Tea box sharpening kit

[Askdamice]

It's not really an indepth tutorial but I'll show you some before and after pics of a sharpening kit I made from a tea box. It's fairly handy and easy to make.

First you have to drink alot of tea. (I guess you could just put it in a different container.) The tea box costed me under $3 at the supermarket. Sorry to the Brits for the buying of cheap tea! Ha!

Next I sanded all of the labels off. There is no need to do this. I just thought it looked better. After the sanding I glued a thick piece of leather to one side and trimmed it flush, after it dried. I oilrubbed the box (AFTER glueing) to make it a little more weather resistant.

Now you have to figure out what your going to put into it. Personally I use wet/dry sandpaper to sharpen with and a stone to repair damaged edges. So I included paper in grits of 600, 800, 1000, 1500 & 2000, a ceramic sharpener some mineral oil and a small cloth. The leather has been coated with green buffing compound and acts as a strop and a backing when using the papers. (you could also glue a piece of mousepad on the opposite side to make convex edging a little easier.

This setup works well for me and I hope that someone else could be inspired to make something similar. If you've got better ideas please post. I'm always lookin to upgrade.
Rick

 

[woodwalker]

Hi,

Thats quite a nice setup you have there . I use (alongside other stones) a similar system to yours except everything doesn't pack inside each other - very nifty.

How are the wet and dry sheets held on? Is it in a similar way to this (quoted from £5 sharpening kit thread)

If you don't glue the paper down, the block can be used over and over again and the paper easily changed.

And one final question, why is it all wrapped up in a cloth, is it to protect the stuff or stop it rattling?

cheers, woodwalker

 

[Askdamice]

I use the elastic to hold the paper down. But after seeing your pics, I may just glue a backspaced piece of wood to the bottom of the box to alow me to peg it in like you've shown. I'll post pics. Thanks.

The cloth has mineral oil on it and I use it to wipe down the blades. But it also fills in space and keeps the box from rattling. Rick