Towards the poll or away from the poll?

Curt Hal

Curt Hal

Joined
Jul 8, 2014
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558

Now, I learned that you file towards the poll. This gentleman files away from the poll. Do you have a preference? Does it matter?
 
Towards, Square_peg will hopefully chime in as I believe he said towards the poll. Something about a burr if I recall....
 
Also look up draw filing. You may get more consistent results if you're just beginning.
 
Sort of like wiping uphill or downhill, it makes no difference provided you get the end result the same. But some methods are easier to manage.
I drawfile or file toward the poll, Otherwise at the low angle one files edges at, its harder to gain a full stroke or maintain angle.
 
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I’m a big fan of the essential craftsman, he has a lot of great blacksmithing videos and a wealth of tips from a long career of construction and building.

I haven’t seen that video in a while so can’t remember if he addressed it there or elsewhere but I believe he files away from the poll purely for safety reasons..as a good practice to save the ol flangees
 
I file aross the cutting edge and away from the poll slightly. Just roll it off the cutting edge. I know this isn't conventional wisdom but I've found it works best for me. I can work a section 2-3" long each stroke this way. My 2 cents.
 
Edge tool 101 says push hones and files into the edge. The reverse pushes metal up toward the edge and creates a weakened edge (at the very tip at the microscopic level). But I think it's most important that the final grits of honing be done this way, into the edge. I'm not religious about it and will go the opposite way if it feels more appropriate for some specific task. But I always want to finish by pushing into the edge. Pushing into the edge creates a smaller burr and leaves the freshest metal at the edge.

When using round hones in a circular motion I do the honing with the side of the round that is pushing into the edge. When I cross the centerline of an axe I will reverse the circular motion and hone with the opposite side of the stone still pushing into the edge.

When filing an axe I always push the file into the edge (with a guard in place). If I were going to sharpen an axe with files alone I would be religious about this. But if you're going to go back and hone it finer than you can correct the edge at the honing stages by pushing the stones into the edge.

Two reasons I don't draw file an axe: First is that I find it harder to create the gentle convexness that I want. I'm never looking to put a flat or Scandi grind on an felling axe (the ridge inhibits penetration). Trying to raise and lower the pivot point to get the shape I want is just more complicated than adjusting the file in the hand as you watch the results of your strokes on the edge. The second thing is that draw filing tends to concentrate the work on one area of the file, wearing that section out quickly while the rest of the file remains nearly new. This is a waste of files in my mind.
 
FWIW: you can get a convex edge by draw filing at 3 different angles and then blending the transitions. (I'm not sure whether that would take longer in practice or not, never tried it on anything but a machete). Harder to address the other aspect Square_peg mentioned (uneven wearing of files), though.

For the less experienced in maintaining an angle while sharpening (me) :D, there's no chance of anything else as a final result than an appleseed edge :). But thanks again to Square_peg's past tips I'm better now :).

Sorry, the guy is as German as they come but I thought this may be useful (even though the convex will be more pronounced; I saw another guy that was rising the pivot point by using some rags as support):

 
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The reason I start by draw filing is not to get the convex edge, it is always only enough to fix and blend a screwed up profile from someone else sharpening. Then I file toward the poll to get my convex edge. I use a modified draw file technique that allows me to use more than one spot on the file. After I have the profile I want, and nobody else has sharpened the axe, I rarely use anything other than stones.
 
KiwiBloke said:
I’m a big fan of the essential craftsman, he has a lot of great blacksmithing videos and a wealth of tips from a long career of construction and building.

I haven’t seen that video in a while so can’t remember if he addressed it there or elsewhere but I believe he files away from the poll purely for safety reasons..as a good practice to save the ol flangees
Click to expand...
He does some things that are straight up trash....not impressed at all.
 
I sharpen into the edge. When burrs appear I take my stone to the other side and remove them. Back and forth from side to side until
they are removed. Then I'll test the edge using baling twine. When it will cut this rope in 1-2" of movement, I call the edge good. I finish off at 600 grit. DM
 
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