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When bleeding stops, carefully clean your finger and cover with a bandage to keep pressure on. Presto! How can we prevent damage to those razor sharp edges that are a joy to use when removing wood? Keep chisels in a rack or a pouch that isolates each edge from contact with other chisels. Lay them on a cloth when using them alternately at the bench. Lay a plane on its side, not on its bottom, and avoid wood that has been painted, varnished, or has concrete on the surface. These things are easily removed with a scraper. Kitchen knives should be kept in a slotted wooden block or hung on a magnetic strip to keep the edges isoâ€" lated. Remember to think of them as razors that have vulâ€" nerable edges. How can we get the desir able edge? 1. Grind: If you use a bench grinder fitted with a fairly coarse stone, you must be careful to apply gentle pressure on the moving I mentioned dull tools because accidents and the reason is that undue force is necessary to complete a cut. A chisel or saw may slip off a piece of hardwood because it is too dull (but it will slice through a finger). Sharpness is lost through normal wear or careless hanâ€" dling, and once you have learned to create a razor edge, you will handle tools with more respect so damâ€" age doesn‘t occur. The good news is that sharpness can be regained! But it still has to be vigilantâ€" ly monitored. Nothing causâ€" es accidents like a dull tool that is not performing to its optimum. Until you learn to handle sharp tools, you will receive cuts that are so clean you sometimes are unaware of the cut until you see blood on the wood. He understands sharpâ€" ness, like our youth, is fleetâ€" ing. It is not lost suddenly, but it slips away impercepâ€" tively and we hardly notice its passing. The local guru is Jay Cooke and he was relentless in his insistence that we conâ€" stantly touch up our chisels to keep them razor keen. Most cut fingers are best handled by simply applying pressure to the cut while you hold it a higher level than your heart for two full minâ€" utes. I never really appreciated a sharp chisel nor fully understood the sharpening process until I took a course in carving wood signs in Vermont. Sharp tools safer tools A butcher‘s steel (finely serrated steel rod) will keep kitchen knives razor sharp for a long time with regular swipes along the length of the blade whenever you sense it is getting dull. If you have to do a lot of sharpening, invest in a fine grit wheel on a gearedâ€"down bench grinder (approx. 800 rpm). And to achieve a super mirror finish, buy a felt wheel that you coat with some buffing compound. These two wheels can go on the two ends of a mandrel hooked up to a standard motor (1/4 HP). You can pick up the mandrels for about $15 and when you put a larger pulley than the one on the motor shaft, you can reduce the speed sufficientâ€" ly. One word of caution. Position the motor so the wheels turn away from you. (Bench grinders turn toward vou). 3. Strop: A leather strop (an old belt will do) will remove any roughness as you drag the edge back and forth along the leather, just as barbers used to do with straight razors. This action will remove the deep scratches and roughness left by the relaâ€" tively coarse grindstone. If you very careful, slide your finger with light pressure along the length of the blade, you will feel a certain roughness still. The leather will become black from the residue of infinitesimal pieces of steel removed from the edge, leaving a mirror finish. Now, if you gingerly slide your finger along the length of the blade, you will feel no roughness. It is razor sharp! Test a blade by cutting across the end grain of a piece of wood. The cut should leave a surface that is smoother than the edge grain of the wood, and it should cut with very little force applied. As a result, you will take some of the temper out of the steel and it will not hold an edge once it is sharpened. Dip the tool in water reguâ€" larly to keep it cool. 2. Whet: Lay the bevel flat on a fine whetstone that has some oil on the surface to float the tiny particles of steel you are going to remove as you rub the bevel back and forth. Maintain the same bevel on the tool and move it slowly back and forth across the stone. If you see red or blue at the edge, you are moving too slowly or applyâ€" ing too much pressure. stone because it cuts quickly and heats up the steel. Miller Real Estate Ltd $205,000. COMFORT+CHARMâ€"REDUCED!$239.000. NEW LISTINGâ€"BRONTE * Upgraded 2â€"storey. Replaced kitche i & B:“AJ ”'/",:sl,‘;fi §1 '5\ "‘ is 1 $215,900. WATERFRONT LIFESTYLE _ $124,900. BEST BUY IN TOWN! $359,000. CLASSICâ€"EAST OAKVILLE s m > /m °m â€"| |s § "LD al Mas Bdrm Extensively upgraded qua Spacious Enncsge rooms, Fabulous Rec. Rm. with S Ideal. convenient location Nd $329,900. 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