the blade. This will keep the blade smooth and prevent nicks or
grooves in the edge.
As you may know, scraper blades come in different thicknesses. In
your initial efforts, you may find thin blades easier to sharpen. As you
become more adept, you may prefer thicker blades, which hold an
edge longer.
—KELLYMEHLER,Berea, Ky.,
from a question by Glenn Marchione, Penndel, Pa.
Recipe for Razor-Sharp Carving Tools
D
URING MY 50 YEARS OFcarving I have collected some 280 edge
tools, which, for the kind of carving I do, must be kept sharp
enough to shave with. To prepare the edge, I use three grades of pro-
gressively finer India stones. But the real trick is to strop the edge to a
mirror finish. For this you’ll need a couple of pieces of sole leather
from your local shoe shop and an abrasive product called Cloverleaf
Abrasive Compound, which was originally manufactured for grinding
engine valves on Model T Fords. It is a smooth-cutting abrasive sus-
pended in a Vaseline-like jelly. Cloverleaf is still manufactured today in
seven different abrasive grades and can be bought in most auto supply
stores.You will need two grades—I use one up from finest and two
down from coarsest.
First, soak the pieces of sole leather in light lubricating oil. Then
rub about a teaspoon of the finer abrasive into the smooth side of one
piece and a like amount of the coarser abrasive into the rough side of
the other piece. Bend the leather into the profile of the cutting edge
and strop both the inside and outside of the carving gouge to produce
an incredibly sharp edge.
—FORDGREEN,San Antonio,Tex.
SHARPENING & GRINDING