draw knife sharpening

[GaryR]

I got a draw knife off ebay and sharpened it with my dremel. I went to work on a hickory stave and man it seems like it should be a little easier to remove wood. Should I have sharpened at more of a 40-45 degree angle, rather than the 20-30 I used?

[cracker]

I usually use a flat file at the same angle as the origianl bevel on the blade to remove deep nicks in the blade and then a whet rock to put a slightly steeper bevel and bring up the very sharp edge that you need to cut efficiently. If I'm chasing rings I use a dull draw knife. Ron

[jonathan creason]

And remember the back side needs to be flat.  If you only sharpened the bevel odds are you pushed a burr over to the flat side.  Touch up the back and knock that burr off and you should be able to tell some difference.

[GaryR]

johnathan, should I touch up the flat side with a file?

[cracker]

Good point J.C. it's so automatic to me I didn't think of it.

[jonathan creason]

Either a file or stone will work fine.  Use long strokes and focus on keeping everything flat.

[GaryR]

I do belive I see where I went wrong. Thanks