason for using a dull knife is that when backing an osage stave, your knife will just crunch threw the earlywood and slide over the latewood.  If the knife was sharp, it would try to cut into the latewood.  

That's not to say that backing an osage stave can't be done with a sharp knife; you just have to be a whole lot more careful.

If you've not tried it, you may be supprised at how a dull knife works for this task.

ch

[George Tsoukalas]

The only thing I'm going to do with a dull tool is sharpen it. LOL. It's a matter of principal. All my tools are razor sharp. My Dad wouldn't have it any other other way. I use stones on quality tools. Files take off too much metal to suit me.  After I'm done with a bow, I touch up my drawknives with a medium stone. Using a circular motion, I sharpen keeping the same bevel. I flip the knife, keep the stone flat against the surface and sharpen the back. This kniofe is over 50 years old. It was Dad's. I don't use this knife  for chasing rings. I use my Swedish push knife sharpening both edges.I can use it as a scraper too. I also use cooper's tools and sharpen them as well.  Then I put a few drops of oil on a paper towel and coat my tools with a bit of oil. Carefully, I've had some nasty cuts. Then I wrap them in newspaper and put them away.    Jawge

[Doug A]

Has anyone else bought the small draw knife from Three Rivers?  It turns out that it is double beveled, where it sounds like the draw knives you guys are talking about are single bevel.  How will this affect the performance of my knife?

[John Scifres]

There's all kinds of ways to skin a cat, or an osage back.  I prefer to do it with a sharp knife but a dull one works just fine too.  With a sharp one you risk cutting the back ring.  With a dull one, you work harder to hog off wood and have a chance of running a splinter down into your desired ring.  Done properly, either works fine.

I use a sharp mill file to get a uniform bevel and then stones to polish it.  I clamp it in my vise.  A really critical thing for me is an absolutely flat bottom.  The knife's not my wife's.

[Walt Francis]

I use have and use both, sharp and not so sharp, but not dull.  They both work fine and which one used is determined by the character of the stave and type of wood.  All of my drawknife’s were used when I got them and most needed a file to get to the pits out, but after the initial shaping they haven't been touched with anything but stones.

[The Gopher]

i like one sharp and one dull. the advocates of a sharp tool are absolutly right, a tool meant to cut wood should be as sharp as possible. The key word is CUT. from my experience a dull draw knife performs like wedge prying the early and latewood apart. so even though a sharp drawknife and a dull draw knife look the same you are actually using two different tools. i love my dull knife for chasing a ring, once you get under the ring above the one your looking for that ring just kind of pops off without cutting into the one you want to keep.

[George Tsoukalas]

Doug, I have one but I bought it from a used tool store. That's a Swedish push knife. I use it as a scraper and to chase rings. Jawge

[Doug A]

Thanks George.  Will it work as a draw knife, or did I waste my money?  How important is the single bevel?

[DCM]

I don't "get" advocating a dull knife for backing down osage.  But I've only backed down maybe 200 or more in the last 10 years.  I say if you gonna do that, why not just use a sledge and wedge, same principle.  But I'll be nice, because John says it can be done, and I reckon he's backed down a right smart moren me, and for longer too.  So I'll have to defer to his experience and agree, it CAN be done.

WRT to using a mill file to sharpen a draw knife, I've seen very few that were soft enough temper for a mill file to cut.  Learned that along about MoJam 5 I reckon, thanks to Jeff Gibson, who let me know w/ a full measure of smart-arse throwed into the bargain.  LOL  Usually only a stone, grinder or hone will touch 'em.  But I did run across maybe 1 outa 10 (JoeMarty and I was sharpening for "tips" but mostly just shooting the breeze).  

I keep mine razor sharp, sharper than broadheads, with a medium whetstone.  As with any tool edge, technique matters but the principle is the same throughout.  Establish the bevel, raise a burr and remove, repeat with increasingly lighter pressure, strop w/ leather.  Shazam, a draw knife you can cut around osage knots and not break out the backside into your back ring.

Biggest problem I have is chipping out the edge, tiny little pits, as mine is extremely hard temper.  That's what I get for turning up on edge like a scraper.  Picked me up an old shaper iron for that task now.

Draw knife can be a danged handy tool, for more than just hogging off sap wood too.  But technique matters there too, gotta find and follow the grain.  On right and regular whitewoods, dog gone draw knife will get 'em down to size might near as quick as a bandsaw.  And if you are like me, it's a lot more fun, especially when your tool and you is working together sweet and pleasant.

[George Tsoukalas]

Doug, I have A Swedish push knife. It works well for chasing rings. Push away from you.  I also use it as a scraper for tillering. I use it right after stringing the stave with the short string. I also have a regular curved draw knife. Does that help? Jawge

[flint kemper]

I use a axe stone to sharpen. They are the small round flat stones. Works great. Flint

[Doug A]

Jawge, I'll use it as you suggest.  Maybe I'll get a real draw knife down the road.  Is there a reason that it is easier to push this design as opposed to pulling?