I’ve been practicing my letter and relief carving and attempting to improve my skills. A few folks have asked me to explain how I sharpen my chisels.
Here is how I sharpen my flat bevel letter carving chisels.
I’ve been practicing my relief carving.
First I put the flat double bevel chisel in my Lee Valley sharpening jig at 15 degrees. I also mark the bevel with black permanent marker.
I hone the chisel on 100 grit sand paper.
The black permanate marker tells me that I’m on the mark.
Once the bevel reaches all the way to the edge, I check to see if the I’ve effected the edge.
I check for the burr on the back side.
Then I take the chisel to the 1000 stones.
I polish the bevel on the 1000, 4000 and 8000 grit stones.
Here’s how my bevel looks at this point. Then I repeat the process on the other side.
Then I carve.
Chisel roll was made by Jason Thigpen at Texas Heritage Woodworks. Letter carving chisel is Auriou.
Nice post! Was this the technique they taught at the class you took in Waco?
No, I figured out the jig part myself. My friend Ananda is really the one that taught how to sharpen my carving chisels.
The carving,however, I did learn in class 🙂