How to Sharpen a Carving Knife

A carving knife is one of the basic wood carving tools that both professionals and beginners use. Not only does it allow you to carve simple wood objects such as a spoon but you can also use it to add complex details to your wood carving project. 

However, you need to keep the blade of your carving knife in good condition so that it can carve wood effectively. If your knife blade is dull, you need to spend a few minutes getting it sharp. Read each step of the following method carefully to sharpen your woodcarving knife effectively.

How to Sharpen a Carving Knife

The best way to start carving wood is with a knife. It is simple and safe. However, knives get dull very quickly when carving wood.

There are many ways to sharpen a carving knife but I have selected the most efficient one. It requires readily available and affordable supplies that you can buy from your local wood carving supply store.

Step 1: Choose Correct Sharpening Tool

The first step is to choose the right sharpening tool – I recommend you use a sharpening stone. Your best bet is to use a whetstone with at least 3,000 grit size. This fine-grained stone will allow you to sharpen your carving knife quickly and effectively.

There are other ways to sharpen wood carving tools, but I recommend a whetstone for knifes.

Sharpening Stone for Chipped Knife

If the blade of your carving knife is damaged or chipped, I recommend you use a coarser sharpening stone. That’s because you’ll need to remove the chipped material from the knife before sharpening it. 

If you use 3,000-grit whetstone, you’ll need to move your chipped knife on it for a very long time to remove damaged metal. So, instead of wasting time, consider using an 800 to 1,000 grit size sharpening stone.

It’ll allow you to remove chipped or damaged metal from the blade quickly. After that, you can move to the fine-grit whetstone to sharpen the knife. 

Step 2: Prepare Sharpening Area

After choosing the correct sharpening stone, you’ll need to prepare the area where you’ll be sharpening your carving knife. Make sure that you choose a well-lit room so that you can easily inspect your knife’s blade while sharpening.

After that, you’ll need to place your sharpening stone on a flat and stable surface. I also recommend you add some water to a bowl and place it near your sharpening stone. It’ll allow you to wet the sharpening surface easily whenever needed during the process.

Step 3: Start Sharpening

Once everything is ready, you can start the sharpening process. It’s important to use the right technique and follow the sharpening rules to sharpen the knife correctly. The following are some sharpening techniques and rules that you can use.

There are several sharpening techniques including the following and you should learn them to sharpen your knife properly.

Circular Technique

Moving your carving knife on a sharpening tool in a circular motion is one of the most common sharpening techniques. You can follow the steps listed below to use it.

1. Pour a few drops of water on your sharpening tool.
2. Hold your carving knife’s handle in your dominant hand and place its blade on the sharpening stone.
3. Place your other hand’s thumb on the knife’s spine and fingers on the blade.
4. Now adjust the angle of the blade to the stone as it should be between 15 to 25 degrees.
5. Start sharpening your knife by making circular motions. Make sure that you apply even pressure on the entire blade.

Pull In Technique

You’ll need to hold the knife and place its edge on the sharpening tool using the same technique mentioned above. However, the blade of the carving knife should be facing away from you. After that, pull the knife at a 15 to 25 degrees angle towards you to sharpen it.

Push Away Technique

This technique also uses the same steps but you’ll need to make sure that the knife’s blade is facing you. Then you can push the carving knife away at the same angle discussed above to sharpen it.

Sharpening Rules to Follow

The following is the list of rules that you must follow while sharpening your carving knife on a sharpening stone.

• Keep in mind that you’ll need to add some water to your sharpening stone as a lubricant while sharpening. Not only does it ensure a smooth sharpening action but it also keeps the blade safe by dissipating heat produced by friction.
• Ideally, you should place the blade of your carving knife on the sharpening stone at a 15 to 25 degrees angle. If the sharpening angle is too large, it’ll increase the risk of damaging the blade. Whereas a small sharpening angle will not sharpen the knife properly.
• Always sharpen the blade of your carving knife from both sides to achieve the most optimal results.
• If you’re using the push-away or pull-in technique, the frequency of your sharpening strokes on both sides of the blade should be the same. For example, if you make 10 push-away strokes for one side of the knife’s blade, the number of push-away strokes for the other side should also be 10.
• If the blade of your carving knife is flat, you need to make sure that the entire surface of the blade is touching the sharpening stone.
• The entire curved blade of a carving knife can’t touch the stone’s surface. So, you’ll need to rotate the blade on the stone’s surface while sharpening. It’ll allow you to sharpen the entire blade effectively.

Step 4: Strop Blade

If you’ve used a low grit sharpening stone or sandpaper, you’ll need to perform the stropping step. That’s because the coarser sharpening tools create a burr in the knife’s blade and it’s important to remove it. Otherwise, your knife won’t be able to carve smoothly.

The best way to perform stropping is to use a leather stope fixed on a wooden block. You can use the same sharpening techniques discussed above to strop your carving knife.

How to Sharpen a Hook Knife

The process of sharpening a hook knife is a little different from sharpening a regular carving knife. That’s because it comes with a blade that looks like a hook.

You can use the same techniques and rules discussed above to sharpen the bottom side of a hook knife. Don’t forget to rotate the curved blade while sharpening.

To sharpen its top side, you’ll need to use sandpaper and a thin stick. Follow the steps listed below to sharpen your hook knife.

1. Add a few drops of glue on the backside of 1,200-grit sandpaper.
2. Wrap sandpaper around the stick and let the glue dry.
3. Pour two to three drops of water on sandpaper.
4. Hold your hook knife in your non-dominant hand and place it on a flat surface.
5. Grab the stick with sandpaper in your dominant hand and place it on the inner blade of the hook knife.
6. Press down the stick gently and it’ll adjust the sharpening angle automatically for both sides of the inner blade.
7. Now start moving the stick downward and forward at the same time to sharpen the inner blade. You’ll also need to move the hook knife’s handle up and down to sharpen the part of the blade near the top point.

FAQs

Final Words

Sharpening a carving knife can be a frustrating experience if you don’t follow the right approach. It’s important to use the right sharpening tools and techniques while sharpening.

If you would prefer not to use a knife, you can carve wood with an angle grinder as well. And, if you’re adventurous, you can use a chainsaw to carve wood. You can even use a dremel for basic wood carving, which doesn’t need any sharpening!

We hope this guide will help you understand the right way to sharpen your carving knife effectively.