>>180065Always check the ax for sharpness. A honed ax will cut faster, be safer to use, and stay sharp longer.
If you look directly into the edge of your ax with the light over your shoulder (either sunlight or artificial light),
the edge that you've just honed will reflect no light. If you see any light reflected from the edge, you need to
go back and hone the ax with the stone.
Occasionally, a ding or a nick in the edge will reflect light just at one point. It is not always necessary to remove
these dings as they will disappear through repeated filings. A correctly honed edge is sharp with no wire edge.
It reflects no light. If you followed procedures, your edge should be sharp enough to shave with (Figure 73).
I sometimes check the sharpness by carefully dry shaving the hair on the back of my hand. This is a traditional
method used in the woods for years. A safer and equally effective test is to carefully put your fingernail (not your
finger) against the sharpened edge. The edge should bite into your fingernail and not slide down it.
Figure 73—Shaving hair on the back of your hand is a traditional method of checking an ax's sharpness.
A safer method is to place your fingernail against the edge. The edge should bite into your fingernail.
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