CAn I sharpen reed gouge with a dremel?

Uilleann Pipes
1

Without ruining the gouge of course. I have loads of oilstones and even a wet honing machine but none of them will accommodate an inside bevelled gouge.

Thanks
Bob

2

My guess is that although you might get an initial edge on the gougue, you would quickly wear down the tempered steel and end up ruining the gouge in the long run.

I use a thing called “Speedy Sharp” for my gouge:

http://www.speedysharp.net/

I don’t have to sharpen the gouge with the Speedy Sharp very often but I do use a honing leather before using the gouge.

3

Bob

Another alternative is to grind the gouge flat on the inside - it’ll still be an in-cannel gouge, but you can thereafter sharpen it on a flat stone.

The NPU gouges from Ashley Iles come sharpened that way initially (well, they are sharpened on a wheel so are slightly hollow ground but the bevel is very nearly flat).

regards,

Bill

4

There are oil and water stones in the shape of a cone that are made for sharpening in-cannel blades, but they can be difficult to find. Have you thought of trying a steel (the kind used for sharpening kitchen knives)? Another suggestion, one I got from my pipemaker, is to use a bit of fine emery cloth on a wooden dowel.

djm

5

Bob,I have tried all of the aformentioned methods but I found that Billh’s method is the easiest one.It looks strange at first with the “cowcatcher” sticking out the front but is easy to make razor-sharp.You have to grind it flat like the Ashley Iles but keep dipping it in water so that you don’t lose the temper.Then you can finish it with a fine flat oil-stone.Finally make a strop with a piece of leather glued to a piece of wood and strop the tip.You can convert an out-cannel gouge to an in-cannel gouge using this method.

6

I ordered my gouge from a source that Mark Hillmann suggested to me and they reground it to make it in-cannel.

Nick Whitmer sells a sharpening stone - Conical shaped, about 6” long. For sharpening the in-cannel gouge.

I did a quick google search and found these in-cannel gouges:
Two Cherries In-Cannel Gouges
Frank Mittermeier Inc.

7

I have to second the Speedy Sharp! Here in the Great White North its called a “Mastercraft Blade Sharpener”. Very easy to use…and CHEAP. Having a sharp gouge really takes a lot of the work out of preparing the slips.