Skew Part 2

Shaping and Honing

Wading into topics like shaping and sharpening a skew is potentially kicking a hornets nest. I’m going to try to be useful without any dogma. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the shape of your skew doesn’t matter as much as you might think. I’ve worked with all sorts of shapes of the shank, edge angle, bevel angle etc…The bad news is that the sharpness matters more than you probably imagine. I grind and hone this tool constantly. I keep it in better shape than any other tool in my workshop, because it’s truly essential to how it performs. Any added force required to get a dull tool to cut diminishes my mobility and sensitivity. A razor sharp skew is nimble and fun, a dull one is dangerous, to the work piece and my self esteem.

I only touch the skew to a chair leg for about 45 seconds to get the final surfaces and shapes. I sharpen it after about three legs.