Announcement: YouTube video: Hand Sharpening Gravers by Sam

Sam · Nov 16, 2012

Quite often we see posts from new members who are just starting out and are on a very limited budget and maybe cannot afford a sharpening fixture. Or maybe you're one who just enjoys the satisfaction of doing something the old school way.

This is a variation of the method taught to me by Lynton McKenzie in 1982. While Lynton sharpened on a black Arkansas stone, I use a small diamond hone for the face and small ceramic stone for the heels, both of which are small enough to sharpen under my microscope.

The discussion of hand sharpening has often become volatile in the past, with some folks proclaiming its superiority to sharpening with a fixture. This video isn't meant to prove or disprove anything. I'm just putting it out there for those who want to try it or those starting out who are on a tight budget.

[video=youtube;dGg_EwRToLU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGg_EwRToLU&feature=plcp[/video]

Andrew Biggs · Nov 16, 2012

Excellent video thanks Sam.

Cheers
Andrew

Marrinan · Nov 16, 2012

Good Job and a useful video for those who don't have hones-many will thank you I am sure Fred

dimovengraving · Nov 16, 2012

Thank You Sam, for me this video is very useful :happyvise:

mrthe · Nov 16, 2012

Great video! Thank you Sam!

Fred Bowen · Nov 16, 2012

I used this method for years after taking Lynton's class in '89. He used two hardened steel rods of different diameters for angle guides and I think the smaller was for lift angle, but don't recall what the larger was used for.

John P. Anderson · Nov 16, 2012

Thanks for the video. When I started I had a mail box full of medical bills and I had to bootstrap the engraving hobby with homemade gravers and a couple of old stones.

I'm fine with hand sharpening in copper and silver but will upgrade to better equipment if I ever get back to steel.

I have a small block of wood cut at a 45 degree angle I set to the edge of my stones to help get a consistent angle for the face.

leadfoot · Nov 16, 2012

Sam thought i'd posted a thank you , must have got lost ,( bit like me with computers.) So thank-you thank-you . Watching that 5min video has saved me hours of trial an error. Makes sense now.So impressed that so many Master craftsmen on here , Take the time to help newbies like myself , when you must have a 1000 an 1 more important things to be getting on with, anyway Thanks again ___ steve.

mdengraver · Nov 16, 2012

That was great and I bet once mastered goes much more quickly than putting the graver in the sharpening fixture with the power hone or sharpening stone.

Sam · Nov 16, 2012

Yes, it can be quite fast once you get used to it. I admit I'm pretty rusty as I no longer sharpen this way.

g.rohrbaugh · Nov 16, 2012

Enjoyed watching your video Sam! That is going to be very helpful for guys that don't have a sharping fixture. Thanks for posting!
Gary

monk · Nov 16, 2012

newbies, take heed; this is more valuable than you may now think. slight modifications to this technique can make for more consistent angles. adding a small stop on the graver and measuring the protrusion length, you can get pretty good results. as always, many thanks to sam for taking the time to do this.

Quillen · Nov 17, 2012

Thanks sam, a video of great help.

Mike Cirelli · Nov 17, 2012

Great help for someone that doesn't have a power hone. I was always terrible at hand sharpening. I think I've had a power hone since the 80's. I think they only had the one grit diamond wheel at that time.

Dave London · Nov 17, 2012

OK, I know that I am getting old and not confuser savvy , where is the link. Thanks Dave

Titian · Nov 24, 2012

Thank you very much Sam.

:thumbsup:

mitch · Nov 24, 2012

great video, Sam. i would add one brief caveat: Please note that Sam uses the pre-ground flat undersides of the graver to establish his heel angles. This trick will only work properly if you are using a graver with the 120Â°, 110Â°, 105Â°, etc., (or an unmodified 90Â°, of course), width angle ground parallel along the length of (or most of) the graver.

For those of you who grind your own with a secondary heel to create the new face angle width (as shown on the right side of page 2: http://www.grstools.com/PDF/LIT-181_DualAngleSharp.pdf), the technique in the video won't work. Your heel will be cocked off at another angle. (hey, maybe it will make a new useful point geometry and will be the latest craze! if anybody tries it, let us know how it works. actually, i suspect it would pretty much just turn your graver back into a 90Â° with a weird intermediate secondary heel. you could even patent it.

)

Sam · Nov 27, 2012

Yup Mitch. In the video I state that it only works with a pre-ground 120, 105, etc. I should have stated a full length pre-ground graver as opposed to the shorter reshaping grinds applied by a sharpening fixture, because they would be difficult or impossible to sharpen with this method.

Big-Un · Nov 27, 2012

Takes me back many years....took me a long time to get the geometry right as no local jewelry engraver would talk to me, something about "you're going to take my customers away from me." Thanks for the memories, I think!

Announcement: YouTube video: Hand Sharpening Gravers by Sam

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