Sharpening

Sharpening angles, stropping and keeping a carving edge scary sharp.

• Choosing a sharpening angle for carving knives

  Most Scandinavian (Scandi) carving knives use a single flat bevel with an included angle of roughly 25–30 degrees, which means about 12.5–15 degrees per side. Lower angles cut wood more easily but are more fragile; higher angles are more durable but need more force.

• Stropping: why and how to strop a carving knife

  Stropping is pulling the edge backwards (edge trailing) over leather or wood loaded with a fine polishing compound. It removes the tiny burr left by stones and polishes the edge, and regular stropping keeps a carving knife sharp for weeks before it needs a stone.

• What is a hollow grind? And why it makes sharpening easier

  A hollow grind is created by grinding the bevel against a curved wheel, leaving a gently concave bevel. On a carving knife it is combined with a flat section at the edge ("flat over hollow"), so only two narrow rails touch the sharpening stone. The blade settles flat on the stone by itself, stops rocking, and touch-ups take seconds instead of minutes.