While teaching a class at GRS a couple of months ago, I tried a prototype of a new sharpening fixture designed to easily make parallel heel 120° gravers. It works extremely well, and makes incredibly accurate gravers quickly and easily and without dialing-in angles as in other fixtures.
The EasyGraver has nothing to adjust. Simply mount a graver that's in a QC (QuickChange) holder onto the front of the fixture and tighten the lock screw. You will note that the little tab of metal that fits into the notch in the QC holder is tapered to eliminate rotational play, so expect to see a bit more space under the QC holder than you'll see when mounted on a handpiece. If it's a new graver, slide the fixture onto the toolpost using the first set of holes on the fixture and grind on a 260 grit diamond lap, and EasyGraver will produce two perfect grinds on the bottom of your graver, reshaping it from 90° to 120°. This is a one-time operation as it reshapes a long portion of the bottom of the graver.
To sharpen the face, use the middle hole of the fixture. I sharpen the faces of my gravers on a 600 grit diamond lap. EasyGraver's face angle is nearly 50° which makes it especially suited for both high speed steel and carbide gravers, making a stronger point than my usual 45° face. 50° is usually is usually a bit better for carbide gravers as they benefit from a slightly steeper face angle.
For heeling gravers I have always avoided diamond laps and sharpened on ceramic only, as diamond can be too aggressive, resulting in heels that are much larger than needed. However, for parallel heels (especially in carbide) I find that my ceramic-only approach is much too slow, as the parallel heel (or nearly parallel heel as in EasyGraver) has more surface area to grind. So when using EasyGraver, a couple of quick swipes across my 1200 grit lap (without power) gets the heels to the proper size (in my case about 1/4mm), followed by a quick polishing on a ceramic lap. The result is a 50° face and 15° heel graver sharpened very quickly and with deadly accuracy.
I should add that until now I've not been a user of parallel heel gravers and have been quite comfortable with gravers sharpened the conventional way. After testing and engraving with gravers made with EasyGraver, I'm now just as comfy with EasyGraver's parallel heel as I am with my standard heel gravers. It cuts really well, producing sparkling flared cuts when I need them and is capable of extremely fine shading. I can't ask for more than that.
Since EasyGraver has no adjustments, you are locked in to one graver geometry. You can't easily change the face angle and there's no way to change to something other than 120°. Fortunately, GRS is making EasySharp in 105° and 120° models, so you do have that option. What it lacks in flexibility it makes up for in speed and accuracy. While I like the flexibility of my trusty Dual Angle fixture, I rarely sharpen my 120° gravers other than with a 45° face and 15° heel, so EasyGraver is a perfect choice. If you're like me and your go-to graver is 120° or 105°, then you will love this fixture. If you're a beginner and confused with dialing-in the correct angles on an adjustable fixture, then EasyGraver might be the ideal setup for you.
EasyGraver retails for $118 and does not include the tool post. Since it's just now getting in to production, there are only a few in stock at this time.
The EasyGraver has nothing to adjust. Simply mount a graver that's in a QC (QuickChange) holder onto the front of the fixture and tighten the lock screw. You will note that the little tab of metal that fits into the notch in the QC holder is tapered to eliminate rotational play, so expect to see a bit more space under the QC holder than you'll see when mounted on a handpiece. If it's a new graver, slide the fixture onto the toolpost using the first set of holes on the fixture and grind on a 260 grit diamond lap, and EasyGraver will produce two perfect grinds on the bottom of your graver, reshaping it from 90° to 120°. This is a one-time operation as it reshapes a long portion of the bottom of the graver.
To sharpen the face, use the middle hole of the fixture. I sharpen the faces of my gravers on a 600 grit diamond lap. EasyGraver's face angle is nearly 50° which makes it especially suited for both high speed steel and carbide gravers, making a stronger point than my usual 45° face. 50° is usually is usually a bit better for carbide gravers as they benefit from a slightly steeper face angle.
For heeling gravers I have always avoided diamond laps and sharpened on ceramic only, as diamond can be too aggressive, resulting in heels that are much larger than needed. However, for parallel heels (especially in carbide) I find that my ceramic-only approach is much too slow, as the parallel heel (or nearly parallel heel as in EasyGraver) has more surface area to grind. So when using EasyGraver, a couple of quick swipes across my 1200 grit lap (without power) gets the heels to the proper size (in my case about 1/4mm), followed by a quick polishing on a ceramic lap. The result is a 50° face and 15° heel graver sharpened very quickly and with deadly accuracy.
I should add that until now I've not been a user of parallel heel gravers and have been quite comfortable with gravers sharpened the conventional way. After testing and engraving with gravers made with EasyGraver, I'm now just as comfy with EasyGraver's parallel heel as I am with my standard heel gravers. It cuts really well, producing sparkling flared cuts when I need them and is capable of extremely fine shading. I can't ask for more than that.
Since EasyGraver has no adjustments, you are locked in to one graver geometry. You can't easily change the face angle and there's no way to change to something other than 120°. Fortunately, GRS is making EasySharp in 105° and 120° models, so you do have that option. What it lacks in flexibility it makes up for in speed and accuracy. While I like the flexibility of my trusty Dual Angle fixture, I rarely sharpen my 120° gravers other than with a 45° face and 15° heel, so EasyGraver is a perfect choice. If you're like me and your go-to graver is 120° or 105°, then you will love this fixture. If you're a beginner and confused with dialing-in the correct angles on an adjustable fixture, then EasyGraver might be the ideal setup for you.
EasyGraver retails for $118 and does not include the tool post. Since it's just now getting in to production, there are only a few in stock at this time.