Sharpening jigs ...meh.. who needs them ?

[Sam]

I hand sharpened for years and I'm still pretty good at it. I have never experienced an advantage to hand sharpening for either handpiece engraving, hand pushing, or hammer & chisel engraving. I have nothing against hand sharpening and even made a short video on how to do it, but for my work I love the crisp geometry, accuracy, and precision produced by a sharpening jig. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Bama]

When I first started engraving I hand sharpened. I spent much more time trying to get a good point and my cutting was not nearly as good, very frustrating. I spent more time sharpening than I did engraving. Since I bought my dual angle sharpening fixture I am able to get consistant, good cutting points in very little time. The initial grinding of the point takes a little time but touch up after that takes very minimal time. Now I spend much more time cutting than I do sharpening and engraving is now much more fun.

The iniatial cost of the sharpening setup is a little expensive but if you are going to be an engraver the cost is quickly recovered in time saved.

My hat is off to you guys that can sharpen by hand and get good cutting points.

 

[LVVP]

When I started engraving I was hand sharpened too and spent a lot of time to do it, BTW with no consistent results !!!.
Today I spend less than 1 min. to resharping graver. It is a very fast with predictable result.
I am not to rich man to spend a lot of time for sharpening of my gravers. I bought from GRS one time anf forget about sharpening problem forever.

 

[Brian Marshall]

Once upon a time, I spent pretty much ALL of Monday mornings hand sharpening 3 or 4 (or even 6) of everything I'd use during the week.

Freehand, no fixtures.

Liners, flats, "V"s, wrigglers and flower centers...

And back in those days, I still imbibed a bit on a weekend.

Sometimes the sharpness would vary according to the sharpness of my mind?



These days my mind is more likely muddled from the years.

Every day, not just Mondays.

So, yeah, I can appreciate being able to get the exact same point by following routine and using fixtures - every single time, whether I am entirely "present" or not...


Brian

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I have watched Alexander Siderov sharpen his gravers with his magic yellow wheel. It's amazing to watch and he is incredibly fast. From a blank to a usable graver only takes a minute or so. When just sharpening it takes seconds. He can shape damn near anything and he has some very clever shapes for his stone setting. In fact he is also a very talented engraver as well.

So taking the bull by the horns I gave it a go……..and it was not as easy as it looks. In fact you can destroy a perfectly good graver, even when you know what the angles should be, in the blink of an eye. I discovered this the hard way after several attempts. Practice, and a lot of it, is what is called for likes anything else.

So it was back to my Dual Angle and EasyGraver fixtures which are bullet proof. Perfect every time I use them.

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about when it comes to sharpening. By hand or using a jig, gravers break and need sharpening or polishing depending on what you are doing. Some gravers break easier than others and it can depend a lot on the metal you are cutting into and the technique you are using. Some days gravers just break quicker than other days for no apparent reason………….Sharpening is just part of what we do. So do it the easiest and quickest way for you. Neither method is right or wrong. It just is what it is.


Cheers
Andrew

 

[Brian Marshall]

Regardless of the graver material, how you sharpened it, or the material you are engraving...

I have found that if you hold your mouth in the right position (expression) you are far more likely to succeed.

Whatever the endeavor.


B.


I do sharpen my drill bits with the yeller wheels...

 

[Brian Marshall]

Actually to give credit where it is due... "Holding yer mouth right" originally came from Victor Vasquez...


B.

 

[Willem Parel]

Actually to give credit where it is due... "Holding yer mouth right" originally came from Victor Vasquez...


B.

Is it just that Brian or do you have to do things with your tongue as well.... stick it out a bit or so???.....

 

[Brian Marshall]

Well, that can get complicated William...



A lot depends on the customs of your land, politics (or lack thereof), mebee even religion and whether or not there's laws against it?



Lookin' like an Onigawara whilst sharpenin', engravin', or even just takin' a whiz - WILL probably get you arrested or require long term residence in a rubber room...



B.

 

[warren smith]

well Andrew you are correct that there are no right or wrong methods to achieve the desired results but I do think that this method deserves to be more openly discussed by senior engravers and those with this type of experience.. Looking at the cost of equipment these days just scares the bejesus out of me. If I was just starting up nowadays I would most likely be dropping $5-$6000 just to start up .. or at least I would have been lead to believe that I should in order to play with the big boys. Having my experience now I realize what is possible with a little simple know how and determination. Long ago my engraving block broke so I made a homemade turntable .. When I started engraving there were no sharpening hones available so I made my little discs after watching a stone polisher. All of my gravers come from the discard pile of stone setters (carbides) ... I just looked up the price of a power hone and in my neighbourhood shop it's $1000 !... For What?!.. I achieve the same result for approximately $1 (if that)...And Sams concern about "hand "sharpening and preferring sharp crisp facets are unfounded because that is precisely what is achieved with this method .. as long as you use a steel hone .. rubber wheels will always round the bottom... so .. I just think we should be encouraging simple , cost effective methods more because expensive equipment just scares people away ... engraving is in the hands and head ....

 

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

Warren,

That kind of talk will get you an flogging:no:

But i bear the marks from the same.

michael:beatup:

 

[Brian Marshall]

The client does NOT care how you did the job.

Whether you lit the black candles and chanted first or not...



All that matters in the end is that you did the job at the quality level requested, on time and for the price agreed upon.



Brian

 

[Sam]

well Andrew you are correct that there are no right or wrong methods to achieve the desired results but I do think that this method deserves to be more openly discussed by senior engravers and those with this type of experience.. Looking at the cost of equipment these days just scares the bejesus out of me. If I was just starting up nowadays I would most likely be dropping $5-$6000 just to start up .. or at least I would have been lead to believe that I should in order to play with the big boys. Having my experience now I realize what is possible with a little simple know how and determination. Long ago my engraving block broke so I made a homemade turntable .. When I started engraving there were no sharpening hones available so I made my little discs after watching a stone polisher. All of my gravers come from the discard pile of stone setters (carbides) ... I just looked up the price of a power hone and in my neighbourhood shop it's $1000 !... For What?!.. I achieve the same result for approximately $1 (if that)...And Sams concern about "hand "sharpening and preferring sharp crisp facets are unfounded because that is precisely what is achieved with this method .. as long as you use a steel hone .. rubber wheels will always round the bottom... so .. I just think we should be encouraging simple , cost effective methods more because expensive equipment just scares people away ... engraving is in the hands and head ....

The very first sticky in the Tips Archive contains recommendations for beginner start-up kits from the least expensive hand tools to more expensive power systems.

As someone who has taught both hammer & chisel and hand-push engraving methods as well as power assisted engraving, I can tell you that my students learn exponentially faster with a handpiece and sharpening system. The learning curve may or may not be important to some people and they can choose accordingly.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with old school methods. The bottom line is to produce quality work, and it doesn't matter how the chips get on the floor.

 

[warren smith]

not quite sure why I would be flogged ?

 

[Beladran]

sam ruined me when he let me use the GRS 120degree fixture.. its so easy a caveman can do it! lol

 

[warren smith]

I checked out the beginners kits mentioned above and I don't see this method mentioned. A diamond hone is not old school.

 

[LVVP]

rubberized

 

[Sam]

I checked out the beginners kits mentioned above and I don't see this method mentioned. A diamond hone is not old school.

Warren...my friend...open thine eyes There's a video link just above the kits where I show you how to hand sharpen without a fixture or power hone.

 

[Southtexas]

well...
I have a total of about $70 invested in my power hone, that includes 240, 600 and 1200 grit disks. Another $10 or so in my dual angle fixture. So from my experience I have to say, Warren... Your method of sharpening, meh...
We each need to find our own way. but...
Sorry, gotta call it as I see it
Cliff

 

[warren smith]

Sam .... perhaps its been a while since you watched the video but you make no mention of the method I described and I'll remind you the original point I made was about a low cost ROTARY diamond sharpening hone .

Cliff has $70 invested in a power hone when the lowest priced one starts at $449 ....seems you found a less expensive method as well...
Cliff , I have not been critical of any method .... we all do things differently .. Why you are being critical of my method ..well .. I can't speak to that ...

I am not critical of any method . To each his own ..but hey, why not save some money ? . I only came here to inform others as to how one can achieve the exact same results as the more costly methods for about a dollar.