Any tips on what to use to sharpen things such as shovels, etal. In the "bad old days," my dad would force me to sit down with a file and sharpen the household shovels, axes, etc. on an irregular basis. After becoming an adult, in the last, oh, many years, I can probably count the times I sharpened a shovel on one hand. Axes and mauls, maybe it would take two hands, but still, I know I am not keeping tools as sharp as I should. I REALLY need to sharpen a couple of shovels, as well as a new turf edger I bought which for "safety reasons" does not come sharp (REALLY -- gee, maybe they should start selling dull chainsaw chains for the same reason). File, shovel, vise -- those three words make me run the opposite direction. Any new world way to accomplish this task?
Shovels do not need to be razor sharp. If you don't want to use a hand file, any power tools with metal grinding wheel would work. I don't think I have ever sharpened shovels, but for cutting tools I use an angle grinder.
Ah, back in the day with the good old US Forest Service, shovels did have to be pretty darn sharp. Lethal weapon sharp, actually.But, maybe, as with any paramilitary operation, they just liked to mess with us. I was just thinking about buying a bench grinder and calling it good, but have no place to put a bench grinder. But, could probably get a Harbor Freight angle grinder for not too many centavos. Good idea, thanks!
It's my kitchen knives that the pandemic has me realizing really need some love. I've watched a couple videos that make it look approachable with the right equipment, but kind of tedious. I remember taking a kitchen knife once to a business in town with a sign that said "knives sharpened" and I thought "great, that's just what I need!", and I hand the guy the knife and he switches on a big old shop grinder and goes BRZZZZZZCH freehand and hands me the ruined knife back saying there you go sir. Needless to say I haven't been back to him, but I do need to do something.
I DO know you do not sharpen knives like that! I have sharpening stones for my knives, as well as honing steel. But, I don't want to run a filthy shovel on my sharpening stones!
Oh, if you are talking about kitchen knife sharpening tools, then there are nothing better than good old whetstone of various grids. I like old style soaking whetstone that produces a lot of slurry, but newer splash and go ceramic stones are also very nice.
The sharper the edge, the worse the result could be when you hit that stone or piece of metal the builder left. Try the edger as is using your foot and your weight if there is resistance.
Grinding wheels/discs are also available in ceramic flapper models for handheld angle grinders. These things are amazing. Get one with a higher grit and it would probably blow your mind how well it will sharpen those tools and leave a smooth polished surface at the same time. Did I mention how awesome they are? What Type of Flap Disc is Best For Grinding Metal? | Smith & ARROW
whetstone will put a great edge - but many are too impatient to do it well. Now, some of those fancy-schmancy electric job jobbies? Yea Quick and easy - for the rest and lazy at heart. .
I have not yet found a single knife sharpener either electric or manual like the one shown in the photo that restores proper edge on knives. Believe me I bought at least 5 different knife sharpeners of that kind from very expensive electric one to cheap manual ones. None of then maintained razor sharp edges on our kitchen knives either top of the line Japanese sashimi knife (Waboucho) or a Henckels cheffs knife or a cheap China made cleaver. The angle is wrong most of the time and not adjustable and they takes off way too much material which ends up ruining original edge. I have tried and used many of them before finally realizing only way to keep knives sharp is to sharpen in succession from coarse to fine to superfine grid while maintaining a proper angle. This requires some skills, but once learned it only takes a few minutes for daily maintenance and maybe 10-15min for occasional (every1 to 2months) sharpening for correcting chips on the edge.
Interesting timing on this topic. I'm currently in the process of installing about 150' of privacy fencing (+2 gates) and you may rest well assured that shovels, post hole diggers, saw chains, and bank ditch blades, all of which i have used thus far DO have to be sharpened and I second the recommendation of using the right tool for the right job. I actually DO have an entrenching tool, but I have never been tempted to put an edge on it. Knives: .............Lansky sharpening kit.(improved whetstone) Shovels/Post hole diggers/Bank ditch blade:.............. file, grinder, or angle grinder. A good file is really all you need but for severely neglected or abused edges a grinder is much faster. Saw chains: ..............files/file-guide - or? if you're using the saw chain to cut roots - a new saw chain. Edging tool.....I use a manual rotary edger, which is sharpened with.....concrete. A good, clean, 10-12" single-cut (mil bastard) file should be in every homeowner's toolbox, and if it takes you more than about 50 strokes to re-edge your lawn mower blade then you're "doing it wrong" - BUT there's nothing at all wrong with using a grinder. Sidebar: 1. ALWAYS call 811 before you do any diggy-dirt work. 2. If you're a person of a certain age and your CFO tries to get you to rent a powered auger, remind him or her how many small pistol primers or reloading dies you can get for the auger rent money. Besides.....it's 2020. Digging 18 holes in a subdivision with "woods' in the name = one helluva great workout!! Who needs a gym membership?
I looked up the one in your photo and it didn't seem to have any adjustment for bevel angle, or even say anywhere whay its bevel angle is. But on re-reading your post, I guess that was your point. Interestingly, there does seem to be one version of little pull-through gadget that does have an angle adjustment. Yet somehow the Lansky-style things ETC(SS) mentioned, with larger surface-area stones and some sort of angle guide, seem more convincing somehow. Lansky seems to go to great lengths to prevent showing images from their site, so go ahead and imagine their sharpener looks like anything you want.
I have seen YouTube on Lansky system or similar one anyways. They are probably very good for sharpening knives, but the setting up the system seems so cumbersome, if someone does not have time and inclination to use whetstone for sharpening, then there is no way they would try using a sharpening system like that. My go-to whetstone is Naniwa Chosera #800. When I first started using whetstones for sharpening, I used angle guides like this and this, but now, I no longer use any guide. It is not very hard to make a steady angle on a large surface whetstone. I can make almost any dulled knives to razor-sharp using just a set of whetstones.
Me, I seem to be angle-challenged. I've tried at various times, but I think some sort of controlled-angle gizmo would be helpful for me.
The Lansky setup is just about a for-knives-only system. It's cumbersome but it produces SUPERIOR results. Most lawn implements only have to be about 'butter-knife' sharp and so filing and grinding is good-nuff. Many suburbanites just buy new blades and/or use dull shovels and diggers. Important also for lawnmower blades is a $5 balancer:
A like for Lansky! looks like this and works like this In this world there are knives that call for different angles on one side vs other and that can be accommodated. I appreciate that one among us can freehand angles. If you have a Katana of good-enough steel, freehanders can create a rounded edge which will win most every knife fight == I bought a cheap but serviceable ceramic kitchen knife which I later ruined with a whetstone. Those things cannot be honed like metal.
My grass whip might have been sharp when it arrived, but the manufacturer had painted over the edge. Used a round file to take the paint off the serrations. For tools, I use a Dremal. Even have the attachment for doing chain saws.
Who can even make use of a gym membership under current Covid-19 restrictions anyway, even if their nearest facilities are not shuttered under Chapter 11 proceedings? That depends on the property location. At my own home in suburbia, where utilities were placed before I arrived, I'll obey. On the deep rural farm that has been in the family since before statehood, in what is now a far infrared political zone, and has no relevant easements, no one bothers.
I find that once you have a kitchen knife properly sharpened, they stay that way quite awhile, just needing some touch-up on the honing steel now and again. Regarding having utilities located on my rural place, I KNEW where all the utility lines were on my place, but I always called before digging: A) The law....who knows, maybe I THOUGHT I knew where all the lines ran. B) Second, it seemed the person they sent out was always the same attractive, funny, joking, 30-ish or 40-ish old woman....
