Sharpening a spokeshae blade

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tdukes

New User
Eddie
Hello,

Got an old Stanley 151 spokeshave off eBay a while back. The blade was pretty bad. Yesterday, I made a blade holder similar to what Paul Sellers uses. It worked OK but don't think it was made to work on a WorkSharp. I don't think the angle is quite right. I used it today and it seems to have a lot of tear out.

Think I'm going to get a flat piece of steel the same width and thickness, drill and tap some holes so I can mount the blade in a Veritas honing guide. Anyone ever try this or have a better approach?

TIA
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
Eddie,

Pardon the questions, but:

What type of wood?

Are you going with, against or across the grain?

Is it a plain grain wood or highly figured like curly or crotch wood?

Did you try “skewing” the tool or were you using it straight on?

What angle did you sharpen the blade to and is it absolutely razor sharp?

FWIW, I have a few spoke shaves and really enjoy using them. There’s a certain subtle knack to using them effectively, but once you get them down, they can be really handy to have.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
DAMHIKT!

It’s really easy to install a shave blade upside down. The bottom of the shave should look like this:

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tdukes

New User
Eddie
Eddie,

Pardon the questions, but:

What type of wood?

Are you going with, against or across the grain?

Is it a plain grain wood or highly figured like curly or crotch wood?

Did you try “skewing” the tool or were you using it straight on?

What angle did you sharpen the blade to and is it absolutely razor sharp?

FWIW, I have a few spoke shaves and really enjoy using them. There’s a certain subtle knack to using them effectively, but once you get them down, they can be really handy to have.

I was trying it out on a piece of white oak. I tried both directions trying to take the edge off. I tried to put a 25 degree angle on it and used the rest on the WorkSharp, holding it by hand. Its not exactly razor sharp. Might have try using some water stones but I still need a way to hold it. Don't have that muscle memory to do it hold it by hand just right.
 

tdukes

New User
Eddie
DAMHIKT!

It’s really easy to install a shave blade upside down. The bottom of the shave should look like this:

attachment.php

Thanks, I may have put the blade in bevel down. I'll check when I get to work this morning and if I did, will try it again.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Eddie, my spoke shaves will tear out the grain of white oak sometimes. A lot of it depends on the thickness of the shaving, as I get closer to the shape I want I will take a much finer shaving to reduce tear out. I also sharpen often and hone by hand, a slightly convex edge is OK. If you can see any light on the edge it is not sharp. Shaving sharp is not enough. Also I keep several spoke shaves at hand and adjusted for different work. Some for roughing and my best, sharpest, most favorite for the final finish.
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
...And then I install my blades so they are mounted in at a skewed angle so in one tool I can take a fine, medium and coarse cut.

Though the reality is, I actually get more of fine and coarse at opposite sides or ends of the blade.

While there is a certain subtle knack or learning threshold to spoke shaves, it’s not rocket science or the secrets of the samurai sword smiths.

The key take away is that spoke shaves can be really fun to use.
 
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tdukes

New User
Eddie
I did have the blade installed correctly, I don't think I had it sharp enough.

I made this jig based on one from fine woodworking and re-sharpened it. It won't work in a Veritas or WorkSharp guide, but I had another generic guide that worked. What a difference!! Only problem, I put the fender washer on the wrong side for the Wixey digital angle gauge.

Planning a do-over tomorrow.

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