How to Sharpen a Jack Knife or Wood Carving Knife
Before you start your next woodworking project, see how to properly sharpen your jack knife or wood carving knife. For more how-to home improvement videos, visit http://www.ronhazelton.com.
Transcript:
You know, whether you're making a wooden carving or you simply want to cut a piece of string, having a good sharp edge on your pocket knife will simply make the tool work better and who better to show us how to sharpen a pocket knife than world class bird carver, Rich Smoker.
Rich, what's your technique?
I'll be glad to show you Ron. I use a tristone method with coarse, medium and fine stones. First thing I do is I take the honing oil or you can use cooking oil at home for the same thing and this is what we do.
Beginning with the core stone, Rich strokes the blade several times in each direction. He adds oil every time he changes the stone.
Rich,how much pressure are you using here?
I'm pushing down on this as if to cut a piece of the stone off with each swipe of the knife.
It's quite a bit of pressure.
Definitely. It's the only way you can work the steel down.
Now, how do you know you're holding the blade at the right angle?
What I do is I match the bevel like the pocket knife and on my push stroke, I'm angling with my thumb and on the pull stroke, I'm using my index finger to match the bevel.
Rich finishes off the process with a leather strop, two pieces of leather glued to a piece of wood. This removes the burs and puts a mirror polish on the knife edge.
There you go.
Well that ought to make a big difference, Rich.
I hope!
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
Thanks for watching!
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