Getting ready for the winter: Sharpening your ice scraper.

[James Pallas]

Do you brush first or after the first scrub? Have you tried one of those pull type scrapers? When is it appropriate to use a toothing edge? Do you use one of those liquids to preserve the surface after it's properly prepared?
Jim

[Charles Bjorgen]

Fun post, Normand. I've actually thought about sharpening our plastic scrapers which, here in Minnesota, are frequently needed. They do indeed get dull. I'm reminded of the scene in the movie Fargo in which William Macy chopped at his windshield with a plastic scraper.

Some years ago I posted on another forum my experience in sharpening a potato peeler right around Thanksgiving. Replies were a mixed bag of tongue in cheek to you gotta be kidding.

[Glen Canaday]

Haha.

I am also in Minnesota. I don't need to watch Fargo to KNOW.

I never thought of sharpening my ice scraper. Perhaps that accounts for the chatter and horrible tearout?

[Normand Leblanc]

I see that it's way too technical for most.

Clarifications:
- Never scrape against the grain.
- When the ice is very thick you can sharpen your scraper like you would do for a scrub plane blade.
- Don't argue with me...I'm the more experienced here.

I'm one hour drive north of Montreal. I'm on a lake and this morning it's frozen.

[John K Jordan]

I "sharpen" them with sandpaper glued to a piece of wood. I don't worry about a razor edge since it will be blunted quickly.

We usually only get snow in TN several times a year and it is gone in a day or so. We still need scrapers. I grew up in Pennsylvania and I almost think the windshield scraping, while not as frequent, is harder here. Often the need is to remove a solid layer of clear ice from frozen rain. Even an puny 1/8" of hard ice is a challenge, best met by running a hot defroster for a while to loosen then scraping off the sheets. Some people use the deicer in the pressurized can but I dislike the chemicals.

JKJ

[Bruce Haugen]

Haha.

I am also in Minnesota. I don't need to watch Fargo to KNOW.

I never thought of sharpening my ice scraper. Perhaps that accounts for the chatter and horrible tearout?

Minnesota here, too. I think I have the last brass bladed ice scraper in existence. Nothing beats them.

[Patrick Chase]

I "sharpen" them with sandpaper glued to a piece of wood. I don't worry about a razor edge since it will be blunted quickly.

Try the same thing with a drywall screen some time. The holes in the screen clear the plexiglass dust really well. Body/Pansar files are also good for rapid material removal.

[george wilson]

You can scratch up your windshield if you sharpen the scraper with SAND PAPER!! That will embed pieces of abrasive into the edge of the scraper,and will ruin your glass. DON'T DO IT!! If you wish to FILE the scraper sharp,make sure the file is clean,with no metal particles still in the teeth.

I'm sure that many of you have noticed that you've scratched the windshield because there was just a film of dirt or dried mud on it from cars passing you in the other direction the last time you drove. You come out in the morning to scrape the windshield clear,and the dirty film scratches your glass.

I recommend just running the engine and letting the car warm up,and defrost the windshield with warm air from inside the car. Heavy snow can then be more gently removed once the bottom layer of ice and dirt have been melted.

[Patrick Chase]

You can scratch up your windshield if you sharpen the scraper with SAND PAPER!! That will embed pieces of abrasive into the edge of the scraper,and will ruin your glass. DON'T DO IT!! If you wish to FILE the scraper sharp,make sure the file is clean,with no metal particles still in the teeth.

George, like me you can't possibly know anything about snow. Normand said so in post #1 :-)

Seriously, you're right: Sandpaper (and drywall screens) are useful for bulk removal, but you have to follow them with something else to get rid of any embedded particles as you say.

[John K Jordan]

You can scratch up your windshield if you sharpen the scraper with SAND PAPER!! That will embed pieces of abrasive into the edge of the scraper,and will ruin your glass. DON'T DO IT!! If you wish to FILE the scraper sharp,make sure the file is clean,with no metal particles still in the teeth.

Maybe better sandpaper is in order. I sand the top side with coarse paper enough to take off the worst chips, not the flat edge that runs against the window. Good to rinse the edge too. Hasn't scratched here in decades of this.

Now a plastic aircraft window needs special care. We de-iced with a water hose.

[Pat Barry]

George, like me you can't possibly know anything about snow. Normand said so in post #1 :-)

Seriously, you're right: Sandpaper (and drywall screens) are useful for bulk removal, but you have to follow them with something else to get rid of any embedded particles as you say.

Baloney - if you follow the bevel UP method I have espoused, there is no issue with sandpaper contaminating the surface. This should be obvious to all, even Californians.

[steven c newman]

Wonder iF anyone has the L-N or Veritas versions?

[Ryan Mooney]

If you are a committed bevel down scraper I encourage you to try the bevel up approach this morning. I think you will immediately sense the improved control, not to mention the ergonomic benefits. With the bevel up approach you get a significant improvement in *reach* as compared to the bevel down method. As an added bonus the clearance angle has far more *adjustability*.

Balderdash. If you go bevel up you start having to mess around adjusting the chip breaker and there goes all the time savings

[Patrick Chase]

Wonder iF anyone has the L-N or Veritas versions?

I exclusively use Veritable PP-69 (tm)(r) powdered plastic blades for their small grain size and superior life. I only hone them using blocks of Natural Concrete quarried from original sections of the 1950s Interstate Highway system. You have to be on the lookout for stray hunks for rebar though.

(for the record, yes I'm aware that sintered plastics have been around for a long long time. I'm an ex-ski-racer after all :-)

[Jim Koepke]

Baloney - if you follow the bevel UP method I have espoused, there is no issue with sandpaper contaminating the surface. This should be obvious to all, even Californians.

It is amazing how many are under the false impression of it not snowing in California. They often forget the geography of the state. One bit most people, even some Californians do not realize is Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles, California. Some parts of California are as far north as the northern reaches of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

California has the highest peak, Mt Whitney, and lowest valley, death valley, in the continental United States.

And even many Californians know if you get a particle of SiC embedded in the edge of your window scraper you may end up with a scratched windshield.

jtk