A question that always comes up at shows, and in person, is

When should I sharpen my tools?

The obvious answer is when they are dull!

How do I know when they are dull? 

A quick answer is when you are pressing harder to make the same cut you did a few minutes ago.  When you press harder you apply more strain on yourself, your tool and the piece you are trying to cut. When you are cutting your material, and you see that the material you are cutting is not coming off smoothly, then it is time to sharpen your tool.

CBN Wheels (photo 1)

Grinder with CBN Wheels (photo 2)

If you look at photo 1 you can see that I originally had 8” wheels to start and ground the blue 80 grit wheel to 6” and the white 240 grit wheel to 7”.   It was time for me to get new wheels so I “bit the bullet”, and purchased the new Cubic Boron Nitride or CBN wheels. see photo 2.  CBN is more expensive than industrial diamonds, 4 times harder than regular aluminum oxide wheels and these wheels will be the last wheels you will ever have to purchase!

The first time I used them I was surprised to see that my tool was not hot like it was with regular aluminum oxide wheels.  The wheels generate very few sparks, and will stay flat, which will give your tools a much sharper, and cleaner edge!  CBN people tell you that if the pressure is right, your tool will hardly get warm, and they are correct!

So the bottom line is, I am really a fan of my new CBN wheels, I get a better, faster, cleaner edge on my tools so I can get back to my work faster!  Just beware of the knock off China made wheels, they are not the same and do not hold up!

Oh, I purchased my CBN wheels at  http://hannestool.com/product-category/grinding-wheels/ 

The Odie’s Oil is back in stock and we have some new pen blank specials for you in the specials section!

Ooops… almost forgot.

The small alligator blanks are also back in stock! The snakeskin blanks will be available within a month!