Sharpening an axe for carving and shaping
There is no one size fits all for carving any carving tool because the shape of the actual cut you want, the reflected result from the cutting edge and bevel, relies on different issues, that’s why carvers often have what appear to be the same tools with different shapes on or behind the cutting edges to their carving tools. It’s the same with axes. When you do find an axe you like you will most likely use it and adapt it to different tasks. Then again, there are tasks that axe will be difficult to use on.
I clamped my axe in the vise at a presentable angle so I could file into or toward the body of steel. I used fine 8″ and 10″ mill files, but one or the other will work fine. To remove the file marks I suggest either using the sharpening plates or small diamond files. I then polish the bevels on my strop to further refine the cutting edge. The end result is a cutting edge sharp enough to sharpen my pencils with.
Paul, it looks from the pic that you are pushing the file towards the edge? Wouldn’t it be safer to file from the back of the edge.
It’s not unsafe at all. I am not taking a full forward stroke but a circular stroke into the body and then off to the side in an arc.
Hey, Paul! First, thanks so much for all of the amazing info on your site and YouTube. Can you tell me what angles you use for your carving axes–mainly for spoon and bowl carving? Also, do you go with a flat bevel or slightly convex? Thanks in advance for any info.
Convex works best so I go from 15 degrees and then drop off into the main body of the axe.
Didn’t see your reply until now — over a year later. Thank you very much for the info!
I enjoy all you offer, thank you.
I am very curious about what makes the shape of the Bahco better for carving after you reshaped it. I have been searching for a while now trying to find an explanation of how different shapes change the use of the hatchet. I have found a lot of carving hatchets and they seem to all have long curved blades, but I have not found a discussion anywhere on why this works better for carving. I did find a very helpful explanation of how a different “profile” can impact the way the hatchet or axe splits the wood, and how to hollow the cheeks below the cutting edge, but that was not about the curve of the edge. I bought the Bahco above based on your post, and I like it very much, but I’d like to know more about the shape of the edge, and how it changes the hatchet, before I do anything drastic to it. Thanks as always, I love your approach and tutelage in the *craft* of wood working. I feel like hand tool woodworking has taught me the fundamentals and the real versatile knowledge of wood working, where my years of machine wood-working was just a series of “tricks.” If I didn’t know the right trick, or have exactly the right tool or jig, the task was impossible. Just the opposite, with some basic hand tool knowledge I can figure out how to do tasks several different ways, even if I haven’t been exposed to them before. Anyway, I had been meaning to say thanks for some time now, so thank you very much. I am also introducing my 8 year old son to woodworking, and he loves the coping saw, the spokeshave, and the 4 in one rasp/file. Thanks again.