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

[Fowlingpiece]

Yep just a little stoning needed. Not something that's needed often if taken care of but certainly an in-house fix.

[Fowlingpiece]

Wet/dry sandpaper on a popcicle stick for a backer shoul work on 7 or 8. TPI or less.

[Ski]

a little DC diamond stone, or fine sandpaper, or fine file would do it. Put some sort of paint all over the iron, so you can see where the stone/sandpaper/file make contact, so you know your just hitting the tip (or whatever you see fit) Not sure where in the UK you are but if close to me feel free to pop in and I can do it for you.

[edd]

Thankyou fellas for all the suggestions! Sounds like I should give it a go then. I've sharpened plenty of chisels but this just seemed uncomfortably small to me. I have a little Fallkniven stone that would be good for this. I just noticed when laying the pricking iron with one tooth flat on the edge of the stone, that the tooth below rests very close to the side of the stone, so there's some danger of grinding the corner off of it if care isn't taken. Difficult to explain so I've attached a pic. Is this the correct way?

Will give the wet&dry method a go too to see which feels more comfortable. Guess it's just a matter of personal preference.

Nige - I'm sure another of your videos would be gratefully received by all the less experienced members of the forum. There's no substitute for seeing something done up close. Really appreciate all the time you've put into them!

Ski - Cheers mate, I'm down south but kind of you to offer!

[Ski]

If your concerned the other teeth might touch the stone/sandpaper, cover them in isolation tape or something similar.

You don't want it razor sharp, but sharp enough to grip as you say

[electrathon]

Put tape on the side of the stone so it will only cut on the top.

[edd]

Put tape on the side of the stone so it will only cut on the top.

Thanks for the tip. Worked nicely

[vonlogan]

Nigel,

I would love to see you make a video about this. All your other videos are great!

-Von

[Dangerous Beans]

Good point, it's in the videos to do book!

Nige

[OdinUK]

I've used Dixons to sharpen some tools for £10 per tool (exc VAT)

If the prongs arnt bent you should be able to rub the ends down to make them even on some wet and dry on a flat surface. I reconditioned many of my pricking irons by bead blasting, rubbing the ends flat on wet and dry and then painting the handles in Hammerite paint.