The leather edge beveler is one of the most frequently used tool in almost every leather tools box because of how often you will have to bevel the edges of the leather works you make. To get the best out of your beveler, it has to constantly remain super sharp and this is where the leather edge beveler sharpener comes into play.
So for this article, I’m going to double down on everything about leather edge beveler sharpeners away from the usual sandpaper & rod sharpener tools – to a more well designed sharpener that will be a lot more efficient and fast in keeping your edge bevelers in good shape all the time.
What’s a Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener?
The leather edge beveler sharpener is a tool used to sharpen the cutting edge or blade of an edge beveler. It’s a block of steel with ridges, jigs, or slots you can place sandpaper over – which the leather edge beveler will be rubbed on to bring the cutting edge to a nice sharpness.
There are several ways to sharpen your leather edge beveler and what I find is that most of methods are relatively temporal. For example, in most cases, crafters will cut a fine grit sandpaper, lay it over a sized rod often the same size as the beveler, and then strop.
These ways in which the leather edge bevelers are sharpened are absolutely okay and you can make do with such sharpening tools for as long as you want.
But if you don’t want to waste too much time setting up your beveler sharpers or do not want to spend hours trying to DIY your own sets, then getting a ready-made beveler Sharpener will be of great service to you.
The Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener Models I Like
Here are two of the leather edge beveler sharpener models I like.
Hztyyier Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener (Best Budget)
The Hztyyier Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener is a professional leather edge beveler sharpener suitable for number 1-5 bevels and 6mm wide shovel. It’s made from high quality steel that does not rust easily. It’s very portable and easy to carry and comes with a beautiful dark color design.
The downside to this is tools is that the lengths of the jigs the chamfer fits on are quite short so you will have really short stropping strokes.
If you’re interested in the Hztyyier Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener, you can check it out over here on Amazon for additional information about prices and shipping.
RM Leather Supply Grooved Edger Beveler Sharpening Jig
The RM Leather Supply Grooved Edger Beveler Sharpening Jig is a handy tool to keep your edge beveler super sharp and ready to use. Unlike the Hztyyier Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener, the one from RM leather supply come with 7 different groove sizes from which you will definitely find just the right fit for whatever size your beveler is.
The best part is, the RM Leather Supply Grooved Edger Beveler Sharpening Jig comes with a sandpapers – so right after you get it out of the box, you will be able to use it.
If your interested in the RM Leather Supply Grooved Edger Beveler Sharpening Jig, you can check it out over here on the official website of rocky mountain leather.
How To Use A Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener
Using the leather edge beveler sharpener is not difficult because of how it’s designed and labeled to further simplify the leather edge beveler sharpening process.
There are three basic aspects to using a leather edge beveler sharpener. The first is the chamfer size on the beveler you intend to sharpen, the grit of sandpaper to use, and polishing compounds.
The Chamfer Size
Every leather edge beveler will come with different sizes of bevels or chamfer and each chamfer will fit a slot on the sharpener. Choosing the wrong slot for a chamfer on the beveler can ruin the bevel. So you would want to make sure the slot is the right size for your edger.
To check if a particular slot on the Sharpener is the right size, position the groove on the beveler over the slot and if there isn’t any allowance around it but a fairly tight fit, then that’s the right size. You wouldn’t want the chamfer too loose on a sharpener slot if not it can make blade crooked.
Sandpaper
The sandpaper you use is also another important aspect of using this tool. There are different grits of sandpaper and you wouldn’t have to over think this.
Sandpaper is measured by the number of sharp particles per square inch of the sandpaper that its grit size. So basically what you will see is the larger the grit size, the more sharp particles or edges there are and the smoother the sandpaper.
So what you would want to do is to start with a lower grit sandpaper and work your way up.
While using, for example, a 2000 grit sandpaper alone will be able to do a great job of bringing your beveler to a nice sharp edge, you can absolutely do better – working your way through much finer sandpaper grits.
A perfect example is starting with a 2000 grit sandpaper, then moving on to a 4000 or 5000 grit, then to 7000 grit for that ultra sharp edge for your leather edge beveler.
Polishing Compounds
Most people might skip this step but it’s particularly necessary. In most cases you will be strop more than sharpening your bevels. The polishing compound you can use are the regular colored compounds.
Steps on How to Use the Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener
Step 1: First step is to gather all that you will need that is:
- leather edge beveler sharpener
- sandpaper (2000, 5000, 7000 grit sandpaper)
- polishing compound
- A 4-6 ounce leather strap
Step 2: Position you Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener in a way that you’re most comfortable with.
Step 3: Pick a slot that fits the blade of the edge beveler and place the 2000 grit sandpaper over it.
Step 4: You can now start sanding the beveler over the sandpaper in a pull motion only in one direction according to the arc of the edger (10-15 strokes for each sandpaper). This simply means, you don’t run the beveler back and forth.
Note: Only the underside of the edge beveler is sharpened not the top part.
Step 5 (optional): You can now repeat steps 3 and 4 by placing and sharpening with the 5000 and 7000 grit sandpaper if you want that ultra sharp cutting edge.
Step 6: Apply a layer of polishing compounds on the edges of the leather strap and strop over it with the edge beveler maintaining one direction- pull motion. This will help to hon the edges nicely.
Alternatives To the Leather Edge Beveler Sharpener
There are a few other alternatives to sharpening an edge beveler apart from using the leather edge beveler sharpener. These includes using stropping pads, rod and sandpaper, etc. Here are a couple of videos to help put things in the right perspective.
