Do you sharpen your putty knives?

I sharpen some of mine. Some have to be dull to keep from cutting, but I have a set of sharp ones.

I sharpen digging shovels, but not putty knives.

Im so good at losing them I guess mine always seem pretty sharp

KillerToiletSpider said:

I sharpen digging shovels, but not putty knives.

Click to expand...

I've never sharpened a shovel :no:...unless replacing the teeth on the backhoe bucket counts... :laughing:

BattleRidge said:

Im so good at losing them I guess mine always seem pretty sharp

Click to expand...

A Sharp putty knife works good for cutting foam board

tgeb said:

I've never sharpened a shovel :no:...unless replacing the teeth on the backhoe bucket counts... :laughing:

Click to expand...

Learned about sharpening shovels in the Fire Department.

Putty knives I keep the edge dressed, not necessarily sharpened.

Sharp putty knife sounds like a variation of a scraper.

griz said:

Learned about sharpening shovels in the Fire Department.

Putty knives I keep the edge dressed, not necessarily sharpened.

Sharp putty knife sounds like a variation of a scraper.

Click to expand...

I once took a grinder to sharpen a shovel and got laughed at. Until they saw how much either it was to dig. A dull shovel is like a dull hunting knife .useless

I always kept a light weight fold up camp shovel in my car. All edges sharpened, just in case I got into trouble and needed it.

griz said:

Sharp putty knife sounds like a variation of a scraper.

Click to expand...

You can use it for that, too. I tend to use flexible 1" putty knives, dressed as you say (although I may try sharpening the side, after this thread), and stiff 3" angle putty knives. These are either dressed or sharpened. Rather, they're sharpened, and I'll dull them if I need it dull. Use as a putty knife, start pulling fragile trim, shave mud in corners - I've even used them to split out some maple flooring and shaved wood with one.

Some how the thread about hookers turned into a thread about putty knives...

Not my favorites:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-Large-Hook-Blades-50-Pack-11-983L/100654937#.UmNaIVP7Oho

lambcraft said:

I like to keep it sharp since sometimes I'm scraping stickers off glass or painted surfaces.

Click to expand...

Be Careful scraping glass with anything, especially tempered glass- you gotta be real careful. I have lost track of how many pieces of glass I have had to replace due to scratches from improper sticker/ paint removal.

If you have to scrape, use a new razor gently in one direction. DO NOT BACK DRAG. As Tin likes to say: ask me how I know.

griz said:

Learned about sharpening shovels in the Fire Department.

Click to expand...

But a sharp ax is frowned upon for structural firefighting.


Dressing, sharpening depends upon what you are using the "Putty Knife" for, imo. Putty knife spreading applications-using it for just that wears the edge and it works better. Scraping with a putty knife, sharpened them just like a cabinet scraper. Using it like a chiesel to cut/pry sharpen it like a chisel, though maybe not that sharp.

griz said:

Learned about sharpening shovels in the Fire Department.

Putty knives I keep the edge dressed, not necessarily sharpened.

Sharp putty knife sounds like a variation of a scraper.

Click to expand...

I have been in the fire dept. for over 2 years and have never heard of sharping a shovel

I've run a putty knife across some very fine sandpaper to remove the stuff I didn't quite wash off last time I used it, but I'm also a little obsessive about clean tools.

I have also sharpened a digging shovel. It works. That is also why I have concrete only and digging only shovels.

I keep my trenching spade sharp, dont bother with my shovel as its a square mouth and just used for backfilling and cleaning up with a broom.

I carry a sharp 5 in 1 that comes in handy for much more than just paint projects.

I learned about sharpening your shovel From Mr White a WWII vet when I was his guy on the ditch cleaning crew for the irrigation cooperative. I was 14. At 18 I was fighting forest fires with the national guard, sharpening shovels was standard practice. That was 25 years ago and I still sharpen shovels but I get funny looks.

I also sharpen my putty knives, drill bits, chisels and even screwdrivers.

cheers, Jim

Unlike metal cutting edges, putty knives are dressed by filing the edge flat and square to the face of the blade.

Hold the file perpendicular to the blade and square it up and remove nicks. Also lay the file flat on the blade and deburr both sides.

Finish with a light sanding with very fine sand paper like 400 or finer.


On shovels, I learned to sharpen them from a guy in his 80's back in the 80's. He was so old there were places on maps named for him. He worked on the Hoover Dam.

Later as a wildland firefighter, it was essential to keep shovels sharp for digging fire line. We had to cut all roots out of the line and sharp shovels were a must. We would hand file the shovels sharp on our breaks.

I was a firefighter in Yellowstone in '88. Lots of shovel sharpening there.