I recently edge-glued some hard, highly figured Georgia cherry for an armoire. Typically, on a project like this, I’d scrape the wood surface smooth with a card scraper. But the hard, figured wood quickly dulled the scraper, so I was sharpening frequently.

Earlier, when gluing the panels, I’d used a 2-1/2-in.-wide carbide paint scraper (made by Bahco) to remove the excess glue. I wondered if this scraper might serve as a finish scraper.

I put in a new blade and experimented. With the nib of the scraper’s handle resting on the wood surface (to lower the scraping angle) and with very light pressure applied to the knob, I produced beautiful, thin shavings. I could skew the cutting edge easily if needed. The tool enabled me to quickly rough-scrape the panels and then begin finish-sanding with P220-grit paper. After several hours of use, the Bahco carbide blade started to dull. I flipped the reversible blade and went at it again. When the second side finally dulled, I restored the edge by lapping the back for 30 seconds or so on a diamond stone.

Drawing: Jim Richey

Drawing: Jim Richey

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