Description

Every time you hone the outer bevel of a curved carving tool on a flat stone, you create a small burr on the inside of the cutting edge, a tiny curl of displaced steel pushed inward by the honing action. It is invisible to the naked eye, but it prevents the tool from cutting cleanly: the edge catches and drags through the material rather than slicing freely.

The slip stone removes this burr. Its curved cross-section fits inside the profile of the gouge or veiner being maintained. Apply a few drops of honing oil, seat the stone against the inside of the cutting edge, and draw it along the edge in the direction of the cut. This removes the burr and polishes the inner face, completing the honing cycle and restoring the tool to its full cutting capacity.

This is a step that many beginning printmakers miss , and then cannot understand why their tools, despite regular honing, still cut with a slight drag or produce a rough edge in the lino. Flat stone honing alone addresses only half of the cutting geometry. The slip stone addresses the other half. For any curved Pfeil tool , any of the sweep 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, or related profiles , the slip stone is part of the correct maintenance sequence.