Sharpen Pricking Iron

[edd]

Does anyone know a good sharpening company in the UK who can sharpen pricking irons? I rather stupidly wacked one of mine several times into a piece of iroko wood; now the teeth feel a little dull.

It's not a Dixon one so I don't think they'd deal with it.

Cheers !

Edd

[mlapaglia]

Prickling irons are to make marks not holes. As long as they are not bent you should be fine. Are you using it to punch the holes?

[edd]

No, I just accidentally punched through on a very thin piece of leather and also went through the scrap that was underneath it. I usually just break the surface of the leather and finish the hole with an awl. The reason I want to sharpen up the teeth a bit is that I'm using some smooth chrome tanned leather and its quite easy for the pricking iron to wander off the line when marking stitches. If if was sharper I think It'd grip the surface better.

[mlapaglia]

Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I sometimes type without thinking things through. I can't help you with a business to sharpen the iron but have you thought about doing it your self? A jewelers file and a fine grit slip stone and it should be a simple job to fix the edges of the iron. They are made thin enought to get between the tines of the prickling iron.

Set the edge by following the original shape of the edges then hone with the stone. If you don't find someone to do it if for you it's worth a shot. It sounds like you do not even need the file just the slip stone. Once you have one you can use it to sharpen your edgers and other tools. I bet you can get them locally.

This is an example of the type of stone I am talking about.

http://www.thebestthings.com/newtools/norton_slips.htm

Hope this helps

Michael

Edited August 24, 2013 by mlapaglia

[edd]

No worries, I appreciate you chipping in.

I've not used such a small stone before but it looks like it'd be perfect. I would just be a bit nervous about maintaining a consistent angle on every tooth while sharpening but I'm sure it could be done. I'll definitely keep it in mind if I can't find a company to do it. Looks like it'd be useful to have one regardless.

Cheers

[Matt S]

Have you tried phoning Dixons? Never know what they might say. Otherwise perhaps see if Abbey or the Worshipful Company of Saddlers etc can recommend.

[edd]

Cheers for the suggestions. I'll try Dixons first and see what they say.

[Dangerous Beans]

Ed, can you supply a photo of the pricking iron end on?

It may help to see it. I know Dixons are all jiged for their own irons and someone else's may not fit.

Lets have a look and see what the options are.

Nige

[edd]

Thanks Nigel. Difficult to show it clearly but you can see the corners are slightly rounded off. It's probably fine really but it just annoys me thinking about it when I'm using it! Dixon tools have kindly said they would take a look at it so hopefully they can get it back to it's former glory.

[Dangerous Beans]

Edd, this is a really easy job to do yourself, by all means let Dixons have a nose, but it is simply running a small stone along each prong.

The are stepped so you can get to both sides, they don't need to be sharp, just have a bit of an edge.

If you place a small stone on the bench and rest the iron so one of the prongs rests flat on the stone, you'll notice that the iron sits at an angle of about 45 degrees. Just run it along a few times on both sides of each prong.

Once you start, it'll become clear.

Ill have a go at a video on sharpening pricking irons when I get the time. But you have an easy iron to maintain.

Nige