On 10/20/2014 7:51 AM, paul womack wrote:
> James Thompson wrote:
>> I may be the only person on the planet who doesn't understand this. I 
>> put a lot of effort into sharpening my scrapers, and I use my 
>> scrapers a lot. I have always been impressed when I see someone 
>> pulling up lovely curls. I have never been able to do that, no matter 
>> how much effort I put into edge preparation. I get powder, not curls, 
>> well maybe a little curl. I have never been able to use my scrapers 
>> in the almost-straight-up position. I have to lean my scrapers 
>> forward 15 or 20 degrees. The results from this seem satisfactory. It 
>> has not mattered how little or how much pressure I put on my 
>> burnisher, or what angle I use. I suppose there is an optimum 
>> pressure, and angle, but I haven't found it. I have a chunk of 1 1/2" 
>> thick steel with a square side that I use to hold the burnisher 
>> square to the scarysharp paper while sharpening. The problem has to 
>> be with burnishing.
>>
>> I have made burnishers in diameters from 1/8" to 1/2", and I have an 
>> oval burnisher I got from Lee Valley. I have never tried a flat 
>> burnisher. I'll try that soon.
>>
>> But this Hirsch tool does not have a shiny flat surface that I think 
>> is required for a burnisher. I have been working on polishing the 
>> flats, but the original grind was pretty coarse, and it is quite a 
>> chore removing all the scratches. That said, polishing the flats 
>> leaves very sharp edges, which do not seem to part of the equation 
>> for a scraper burnisher. Obviously when I use the tool as a burnisher 
>> the edges will degrade, but I don't see them as useful anyway. They 
>> might even dig in.
>>
>> So, Galoots.... How do I get the scraper nirvana I see everybody else 
>> getting? I must not be holding my mouth right.
>
> http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=153998&submit_threa
d=1">http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=153998&submit_thread=1
>
>  BugBear
>
I should apologize for coming back to this long after everyone else lost 
interest. But I was still interested - and busy...

So I cleaned up 2 adjacent sides of one of my triangular 'file blanks' 
using coarse Alox paper on glass to remove the factory grind marks and a 
diamond stone 325x. Then I put randomly small bevels on the edge where 
they met using the 1200X side - just enough to eliminate what was left 
of reflective surface on the edge. I used one the flats to remove what 
remained of the old hooks on a Sandvik card scraper, lifting the 
burnisher slightly to avoid having the leading edge contacting the 
scraper ( ie dragging the trailing microbevelled corner). Did that on 
both sides and then the scraper edge itself. Finished off by slightly 
raising the handle of the burnisher while I dragged it along each edge 
to form new hooks Done very lightly, almost no downward pressure 
applied.  Tested the new edges on a cheese board I'm restoring with 
Watco. Again, very lightly, no significant downward pressure on the 
scraper. It took dried nibs of finish off the surface, leaving a light 
dusting of finish on the scraper. There is little or no evidence of 
scraping on the cheeseboard, and I am ready to apply more coats. For my 
money, this is easier and better than sanding between coats. The scraper 
has a better edge than I'm able to produce with a rounded or oval 
burnisher for this application - ie cleaning up a finish.. So my final 
word on this topic is, Yes, a sharp-edged triangular tool can burnish a 
hook on a card scraper. I can't say if it would produce large hooks to 
take heavy cuts, but it sure works for the small hoooks needed to take 
fine cuts. Try it!

Don