Sharpening north west gouges & Chisels

[OrangeFive]

Good evening - don’t shoot me down!! So I’m going to start having a go at carving. I’ve bought a few carving chisels and gouges. I’m looking for somewhere/someone to professionally sharpen them all. Ideally in the north west (Cheshire) but if it’s a business where they can be posted/collected/courier elsewhere then that’s fine. I just don’t have the time to stand and grind/sharpen/hone 20 plus chisels/gouges. I’d like them all done professionally then I can just keep them sharp from there.
Any recommendations? I have used Priestner saws who are good but he doesn’t do gouges.
Thanks in advance

 

[johnnyb]

I'd want £10-20 a gouge to get them ready for carving. It something that you need to do anyway. Factory style sharpening is rarely right simply sharp.

 

[Jacob]

Good evening - don’t shoot me down!! So I’m going to start having a go at carving. I’ve bought a few carving chisels and gouges. I’m looking for somewhere/someone to professionally sharpen them all. Ideally in the north west (Cheshire) but if it’s a business where they can be posted/collected/courier elsewhere then that’s fine. I just don’t have the time to stand and grind/sharpen/hone 20 plus chisels/gouges. I’d like them all done professionally then I can just keep them sharp from there.
Any recommendations? I have used Priestner saws who are good but he doesn’t do gouges.
Thanks in advance

I think you need to get into sharpening. It's something you have to do very frequently, a little and often, especially if doing a lot of work like carving. It's part of the process, like sharpening pencils if you draw a lot.

 

[peterw3035]

Ashley Iles will sharpen their own chisels & gouges for £3.60 each, other brands and full restoration cost more. There's plenty of info on line and it's not difficult, it's a skill worth learning as you will always need to sharpen. Great thing is there's no right or wrong way to do it.

 

[squib]

May I suggest that if you don't have time to sharpen your chisels you pay someone to do the carving ...... sorry but you need to sharpen your own chisels.

 

[OrangeFive]

It’s not that I don’t have time to sharpen them as such it’s just that I’ve got 20 plus that need ‘grinding’ back to the correct angles and then sharpening. Keeping on top of them once they are all in the ball park will be fine

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Great thing is there's no right or wrong way to do it.

I can't seem to get the popcorn gif to load.

 

[johnnyb]

Ashley illes and many other makers use grinders then rubber wheels then buffing mops. They can be OK but are often not just so. I find it more satisfactory to sharpen by grinder then by hand using oilstones. Slow but right. The closer you can get the shape from the grinder the quicker the job. First thing I do is straighten the end at 90 to the wheel then black marker the flat. Vee tools are definitely the hardest to shape essentially being 2 chisels and a tiny gouge!

 

[Jacob]

It’s not that I don’t have time to sharpen them as such it’s just that I’ve got 20 plus that need ‘grinding’ back to the correct angles and then sharpening. Keeping on top of them once they are all in the ball park will be fine

Just do them one at a time as you need them. You aren't likely to need all twenty in a hurry. As a beginner you'd be better off just using a few basic chisels and getting your hand in first.
You need to practice sharpening as well as carving - see it as an opportunity!.

 

[johnnyb]

Ps I'm the same with carving tools I tend to do each one as I need it. Even during a carving only the last strokes need to use razor tools. Some degree of blunt is fine for 95%. Which suggests sharpening is a constant companion. I also find Ashley illes tools to be poor and thick. The thinner more delicate the tools the easier to sharpen. The other makers are better I much prefer stubai or Henry Taylor if I have to get new. But old is gold herring bros being amazingly delicate ( almost like scalpels) that delicacy makes carving a delight.

 

[--Tom--]

Ashley Iles posted previously seems best bet, but will work out fairly pricey if they all need regrind rather than just sharpen
They do other makes just charge more for the set up time

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Even during a carving only the last strokes need to use razor tools. Some degree of blunt is fine for 95%.

Some degree of blunt is fine for 95%? So 95% of the time you're happy to work harder than you need to?

 

[johnnyb]

A chisel/ gouge is constantly getting blunter than when it come of the strop. Work wood or sharpen? To get the finish without sanding means freshly sharp tools buffing can make that edge far to rounded and steep so a bit of grinding even but mostly on the oilstone. The rubber wheels are actually OK but not much faster than washita/ translucent arks.

 

[whereistheceilidh]

Sorrry to be contentious on a sharpening thread ........but Cheshire is not in the North West.
I also agree with Jacob et al. Learn to sharpen your own chisels...a few at a time. It will help you understand how they work best.

 

[Hornbeam]

.but Cheshire is not in the North West.

It has been for the last40+ years I have lived there. Its just not on the edge of civilisation

 

[Phil Pascoe]

London and the S.E. are civilisation apparently. Be thankful we're not on the edge of it.

 

[niall Y]

Anything above Watford Gap Motorway Services, is the North.

 

[OrangeFive]

Sorrry to be contentious on a sharpening thread ........but Cheshire is not in the North West.
I also agree with Jacob et al. Learn to sharpen your own chisels...a few at a time. It will help you understand how they work best.

Well we get North West tonight so we must be! I know how to sharpen so it’s not a case of learning it’s just a case of time but I’ll crack on one at a time.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Anything above Watford Gap Motorway Services, is the North.

Anywhere above Bodmin is the North.

 

[picsnbits]

Lancaster is on the northern border of the Midlands.