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Wood carving tools come in a sharpened form but they become dull over time with constant use. Using dull tools requires more pressure to cut which can damage your workpiece. Applying more pressure also increases the risk that your tool will slip and lead to an unwanted injury.
If you’re wood carving frequently, you need to keep your tools as sharp as possible to achieve the best results. That’s why I have come up with this guide that contains a step-by-step method to sharpen wood carving tools.
If you’re interested in learning more about carving, read my guide on wood carving for beginners.
Contents
Types of Sharpening Tools
The following table explains the most common tools that you can use to sharpen your wood carving tools.
| Tool Type | Material and Purpose |
| Sharpening Stones | Sharpening stones are also called whetstones and they’re most commonly made of aluminum oxide. You can use them to sharpen carving knives, chisels, gouges, or any other tool with a straight blade. |
| Sandpapers | It’s a sheet of paper with abrasive material on one face. Sandpapers come in different grit sizes and you use them to sharpen blades with rounded edges. |
| Leather Strops | It’s a flexible strip of leather, usually fixed onto a woodblock, and it’s commonly used for honing, stropping, and polishing. |
We don’t cover how to sharpen a chainsaw blade in this guide. While some people carve wood with chainsaws, that is a different style and not addressed here.
You can also use an angle grinder to carve wood.
Different Techniques to Sharpen Wood Carving Tools
Here’s a list of the techniques that you can use to sharpen/polish your wood carving tools using a sharpening stone or leather strop.
Circular Technique
The following steps will help you sharpen your carving tool using the circular technique.
- Grab the handle of your tool in your dominant hand.
- Place the fingers of your other hand on the blade (and the thumb on the spine in case of a knife) of the tool.
- Now place the edge of the carving tool’s blade on the sharpening tool at a 20-degree angle.
- Start making circular motions by applying even pressure until you get the desired sharpness.
This technique is commonly used when you wood carves with knives.
Push-Away Technique
Use the same steps mentioned above to place the tool on your sharpening tool. But you need to make sure that the sharp edge of the tool is facing towards you.
Then push the tool away from you to sharpen it. Repeat the same movement until you get the desired sharpness.
Pull-in Technique
The pull-in technique also uses the same steps. The only difference is that you need to make sure that the sharp edge of the tool is facing away from you. Then you’ll need to pull the tool towards you to sharpen it.
How to Sharpen Wood Carving Tools
Use the following steps to sharpen your wood carving tools:
Step 1: Sharpening Blades
You’ll need to sharpen the blade of your carving tool if it’s damaged or dulled. I recommend you use a sharpening stone or sandpaper, fixed onto a woodblock, for this purpose.
Sharpening Knife
The best way to sharpen a wood carving knife is to use a sharpening stone. Most people use a whetstone for sharpening and stropping their wood carving knives because it offers both coarse and fine grit sides.
If you have a chipped knife, I recommend you use a coarser whetstone with an 800 to 1,000 grit size. However, if your knife is not damaged and only needs to be sharpened, consider going with a whetstone with a 3,000 (or over) grit size.
Pour a drop or two of water on the whetstone and use any of the sharpening techniques discussed above to sharpen your knife. Make sure that you sharpen your knife’s blade from both sides to achieve the best results.
Sharpening Chisels
The wood carving chisel is usually beveled at a 20- to 30-degree angle at both ends. The process of sharpening this carving tool is pretty similar to sharpening a knife. You can use any sharpening stone with 800 to 1200 grit size to sharpen your wood carving chisels.
While sharpening chisels, I recommend you use the push-away or pull-in technique to achieve the best results. That’s because it’s difficult to maintain the exact 20-degree angle of the chisel with the stone during the circular motion. Not only will it alter the bevel angle but it can also damage the cutting edge of the tool.
Sharpening Gouges
A gouge is an invaluable wood carving tool that looks similar to a chisel but has a curved blade. You can use the same sharpening stone that you used for the chisel to sharpen the outside edge of the gouge using the push-away or pull-in technique.
But you’ll need to incorporate wrist movement to rock it back and forth while moving. It’ll allow you to sharpen the curved blade of the gouge evenly.
The most effective way to sharpen the inside cutting edge of a gouge is to use sandpaper. You’ll need to grab sandpaper in your dominant hand and gouge’s handle in the other.
Then place the gouge on a flat and stable surface and start sliding the abrasive side of sandpaper gently on the inside cutting edge of the gouge. Repeat this motion as many times as needed to achieve the desired sharpness.
Make sure that you don’t apply too much pressure to avoid altering the gouge shape. You can also use a leather strop for the inside edge of your gouge. However, you’ll need to use the strop that comes with a similar groove as the shape and angle of your gouge.
Step 2: Stropping the Blade
The process of sharpening creates a burr on the cutting edge of your carving tools. You’ll also see a fine shiny line along the cutting edge. Stropping is the best way to remove that burr and shiny line to make the cutting edge of the tool smoother. You’ll need to use a leather strop for this purpose.
Utilize the same techniques that you used to sharpen the wood carving tools on a sharpening stone. Your aim is to get rid of the fine shiny line that the sharpening process creates along the cutting edge of the tool.
Step 3: Polishing or Buffing
The polishing or buffing improves the appearance of the cutting edge of your carving tool and it is done using buffing polishing wheels. This process provides your tools with a shiny and luster finish that you see on a brand-new wood carving tool.
Step 4: Honing
Honing is a crucial step as it allows you to maintain your wood carving tools and keep them sharp for a long period of time. You can use a sharpening stone or sandpaper to hone your tools when they become a little bit dull but are still usable.
Many people tend to mistake honing for sharpening but both are different processes. Sharpening is the process of removing material from the blade of your tool to make a new sharp edge. Whereas, honing allows you to realign the cutting edge to keep it sharp.
Now you’re ready to
How Often Should Wood Carving Tools be Sharpened?
You should sharpen your wood carving tools at least once a week if you use them regularly. In addition, you’ll need to hone your tools after every 30 minutes to two hours while using them to achieve the best wood carving results.
What Should Be the Angle of Carving Tool with the Sharpening Stone?
any other sharpening tool at a 20-degree angle. It allows you to achieve the best sharpening results without damaging the cutting edge of the sharpening tool
Final Words
Keeping your wood carving tools in tip-top condition is the most efficient way to achieve the best carving results. It also allows you to focus on improving your carving skills instead of worrying about the sharpness of the tools. I hope this guide will help you understand the right way to sharpen your wood carving tools effectively.
