Sharpening the Hammer and Hardie
Your hammer and hardie will both need sharpening at regular intervals, how often is really down to how much you use them and what type of stone you use. Cutting Granite will take the edges off quicker than cutting limestone, if you use your tools to cut glass then you will want to keep then very sharp too.Look at the blades and you will easily see any flat edges that need to be taken down.
This photo series is using a bench electric grinder so please don't go mad. Your tools should pretty well last your whole career, don't grind them down to nothing!
Please note I have removed the upper and lower guards from the grinder to make taking the photos easier. You should always have the guards in place before using and you must wear safety glasses
The grinder should be screwed to the bench and not loose
Click on the images to see the text.
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Hammer, hardei, water
The tooare tempered so exposing them to heat can soften them. Have a container of cold water and as the blades heat up just dip them in the water to cool them down.
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Hammer position 1
Side view. Hold it gently against the fine wheel.
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Hammer position 2
This is a view from above. Note how you 'cradle' the hammer. One hand holding the head, the other holding the handle.
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Wrong way 1
Don't grind it like this or you will create an upsweeping edge to the blade which will wear the blade a lot faster and be harder to sharpen.
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Wrong way 2
Don't use the edge of the wheel.
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Sharpening the hardie
Hold it securely with both hands and hold it in a downward position as shown.
When you do the other side just turn it over in your hand.
Holding it 'upright' against the wheel carries more chance of it being pulled up into the guard and getting trapped or pulling your hand against the wheel.
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