Gouge sharpening method

[violins88]

Does anyone else use this method? It works for me and my students.

 

 

[MikeC]

My method is similar, but rather than have it pivot on the end of the handle, the metal shaft rests on a vertical board. I can slide the gouge side to side and rotate it at the same time while maintaining a constant angle.  

 

[FiddleDoug]

Looks interesting. I'm guessing that there might be a pin going through the vertical piece into a hole at the end of the handle? By changing which hole in the vertical board, you could adjust the angle, or compensate for the length of the chisel.

 

[Shunyata]

Do most people use guides like this?  I just do it free hand - although I guess I do use my belt buckle as a reference point.

[lvlagneto]

4 hours ago, FiddleDoug said:

Looks interesting. I'm guessing that there might be a pin going through the vertical piece into a hole at the end of the handle? By changing which hole in the vertical board, you could adjust the angle, or compensate for the length of the chisel.

 

 I thought it was just a reference point at first, but once the chisel appeared locked to the point... seems like this is the case.

I've always had luck doing this by eye.  Maybe I'm a robot. 

[David Burgess]

I don't personally use that method, but it looks fine to me, as does MikeC's method.

[Riccardo964]

I sometimes use the "drawing an 8" method - it also works.

Best,

Riccardo964

[violins88]

Yes, there is a pin in the end. I put marker ink on the blade. 

[David Beard]

It's probably too crude for most folks here, but often I just stabilize a tool against the bench and then lap my sharpening stone off the edge I'm sharpening.

For the insides of curved pieces I have various rounded stone slips.

[Rico Suave]

I mostly do it freehand, but....

Paul Sellers shows a similar technique for sharpening Knifes;

i.e., like MikeC using a block of wood to establish and set a consistent angle

 

 

 

[Andrew tkinson]

Here is one of the main ways I sharpen the outsides of my carving/firmer/outside bevel gouges. I hope this may be of some interest/use to someone, perhaps I have explained the obvious and this is what everyone else does or perhaps it is a crackpot method wholly unsuited to violin work?

I like old tools so I find this old narrow stone useful for sharpening gouges. It is not the flattest or straightest stone and it is even broken and held together by its box, but I don't really think this matters as I use it for gouges and maybe very narrow chisels etc.  I think it is a "Washita" type oilstone that cuts well with oil (with water it works but soon gums up and quickly becomes slow in cutting and acquires a rusty look!)

I tend to use a side to side type of sharpening action while rotating the gouge but from time to time I will sharpen holding the gouge parallel to the stone. I find that changing this sharpening direction (while attempting to maintain the same inclination) can be useful as the change in direction of the new sharpening/abrasion marks give me a visual indication of how the bevel is contacting the stone and lets me know how things are proceeding and I can see where I need to apply more or less pressure along the sharpening stroke. I don't know if I have explained that well?

Being a person of a thrifty nature I like to try to use the whole width of the stone which will also combat the hollowing that occurs when sharpening mainly in the middle. When sharpening on the edge of the stone I will use the far edge, as seen in the picture below with the finger pointing. This allows me to sharpen on the stone's edge without risking the gouge falling off the stone and damaging its edge on the side of the stone, or worse, as easily happens if the near edge is used. 

I use shaped slip stones to take the burrs off the inside of the gouge

Now I have got my explanation out of the way here are some gouge and stone related old tool photos. Here are my two old narrow oilstones and a nice very old gouge

I tend to use my less fancy broken old stone as it works well enough but I thought I would show off this nicely boxed example. When I got this it was encrusted with decades of dark grime, stone dust and dried oil I suppose? It looked great, like an ancient sarcophagous from the tool crypt! Foolishly I cleaned it to show the, I think, walnut wood, I immediately regretted it and wanted to somehow reverse what I had done, today I would just rub the dust and loose off with a cloth.   

The two narrow stones, posed, lids off, with old gouge  

This old gouge was, luckily for me, being overlooked by more sensible people, I thought it looked old and it needed rescuing so quickly adopted it. It is a nice thinly worked old gouge.

I thought it had the appearance of being quite old. I looked in some books and couldn't find any mention of an edge tool maker named Rowe. I then looked on the internet and found that one or two gouges marked Rowe are part of the contents of James Watt's Workshop preserved in London's Science Museum. They date their gouges as being from 1758 - 1769, I suppose these are the dates when Watt set up his workshop. Rowe may have worked long after these dates but I was pleased my little neglected, but now treasured, gouge was maybe well over two hundred years old?

See here

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8228484/7-8-steel-gouge-with-octagonal-hickory-handle

Looking at the museum's photos, I think the handle is probably beech, but who am I to question the Science Museum?

[Urban Luthier]

I find gouge sharpening the hardest of all and I'm looking for ways to improve. I hollow grind the bevel and use the bevel to register on the stone and sharpen free hand

[FiddleDoug]

I did quickly make up a jig like originally posted. A quick test looks like it will work pretty well.

[donbarzino]

I have settled on sharpening my gouges with a Japanese rotary stone.

That side to side motion is too slow for me. I find it easy to slowly rotate

the gouge over the spinning stone lubricated with an adjustable flow of water.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155043936476?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818143230%26meid%3D22e73174ba4949118ff404956fa711c6%26pid%3D101224%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D136299149340%26itm%3D155043936476%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWebV9BertRefreshRankerWithCassiniEmbRecall%26brand%3DKnife&_trksid=p2332490.c101224.m-1

[Jay Higgs]

When I want a really sharp gouge (or plane), for first sharpening I use wet/dry sandpaper (with water) on a surface like the glass shown by the OP, down to 3000 grit without any jig.  Then I use diamond paste on MDF for the outside curve and diamond paste on dowels for the inside curve down to 50,000 grit.  Then I similarly and very lightly strop the outside and inside with leather and polishing compound.  Then I enjoy buttery smooth gouging until I cut myself and donate a little blood to my instruments.  Lesson(s) learned: be careful with really sharp tools, both in use and when storing them.  Also, the sharper the edge, the easier it is to dull it by mishandling it.  The initial sharpening takes 10-15 minutes, but the delicate sharp edge can be touched up during use by lightly stropping, and when that doesn't suffice, I only need the MDF.  

[Shunyata]

45 minutes ago, Jay Higgs said:

Then I enjoy buttery smooth gouging until I cut myself and donate a little blood to my instruments.  Lesson(s) learned: be careful with really sharp tools, both in use and when storing them.

Nothing like nicking yourself just brushing the edge while you are handling the tool.

[Riccardo964]

On 9/28/2025 at 4:21 PM, Jay Higgs said:

for first sharpening I use wet/dry sandpaper

I built this (more or less) the other day:

It's quite helpful.

Best,

Riccardo964