Sharpening a Card Scraper | Common Woodworking

Sharpening

Draw the file along the 2 long edges by pushing the file away from you. Small steel spirals should appear from the edges as a result of the filing.

Place each long edge against the diamond sharpening plate, keeping it vertically aligned. Push and pull it 10 times on each plate, making your way through all the 3 grades from coarse to finer.

Next, to remove any unwanted burr, place the large face against the super-fine plate and rub back and forth. Make sure your fingers are evenly spread, covering as much of the surface adjacent to the newly formed edges as possible. This will evenly distribute the pressure. Repeat this to all four corner surfaces.

Use the burnisher to develop the edge, which further consolidates the steel. This strengthens the inner steel and reinforces the thin edge, so it is less prone to crumble under the pressures of scraping. You can do this in the vise or by holding it freehand, but make sure you have something to protect your inner palm and the sides of your hand from the scraper blade and the burnisher when doing this.

Lubricate the burnisher with oil, lay the card flat on the surface and then run the burnisher along the face 30 times, keeping it flat. This is referred to as ‘flat face consolidation’.

Next, consolidate the long edge. With the scraper standing tall on the workbench, use a burnisher square on and press hard while moving the burnisher up and down the long edge. This is known as ‘square edge consolidation’. For the final few strokes, increase the angle by a few degrees, so it is no longer square on. This will gradually turn the corner, giving the scraper a turned edge. Repeat this to each of the other three corners.

Sharpening

Further Reading