May I suggest, when you use your Arkansas (or any hard surface to sharpen) stone, draw your knife down but not off of the stone. Listen for that little "flick" sound as you leave the stone. That takes the sharp edge off you knife. It rolls the edge over and ruins your keen edge. Stopping short works well. Also do your front edge first then the back, after you have made a burr. The back strokes remove the burr to make averyo nice edge. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for this helpful tutorial. I am new to lino, but in my career as a graphic designer, I was very comfortable with an Xacto knife. I guess for this reason, the replaceable blade system of Speedball appeals to me. It is what I am currently using. I have two questions, though: is it practical to sharpen Speedball blades (I was never happy with the results of trying to sharpen an Xacto blade)? and, is there a significant difference in performance between a hand sharpened blade and a Speedball blade, out of the package? Of course, trying to balance performance and cost. Again, thank you so much.
You're very welcome, and thanks so much for your comment. I haven't used the Speedball brand, so I can't comment on how those blades come out of the box. I mainly use WM Mitchell, most of the blades of which I have had for nearly 30 years and are still going strong! I find that during a large carving, the blade will start to become dull, and being able to give the blade a quick sharpen during the carving process with just the SlipStrop method gets the blade back to optimal performance again. I do a lot of teaching, and whenever I buy new blades locally for my workshop particpants I find that they nearly always are not as sharp as they could be (hence why I stick with my 30 year old WM Mitchell blades!), and so for this reason I find that a hand sharpened blade is much more preferable to one straight out of the box. As I say, I haven't tried the Speedball brand, so it could be that they perform really well straight out of the box. One for me to try if I can find them locally! Enjoy your carving!
super useful! a question: how much pressure are you using on the strop? I haven't found guidance on that. it looks like not too much, but a bit firm. Also, I have a palm tool where the outer edges seem to have gotten warped -- thye are pointy on the edges and the center (it's a u tool) dips down. is that something i can fix, or is the tool done for?
Hi! Thanks, glad you liked the video. Yes, for pressure, that's just right. If you go too firm, you can damage the strop, so you'll be able to judge it from that if you see any damage occuring. I wouldn't have expected a palm tool to change in such a way, I think I would get in touch with the manufacturer and see if they have any suggestions on that. Happy carving!
Thanks for your question, Jen. Of the two, I use the SlipStrop every time I carve. I'll use it before I carve, and if it's a particularly large carving, I may use it once or twice during the carving process to keep my blades honed. I only use the whetstones if a burr appears on the blade, and if you're using good quality blades, that happens very rarely. So, the SlipStrop is definitely the one product I wouldn't be without.
Hello. Might I ask if you could share is the name of the manufacturer of Arkansas whetstone in your video? Where can one purchase these? I searched the name on line but could not find it? Your instructions in your video are very clear.
Hi Andrew. Unfortunately the whetstones I have don't have a manufacturer's name on the package, but I bought them here: www.greatart.co.uk/gouge-whetstone.html If you're not in the UK then searching for 'gouge whetstone' may help you to find them locally. Hope that helps!
Hi! Yes, the Arkansas stones I have have a profile for both U and V blades, so worth searching for that type. My stones don't have a brand name on them, unfortunately, but I bought them from greartart.co.uk
You're very welcome! There's a bit of leather on the bottom of the SlipStrop and the grey stuff is the metal particles from the blade embedding themselves in to the gold compound that I've applied to the leather. SlipStrop say you can keep using that bit of compound until it goes black, and then just re-apply the compound to the leather at that point.
Hi! If you're in the UK you can buy it from Jackson's: www.jacksonsart.com/flexcut-slipstrop-carving-tool-sharpening-kit If not, just search 'FlexCut Slip Strop' and you should be given a choice of suppliers local to you.
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May I suggest, when you use your Arkansas (or any hard surface to sharpen) stone, draw your knife down but not off of the stone. Listen for that little "flick" sound as you leave the stone. That takes the sharp edge off you knife. It rolls the edge over and ruins your keen edge. Stopping short works well. Also do your front edge first then the back, after you have made a burr. The back strokes remove the burr to make averyo nice edge. I hope this helps.
Thank you for taking the time to leave that excellent advice, I shall use it next time I sharpen my blades. Really appreciate it 👍
Great tip on the strop! Never seen those before! Thanks!
You're very welcome - happy carving!
Very well explained. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Really helpful, thank you for making! :) Thought the process would be a lot harder and very glad it isn't haha
You're very welcome - really glad it helped!
Excellent! Thank you!
You're very welcome!
super tool! thx for the video
You're welcome!
Thank you so much for this helpful tutorial. I am new to lino, but in my career as a graphic designer, I was very comfortable with an Xacto knife. I guess for this reason, the replaceable blade system of Speedball appeals to me. It is what I am currently using. I have two questions, though: is it practical to sharpen Speedball blades (I was never happy with the results of trying to sharpen an Xacto blade)? and, is there a significant difference in performance between a hand sharpened blade and a Speedball blade, out of the package? Of course, trying to balance performance and cost. Again, thank you so much.
You're very welcome, and thanks so much for your comment. I haven't used the Speedball brand, so I can't comment on how those blades come out of the box. I mainly use WM Mitchell, most of the blades of which I have had for nearly 30 years and are still going strong! I find that during a large carving, the blade will start to become dull, and being able to give the blade a quick sharpen during the carving process with just the SlipStrop method gets the blade back to optimal performance again.
I do a lot of teaching, and whenever I buy new blades locally for my workshop particpants I find that they nearly always are not as sharp as they could be (hence why I stick with my 30 year old WM Mitchell blades!), and so for this reason I find that a hand sharpened blade is much more preferable to one straight out of the box. As I say, I haven't tried the Speedball brand, so it could be that they perform really well straight out of the box. One for me to try if I can find them locally!
Enjoy your carving!
super useful! a question: how much pressure are you using on the strop? I haven't found guidance on that. it looks like not too much, but a bit firm. Also, I have a palm tool where the outer edges seem to have gotten warped -- thye are pointy on the edges and the center (it's a u tool) dips down. is that something i can fix, or is the tool done for?
Hi! Thanks, glad you liked the video. Yes, for pressure, that's just right. If you go too firm, you can damage the strop, so you'll be able to judge it from that if you see any damage occuring.
I wouldn't have expected a palm tool to change in such a way, I think I would get in touch with the manufacturer and see if they have any suggestions on that.
Happy carving!
Can you tell us if we need to buy *both* products, and if so, why? How are they different? Thanks
Thanks for your question, Jen. Of the two, I use the SlipStrop every time I carve. I'll use it before I carve, and if it's a particularly large carving, I may use it once or twice during the carving process to keep my blades honed.
I only use the whetstones if a burr appears on the blade, and if you're using good quality blades, that happens very rarely.
So, the SlipStrop is definitely the one product I wouldn't be without.
thanks for the demonstration! I have a question, do you use the Arkansas stone always without oil?
You're welcome! Personally I have always used the stone without oil.
Hello. Might I ask if you could share is the name of the manufacturer of Arkansas whetstone in your video? Where can one purchase these? I searched the name on line but could not find it? Your instructions in your video are very clear.
Hi Andrew. Unfortunately the whetstones I have don't have a manufacturer's name on the package, but I bought them here: www.greatart.co.uk/gouge-whetstone.html If you're not in the UK then searching for 'gouge whetstone' may help you to find them locally. Hope that helps!
Thanks!
The manufacturer name is Kirschen
Hi I could not find the shaped Arkansas stones you use do you have the name of a supplier?thanks
Hi, I only have information for a UK supplier, they are available here:
www.greatart.co.uk/gouge-whetstone.html
Also in the UK, intaglioprintmaker.com/shop/whetstone-sets-japan
Excellent - thanks for the link!
Are those Arkansas stones good for the U gouges too?
Hi! Yes, the Arkansas stones I have have a profile for both U and V blades, so worth searching for that type. My stones don't have a brand name on them, unfortunately, but I bought them from greartart.co.uk
Thank you very much! What's the gray stuff on the bottom on the slipstrop?
You're very welcome! There's a bit of leather on the bottom of the SlipStrop and the grey stuff is the metal particles from the blade embedding themselves in to the gold compound that I've applied to the leather. SlipStrop say you can keep using that bit of compound until it goes black, and then just re-apply the compound to the leather at that point.
Hi, could you please tell me where i can buy it?
Hi! If you're in the UK you can buy it from Jackson's:
www.jacksonsart.com/flexcut-slipstrop-carving-tool-sharpening-kit
If not, just search 'FlexCut Slip Strop' and you should be given a choice of suppliers local to you.
Hi, I didn't catch the name of the second lot of stones you used here... arcan soil? Arcan stone? Something like that? Thank you xxx
Hiya! They are Arkansas stones! Cheers :)
Cool. Would those be able to sharpen my Power Grip Japanese hand gouges ?
Hi, FlexCut themselves should be able to give you more information on this, their web address is: www.flexcut.com/home/product/pw12-flexcut-slipstrop