Unless I drop a carving tool on the floor or otherwise damage the edge, the only thing I do to them is strop them. I do use a power strop just because it's faster.
And I can absolutely tell the difference between a dull tool and one that's just been stropped so something's happening that's improving the edge.
Mike
[The difference is not only subjective but also objective. When a carving tool (say a gouge) begins to dull, you get lines in your cut. They're small but easily visible. They're due to small defects in the working edge. Any time I see such lines, I take my tool to the strop and sharpen it.
I'd be very surprised if other carvers didn't report the same thing.]
[Added note: I don't strop my woodworking chisels. I find that those work just fine off the stone. But I don't use a stone on my carving chisels because power stropping is faster and when you're carving you want to spend time carving and not sharpening.]
Last edited by Mike Henderson; 01-22-2010 at 11:48 PM.
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