{"id":3153,"date":"2022-07-14T08:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T05:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/?p=3153"},"modified":"2022-09-07T12:00:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T09:00:10","slug":"sharpen-your-hook-knife-scary-sharp-in-simple-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/sharpen-your-hook-knife-scary-sharp-in-simple-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharpen Your Hook Knife Scary Sharp in Simple Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Maintaining tools is a significant aspect of any wood worker’s duties. This is specifically true for wood carving knives and bladed tools. While it is easy enough to sharpen flat edges blades, you might get confused about how to do so on a curved one like a hook knife. However, if you ask any professional woodworker, they will tell you it is easier to sharpen a hook knife than a normal one. In this article, we will guide you on how you can do it as well and sharpen your hook knife scary sharp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To sharpen your hook knife scary sharp, you need to use sandpaper attached to a dowel. Since there is a curve between the points of contact on a hook knife, it takes minimum effort. The inner curve does not require any sharpening whatsoever. The two points of contact are very thin and using sandpaper attached to a dowel allows you to sharpen both of them at the same time. Start with lower grit sandpaper and take it up to super-fine grits to reach desired sharpness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without maintenance of tools, you will always get subpar results when using them for your crafts. This is why it is essential to maintain them every day if possible. Some people use leather for stropping right before using the hook knife for carving. People also clean their bladed tools after use to avoid the blade from getting dull during storage. Doing this prolongs the time before you need to sharpen the hook knife again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step by Step Guide on How to Sharpen Your Hook Knife<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For this process you will need various grits of sandpaper, starting from 150 up to 800 or higher depending on how sharp you want your hook knife to be. Along with the sandpaper you will need equal amounts of wooden dowels on which to attach the sandpaper. You will need an adhesive as well to stick the sandpaper to the dowels and lastly some leather for stropping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1 – Sizing the Sandpapers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, cut the sandpaper a bit bigger than the diameter of the wooden dowels to which they need to be attached. The width of the sandpaper needs to be half the length of the dowel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2 – Attaching the Sandpapers to the Dowels<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Apply some glue to the back of the sandpaper and the dowel itself. Once you have applied a sufficient amount of glue to both, wrap the sandpaper around the dowel on one end. If you don’t have glue, you can also use staplers for the job. Once you have wrapped the sandpaper around the dowel, wait for the adhesive to cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3 – Sharpening the Hook Knife<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that numerous sandpaper dowels are prepared, it is time to sharpen your hook knife. There are only two points of contact on the blade of this tool. You just need to rotate your sandpaper dowels on the length of these. By placing the sandpaper in the middle of the curve so it crosses both the blades, just rotate it while moving the sandpaper dowel horizontally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you feel a slight burr forming on the back of the edge, you can move on to the next grit sandpaper. Repeat the same process with this grit as well until the burr is finer. Keep repeating this till you reach your desired sharpness on the edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to start from a coarser grit to a super-fine, i.e. 800-1000 grits of sandpaper. It is a lengthy process that might take several minutes for you to accomplish even though it is very easy. However, the good part is that there aren’t a lot of blades for you to sharpen, the two points of contact are extremely thin. The curved shape of the blade ensures that you only have to sharpen the edges only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Maintaining your hook knife and storing it away properly will ensure it does not require frequent sharpening since it can be a lengthy process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process works best for sharpening the inner edge of the hook knife. Depending on the shape of the tool, you might need to sharpen the outer bevel of the knife as well. To do that you can use a handheld whetstone or sharpening stone. Use push motions that you would use for sharpening the inner edge of the bevel will sharpen it greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4 – Stropping the Hook Knife<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you have reached the desired sharpness on your blade, it is time to remove the burr that forms behind the blade where you sharpen. This burr is basically excess material that is removed from the edge during the sharpening process. Using leather, strop the backside of the hook knife. Use a push motion to do this, as using a dragging motion will tear the leather as the burr gets caught in it. Use firm and smooth push motions a few times till you don’t feel a burr on the underside of the hook knife blade edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternate ways to Sharpen Hook Knife<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Sanding Block<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People also use a slim sanding block to sharpen their hook knife as well. As we said, since the knife has two points of contact at the end of the curve, you can use a block for the purpose too, and not just a dowel. The dowel allows for easier push motion since it can rotate at the edges of the blade utilising the whole length of the sandpaper. Although with a sanding block, it is limited to only corners of the block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is impossible to use this technique if the hook knife has a sharp curve since a sanding block corner cannot fit in between. In such cases the method we explained step by step will be much better for sharpening your hook knife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Dremel Tools<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Dremel rotary tool has been a really helpful piece of equipment when it comes to power carving wood. With a multitude of bits at your disposal, you can do so much more than power carve wood with it. It also comes with sanding drum bits that can be used to sharpen a hook knife as well. You can actually modify existing sanding drum bits so that they can accommodate more than one grit of sandpaper on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since you can design the Dremel bit to be thin it can reach into sharp turns of a hook knife. Also since it rotates itself, it will use the entirety of the sandpaper without making any waste. You also get ceramic stone bits that can be used for the purpose of sharpening as well. These stone bits are available in multiple grits, but they might not be available outside of a set, so you will have to purchase a whole set of bits for the Dremel if you want to sharpen your hook knife properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Kit for Sharpening Hook Knife<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finding an all-in-one kit for sharpening a hook knife is extremely difficult. However, for the right tool, there are kits out there that can sharpen and also strop the blade. The BeaverCraft Paddle Strop for Hook Knives and Gouges LS5P1<\/a> is not only great for sharpening the inner edge but also the outer bevels. It comes included with a polishing compound that can be used on the leather to strop the bevels and remove the burr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shape of this kit can limit the tools it can sharpen but for certain tools, it will do the job great. The curves on the corners are great for stropping and sharpening the inner edges while the curves on the surface of the paddle do a fine job sharpening the bevels and removing the burr once you are done with the sharpening process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make Your Hook Knife Edge Scary Sharp<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the process we mentioned in our step-to-step guide will definitely make your hook knife scary sharp, you can do a few more things that can take it up another notch. The first thing is to sharpen the outer bevel using a sharpening stone or a whetstone. When you do that you can hone that bevel a bit and improve the sharpness on the cutting edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the inner edge, you should start off using 1\/2 inch dowels that have sandpaper attached to them, and using rotating movement run it along the edge of the blade. If you aren’t sure whether you are sharpening the edge at all, then you can cover the edge with a marker. The area that you have to sharpen will be covered with a marker and when you sand it properly, the marker stains will have been removed. This will show that the whole edge is being sharpened equally and properly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can do that with every grit of sandpaper you are using on the hook knife to make it scary sharp. This will help indicate that it is time to move on to the next sandpaper grit as well. From coarse to super fine grit, up to 1000 or 1500 depending on how sharp you want your hook knife to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing the burr on the hook knife requires quite a lot of stropping since the hook knife is made of hardened steel. This is because brands want their hook knife to be durable without the fear of it bending too much under duress. Using the suede side of the leather and some polishing compound removes the burr with relative ease and some patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a great tutorial which shows how a professional woodworker sharpens a hook knife:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OsT9Zhzco4k&t=272s<\/a>