hAND sHARPENING tOOLS

BENCH STONES

A set of whetstones or bench stones is the core of most sharpening systems. These are available in different sizes, shapes, and grits. The materials are either natural stone or synthetic abrasives in a hard binder. Many stones are used with light oil or water. The liquid cleans the surfaces, floating away the swarf (metal particles) so it won’t clog the abrasives. On sharpening machines, liquids also serve as a coolant, keeping the tool steel from overheating and losing some of its hardness.

Sharpening stones come in a variety of shapes and sizes to conform to the cutting edges of different tools. They also come in a variety of grits, from 100# to 1200#, so you can hone keener and keener edges, as needed.

FILES

Many woodworking tools, especially hand saws and drill bits, are designed to be sharpened with files. Although made of steel, files are hardened to a higher degree than wood cutting tools. Consequently, they will cut away the worn surfaces of a cutting edge.

Files come in a variety of sizes and shapes, some of them specially made for sharpening. Sharpening files tend to be single-cut with a fine tooth pattern. They may also have safe edges or faces – surfaces without teeth. An auger file, for example has one end with safe faces and the other with safe edges. This can be absolutely indispensible when you want to sharpen a cutting surface without changing the shape of those surfaces adjacent to it.

Several types of files are useful for sharpening. Three-square files are made to fit saw teeth, while round files will fit hook teeth and chain saw teeth. You must have an auger file to sharpen drill bits. Needle files are handy for sharpening cutting edges with intricate shapes, and mill files are handy for flat, straight cutting edges.

STROPS

Strops are hard, flat, porous surfaces that can be loaded with ultrafine abrasives to polish cutting edges to a fine point. These abrasives include:

	Silicon-carbide powders such as valve-grinding compound.
	Natural buffing compounds like emery, Tripoli, or jeweler’s rouge.
	Synthetic polishing compounds like chromium oxide.

Traditionally, strops are made form smooth leather and backed with wood or plywood. However, you can use any surface that is slightly porous. Parchment and paper both make excellent strops provided they are applied to stiff, flat material.

The strop shown was made by applying a smooth piece of pig leather to a plywood board with contact adhesive. When "loading" the leather with abrasives, you only need apply a very small amount -- sort of like coloring lightly with a crayon.

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