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potters tools : sharpening...

updated tue 9 may 00

 

Philip Poburka on mon 8 may 00

Some quick tips on sharpening steel tools:

Some of the steel tools are of a tempered steel - meaning that the steel has
been hardened,then 'tempered'(ie some of the hardness reduced to favour
resilliance, toughness etc vs being brittle/glass hard ), and I am told that
this tempering is sometimes inconsistant...occasioning 'hard spots' and
frustrations with the hand file when trying to sharpen them.
If having acess to a belt sander, or bench grinder, you may wish to consider
this: Use a small sponge full of water, and hold it on the tool end, so as
to keep a dribble of water on the area being sharpened - it is easy to do -
and will keep the steel sufficiently cool as to preserve such temper as is
there.
If the tool is permitted to get hot, or to turn blue at the edge being
ground, the temper will have been 'drawn' - ie reduced - leaving you with a
softer steel, quicker dulling, and all around sorrier tool than you began
with.
Also, try and keep the bevel (the area which having been ground , tapers to
the actaul cutting edge ) flat, a 'rounded' bevel - as it were -will not
behave well in trimming.

Sincerely,

Philip Poburka
Las Vegas, Nevada

Philip Poburka on mon 8 may 00

Some quick tips on sharpening steel tools:

Some of the steel tools are of a tempered steel - meaning that the steel has
been hardened,then 'tempered'(ie some of the hardness reduced to favour
resilliance, toughness etc vs being brittle/glass hard ), and I am told that
this tempering is sometimes inconsistant...occasioning 'hard spots' and
frustrations with the hand file when trying to sharpen them.
If having acess to a belt sander, or bench grinder, you may wish to consider
this: Use a small sponge full of water, and hold it on the tool end, so as
to keep a dribble of water on the area being sharpened - it is easy to do -
and will keep the steel sufficiently cool as to preserve such temper as is
there.
If the tool is permitted to get hot, or to turn blue at the edge being
ground, the temper will have been 'drawn' - ie reduced - leaving you with a
softer steel, quicker dulling, and all around sorrier tool than you began
with.
Also, try and keep the bevel (the area which having been ground , tapers to
the actaul cutting edge ) flat, a 'rounded' bevel - as it were -will not
behave well in trimming.

Sincerely,

Philip Poburka
Las Vegas, Nevada