Screwdrivers dressing

[HSL]

The first blade is for sure not shapened with a hollow shape, but it has a to hardened tip with brittle metal, one can se it flaking away which isn't good.
In my book to get a really nice surface one can use both of these sharpeners with the horotech style one just must get it to fit good in the toolholder.
Swisstech makes a similar one with a bunch of inserts so you always will get the perfect result, and fast, but always with quality the price is a downside. 

A screwdriver with a softer tip, like the one below made of berylium is almost impossible to get perfect without a good sharpening tool.

And in the end it's like with racing with cars, a good car will take you a long way but it's the man behind the screwdriver that makes the difference

Edited May 15, 2020 by HSL

[nad]

To me, the OP blade are not hollow ground.

As such he'll not need to buy an expensive tool like that at this stage of the learning process.

Regards

NAD


Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

[jdrichard]

Screwdriver sharpener tool, type "Quick Action":
Blade angle and thickness are continuously adjustable… [emoji4]

Frank

Now this makes sense


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Watcher]

On 5/15/2020 at 5:08 PM, nad said:

To me, the OP blade are not hollow ground.

As such he'll not need to buy an expensive tool like that at this stage of the learning process.

 

 

Now do you see the hollow? I didn't suggest that OP should buy the "expensive" tool But that when sharpening on a stone he would have to remove the hollow and that it would be better to use a new (cheap) blade. Please read the original post before posting negative comment.

 

 

 

[nad]

My friend, I see nothing negative about my comments.

If the observation that I, and others have made, that the OP blades are not hollow ground are at odds with your view, then it doesn't make it a negative comment.

I politely request that you just agree to disagree and draw this thread to a conclusion.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

[jdm]

1 hour ago, Watcher said:

Now do you see the hollow?

I don't. Looks like any other regular blade.

[vinn3]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2020 at 1:34 AM, Watcher said:

Your blades have been hollow ground on a tool like this.

If you use the tool illustrated by nad you will have to flatten each side of the tip. You should replace the blades or buy the hollow ground sharpener.

    good show

[Seikokiller]

I'm learn the screwdriver topic and search even on YT to find some good information, like this:

 

[david]

The best way I found to sharpen  screwdriver tips is to use a sharpening fixture. They are relatively inexpensive and will precisely hold an angle. Watches are easy to damage due to the small size of the parts.and having the correct tools can greatly reduce the chance of damage.  Of course there is always the exceptional genius who can repair anything with a broken hacksaw blade and a potato scraper but reality favors having the correct tools. 

david 

Edited August 14, 2020 by david
removed a superfluous word

[jdm]

2 hours ago, david said:

The best way I found to sharpen  screwdriver tips is to use a sharpening fixture. 

I think that a rolling fixture is useful only when making the blade from a blank. Othewise two strokes per side on an aluminum oxide do for me. I let the flat guide itself  and slide in one direction only. . Of course the smaller the driver the less tactile feedback.I hqve one screwdriver holder with an embedded oxide strip and find it extremely handy. 

[Paul80]

Hi all.

Sorry another newbie question.

With screwdrivers, is there a best angle to hone the tips to or what range of angle is appropriate.

Thanks.

Paul

 

 

 

[Tiny]

Advice needed please.

So I'm working on my Slava 2414 but all my cheap screwdrivers are the wrong grind the screws seam to be very narrow and thin but at the same time deep I was going to buy the cousins a*f screwdriver set but they are now Discontinued.

Thinking about it do I need a German set of screwdrivers 

is the grind a concaved for the German screws?

I think I found my answer it's a hollow grind I need ?

 

 

I've been honing a standard taper with a honing guide 

 

 

[Klassiker]

The standard taper is fine (ducks for cover), but needs to be ground slightly fatter (or shorter) than in your diagram, so  it wedges in the slot with downward pressure. If you regularly work on watches with varying slot widths, either get a second set of screwdrivers or a second set of blades to dress up differently and swap over. They do not need to be German (or Swiss), but you need to be able to fit quality blades and keep them dressed.

[Klassiker]

1 hour ago, Tiny said:

I have looked on cousins and found s/s parallel blades so I have ordered these.

By parallel do you mean the hollow-ground pattern? I'd be genuinely interested to hear how you get on with them. Let us know in a few weeks, please.

How are you planning to keep them dressed? There is a very lovely but expensive tool available for re-grinding. What about just touching them up to keep the edges sharp, or a slight adjustment for slot width? I don't see any way around that special tool and the faff of adjusting it.

[Tiny]

1 hour ago, Klassiker said:

By parallel do you mean the hollow-ground pattern? I'd be genuinely interested to hear how you get on with them. Let us know in a few weeks, please.

How are you planning to keep them dressed? There is a very lovely but expensive tool available for re-grinding. What about just touching them up to keep the edges sharp, or a slight adjustment for slot width? I don't see any way around that special tool and the faff of adjusting it.

Not sure how I'm going to maintaining the edge yet I'm sure I can make a jig for it some how. anyway here is the link to the blades 

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/cousins-parallel-stainless-steel

[Neverenoughwatches]

6 hours ago, Tiny said:

Advice needed please.

So I'm working on my Slava 2414 but all my cheap screwdrivers are the wrong grind the screws seam to be very narrow and thin but at the same time deep I was going to buy the cousins a*f screwdriver set but they are now Discontinued.

Thinking about it do I need a German set of screwdrivers 

is the grind a concaved for the German screws?

I think I found my answer it's a hollow grind I need ?

 

 

I've been honing a standard taper with a honing guide 

 

 

The hollow ground would need to be dressed with a grinding wheel to maintain it shape. From a joiner

[Neverenoughwatches]

56 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

The hollow ground would need to be dressed with a grinding wheel to maintain it shape. From a joiner

Actually I've just had a brainstorm but before I see it through does anyone use hollow ground screwdrivers ?

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, Tiny said:

Not sure how I'm going to maintaining the edge yet I'm sure I can make a jig for it some how. anyway here is the link to the blades 

http

HELLO "Hollow ground" , "much better idea".  Much quicker to dress with very little difference in performance  to the parallel and actually being able to see the tip go into the screw is a big bonus. Leave the faff of the parallel tips alone. Trust me I'm a joiner. If you want to know how to sharpen a tool speak to a joiner.

[Tiny]

10 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

HELLO "Hollow ground" , "much better idea".  Much quicker to dress with very little difference in performance  to the parallel and actually being able to see the tip go into the screw is a big bonus. Leave the faff of the parallel tips alone. Trust me I'm a joiner. If you want to know how to sharpen a tool speak to a joiner.

I would like to know your thoughts on dressing/honing the screwdriver because I have most likely over thought it  

[Tiny]

two crochet files set parallel with a screwdriver holder on rails above so it runs true and then you can lightly dress the screwdriver so it's like the Horotec but with needle files cousins ID Crochet (2415) Vallorbe Swiss I have a CNC machine so cutting the file holder would be easy and cut out of brass as I have some odds and ends in the garage 

[Neverenoughwatches]

7 hours ago, Tiny said:

I would like to know your thoughts on dressing/honing the screwdriver because I have most likely over thought it  

I used to hollow grind my favourite Japanese  chisels, and also a couple of specialist ones as well. It's not rocket science at all. 2 reasons for hollow grinding, a sharper much finer edge not nesacelary what you want on a screwdriver that may slip out of a beginner's hands and leave a bloody big gouge on a barrel bridge. I did this twice when using a screwdriver that was a little too thin for a screw slot. Pees me off evertime a think about it, but the case backs are now resin glued back on and I will never see them again .  And secondly to cut down on the sharpening time, you are only sharpening at two points, the front and back edge and generally only a couple of strokes are needed to bring the edge back. More posts to come regarding how I sharpen stuff and how I think that could be applied to very small scredrivers. I'm in the middle of my breakfast lol.  I have a lot of different hobbies activities and yes, I frequently  quote this when overthinking is mentioned as it can slow things down. # PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS # a good balance between doing it and thinking about how you are going to do it. Instead of overthinking, get on and do something and another idea or solution will present itself. Hope this helps I will be back soon. Haste la vista 

[HectorLooi]

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/screwdriver-sharpener-tool-horotec

Horotec makes a tool for sharpening hollow ground screwdrivers. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

Hi Tiny. Looks like you have all the gear, go for it matey. Multiple choice of tools etc is good, then you can discover what works for you. I personally am a little put off by the parallel ones, I wonder how much messing  around dressing them would be against any advantage gained, though dressing may not be needed that much with good quality  tips. And how easy they are in use, the tips look like they can be obscured from two sides. I honestly  think they might be a bit gimmicky. How about getting just one to play around with, then if you not keen there is no big loss.

[Neverenoughwatches]

52 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Hi Tiny. Looks like you have all the gear, go for it matey. Multiple choice of tools etc is good, then you can discover what works for you. I personally am a little put off by the parallel ones, I wonder how much messing  around dressing them would be against any advantage gained, though dressing may not be needed that much with good quality  tips. And how easy they are in use, the tips look like they can be obscured from two sides. I honestly  think they might be a bit gimmicky. How about getting just one to play around with, then if you not keen there is no big loss.

Hi T I'm a big fan of hollow ground in some tools and want to try this on a watch driver. Good surface contact is a must imo to prevent slippage. As soon as I started honing drivers to fit well, my ability with them greatly improved. So experimenting with HG is a must for me. A good fit is important,  and am thinking maybe to the point of having to physically remove the screw from the driver by hand. ( behave, I could have made that sound so much worse) . If you will the driver to fit the slot just tight enough to lift the screw out with, instead of having to switch to a pair of tweezers to remove the screw, using only a light touch with a finger to release the screw. I've not tried that but I definitely am going to experiment to see the implications of it.

[nickelsilver]

I think I wrote this elsewhere in this thread, but bear in mind that a hollow ground driver will fit exactly one size of slot. A little bigger slot and it will slip around and possibly cause dings, smaller slot and it won't fit. I have one (had two) of the special sharpeners, and tried out hollow ground, and, for the work involved, found that wedge shape is simply better for watch work, for me. But I have a friend who loves hollow ground- and since time is money, he has several sets of screwdrivers with varying thickness hollow ground blades, as well as a set with regular wedge shape. I gave him the spare hollow grind tool I had, he was happy to then have a spare, haha.

 

When someone in the workshop starts pondering hollow ground drivers I pull out the tool and offer it to them. So far nobody has switched. It could work for you though, it's always good to try different things.