Sharpening a carving gouge...

I wouldn’t say I lay in bed worrying about it. And I’m not a carver anyway. Yet I admit that I own at least half a dozen carving gouges that are deeply neglected and haven’t been sharpened properly for years. I do on occasion when inspired bring them out from their hiding place and attempt to sharpen them up. Results are usually quite average so they return to their cubby until I build up enough courage to have another go.

But seriously. I am a little ashamed of my carving gouges, I know I am not alone. I can sharpen my bevel chisels well, for that I have a set of jigs and plenty of experience. When it comes to carving tools however, I’m out of my comfort zone. There are plenty of jigs I could buy to assist me with my gouges, yet it seems to me that most of the pro carvers I know all sharpen their tools by hand. One such carver is Mary May. So to ease my pain Mary has shared her personal step by step process of sharpening a curved gouge by hand using only stones and a leather strop. Enjoy!

Sharpening a Curved Gouge by Mary May

STEP 1 - Using a Sharpening Stone

1.     Position your sharpening stone parallel to the edge of the bench on a non-slip pad like that used inside kitchen cabinets. I start with a 1200 grit diamond stone to remove metal more quickly and finish with an 8000 grit diamond stone to create a polished, mirror surface. Any type of stone with the equivalent grit can be used.

2.     Put recommended lubricant on the stone. I use water for my diamond stones.

3.     Position the curved gouge on the stone with the bevel (back of the gouge) flat against the stone. The recommended bevel angle is 22 to 23 degrees, as this is the ideal angle to comfortably hold the gouge against the wood.

4.     Hold onto the handle of the gouge with your dominant hand and lock that same elbow to your side. With your other hand, place two fingers about an inch back from the blade, and apply moderate pressure to the metal shank.

5.     To ensure the bevel is flat against the stone, raise and lower the handle like a lever while maintaining pressure on the shank until you feel a slight click as the flat of the bevel meets the stone.

6.     Elbow locked and bevel flat, gently sway your body side to side in front of the stone while twisting your wrist to rotate the gouge so the full edge of the gouge rolls along the surface of the stone.

TIP: To make sure that the gouge is placed on the stone at the correct angle, colour the entire surface of the bevel with a dark, waterproof marker. After moving the gouge across the stone several times, look at the bevel to confirm that the marker is being removed along the flat surface of the bevel.If the marker is removed just at the tip of the gouge or just at the heel of the bevel, adjust the angle.

If the gouge is rotated too much or not enough, the edge of the blade will eventually become misshapen. When not rotated enough, the centre of the blade will dip toward the handle and the corners will remain high. If the gouge is rotated too much, the corners of the gouge will be rounded. It can take some time for these mistakes to become evident.

7.     Continue rotating the gouge across the stone until a tiny wire edge or burr is formed along the inside edge of the blade. This is a tiny fold of metal that can barely be seen. If you carefully run your fingernail down the inside curve, you can feel it catch. Don’t go the other way! No bleeding! Remember?

8.     Change to the finest sharpening stone and repeat steps 2 – 7 to create a mirror surface on the bevel. I use the 8000 grit diamond stone.

STEP 2 - Using Slip Stones

Slip stones are small stones with at least one rounded side used to remove the wire edge that was formed during the first stage of sharpening. They are shaped to fit the inside curve of gouges and v-chisels and are often made of either Arkansas stones or ceramic.

1.     With the rounded side of a slip stone against the inside of the gouge, move this up and down along the blade, making sure that this comes in contact with the entire inside edge. Do this until the wire edge is pushed to the backside of the gouge.

Inside Bevel Option: The slip stone can be positioned at a slight angle to create a small micro-bevel on the inside of the gouge. I mostly sharpen mine without this inside bevel, but a micro-bevel can be useful for particular cuts. NOTE: This micro-bevel is on the INSIDE ONLY of the gouge, not the back or bevel side.

2.     Place the gouge back on the 8000 grit sharpening stone and move it along the stone in the same movement as when sharpening. Do this long enough to push the wire edge back to the inside of the gouge.

3.     Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until the wire edge gets so small that it falls off the end of the gouge. Depending on how large the wire edge is, you may have to repeat these steps 10 to 15 times.

STEP 3 - Using Strops

As a final touch, gouges are pulled backwards along the surface of a strop to create a final polished edge. I also run my gouges along a strop to occasionally touch up the edges as I am working on a carving project.

Stropping bevel side of gouge

Flat strops can be made from a piece of leather, an old leather belt, thin cardboard or wood. Apply a polishing compound to the surface. There are many of these compounds available, but any buffing, honing, or polishing compound will work (even tooth paste works, believe it or not – and it smells minty too).

To strop the backside (bevel) of the gouge, pull the gouge backwards several times along the surface of the strop, making sure the bevel is flat against the strop.

Rotate it slightly on each pass so the

entire edge comes in contact with the strop.

Stropping inside of gouge

Stropping the inside of the gouge can be accomplished by making curved pieces of wood, providing a secure, solid surface to press the inside of the gouge against. These can be made at home by cutting dowels of different radiuses dowels in half or shaping lengths of wood to the desired curves. I have mine glued to a board with leather glued to the curved surfaces and polishing compound applied to the surface of the leather. Bare wood can also be used with polishing compound but it tends to be more difficult for the entire edge of the blade to come in contact with the strop. The layer of leather gives just enough cushion to press into awkward shaped gouges.

To strop the inside of the gouge, pull the gouge backwards along the curved strop that fits best, keeping the gouge as flat as possible. Stropping the inside at an angle will dull the blade.

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Mary May is a professional woodcarver with over 30 years’ experience who has studied the European style of traditional woodcarving with a variety of master carvers. Mary specialises in the classical techniques focusing on decorative furniture and architectural details. Her driving passion is to create beautiful woodcarvings and to keep the art of traditional woodcarving alive and well through teaching others the craft.

Mary is coming to Australia for a two-week teaching tour this August supported by Australian carver Olivia O’Connor. This is a genuine opportunity to deep dive into the art of woodcarving with two masters of the craft. Visit the Mary May’s Australian Tour page to learn

more.

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Master Wood Carver Mary May