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Fine Woodworking Magazine
Sharpening Curved Scrapers
Joint, hone, and burnish, much as you would for a flat scraper
by Philip C. Lowe
A curved scraper is sharpened in much the same way as a flat scraper is. It takes a couple of tools to handle the concave areas: a round or a half-round mill file and a cone-shaped slip stone. The convex edges are filed and honed with a flat file and stone, just like a straight-edged scraper. Use the same draw-filing technique, with the file square to the edge but skewed at an angle to the direction of the stroke. The trick is to make your stroke follow the curve. To hone the convex areas, hold the scraper upright and drag it across the stone while rolling it to follow the curve.
To joint the concave areas, I use a round or half-round file, but the draw-filing technique is the same. Then I use the cone-shaped slip stone to hone these areas. The goal is the same with all scrapers: to get a square edge, free of file marks, before burnishing.
3. Create a fine burr. Concave, convex or straight, burnishing is the same. Use a standard burnishing rod and follow the scraper profile. Just as with straight edges, start the burnishing rod level, then tilt it a bit for each subsequent stroke, ending at about 10° off level.
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There's nothing different about the burnishing of a curved scraper. A standard round or triangular burnishing rod will follow almost any contour, and the idea of turning over the edge to create a fine burr is the same. Start the burnisher nearly level for the first stroke, then bring it down to about 10° off level in subsequent strokes. If the burr, or hook, gets bent over too far, it can be straightened with the point of the burnisher.
Philip C. Lowe makes and restores period furniture in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Photos: Asa Christiana
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