do I need to start practicing my freehand sharpening?
I think you will. We have a micro gouge and the tool is too short to get a 1.75” protrusion from the verigrind.
Yours may be longer
kind of don't want to ruin the grind on them.
The scrapers and skews you would do on a platform any way.
The gouges you can easily do a traditional grind on the platform by keep the tool square to the wheel and rolling it.
To get a fingernail grind there are several techniques.
I use a technique David Ellsworth showed us in a class in the mid nineties.
My advice is to learn and practice on a larger gouge 1/2 “ Or 3/8”. In my experience 1/4” and smaller tools are harder to sharpen because a slight hesitation on the wheel eats up a lot of steel.
I use the platform to support my hand and for the whole sharpening the tool is kept square to the wheel.
1. I rest the center bevel on the wheel starting with the heel and lifting the handle until the cutting edge comes in contact ( sparks will break on the cutting edge)
2. I roll the tool left and right 30 degrees or so to smooth the bevel and round the nose ( sparks break on the
3. I sharpen the wing with 2-3 more passes where I roll the tool to 90 degrees while pushing the tool up the wheel so that the cutting edge stays in contact with the wheel ( sparks breaking at the cutting edge)
This is the step 3
Have fun
Be safe
