x-post from W&S: Should I have my hatchet reprofiled? I can't seem to sharpen it

[Noshtero]

There's always mixed opinions on how sharp to keep a hatchet. My trusty Snow & Neally still has the factory grind on it, and it's not all that sharp. It has a fairly wide convex grind, and I just can't seem to do anything with it. I can handle a convex edge on knives with stropping, but I don't even know how I would go about sharpening this hatchet. The bevels are smooth as a baby's butt, and anything I try to do with a stone just scratches at it but doesn't remove much material. This is definetly a deficiency in my skills.

Would it make sense to have someone just ditch the convex grind and put a flat grind on it that I could sharpen easily? Is there an easier way to keep this thing sharp?

Thanks.

 

[mhawg]

I'd clamp it to the bench and take a mill-bastard to it. Lay it back nice and pitch it up for the secondary grind. When I'm really bored I finish with a 600 grit stone, especially if I'm splitting kindling, which down here is 'fat lighter.'

 

[omniviking]

Sometimes after I have sharpened an axe or hatchet I use a scotch brite wheel in my hand drill to remove the scratches and polish it up a tad. Pat

 

[sixgunner455]

Flat grind? No. But you could certainly thin it down a bit without hurting things. As said above, clamp it into place if you don't have the "squeeze between the knees" thing down, and use a mill bastard file to carefully shape the bevels. Then go to the stone.