The Lee Valley site has a PDF available describing in detail the complete
process for burnishing, resharpening, jointing and stoning a scraper. It
includes pictures as well.

The contents of the PDF are posted below for educational purposes.
The complete instructions are available by going to the Lee Valley site and
clicking on the
"INSTR" link:

Goto
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...310,41069&ap=1 and
click on the "INST" link.

Vertias Tools Inc.:

The cabinet scraper is one of the best and most useful tools you can have in
your shop. However, it must be properly sharpened to be used to its full
potential. The following steps for sharpening are quite simple and take only
a few minutes.

Note: Our super-hard milled scrapers have already been squared to a sharp
90° and do not require initial jointing and stoning. They are ready for fine
work and need only to be burnished for heavier duty work.

Step 1: Burnishing
If you will be using the scraper for very fine work such as marquetry, it
can be used directly after stoning. For most work, however, the edge will
have to be burnished. Any burnisher will do, providing it is harder than the
scrapers to be burnished and is polished to avoid creating a ragged hook.
The Veritas® Tri-Burnisher (05K32.01) is a good choice. This teardrop-shaped
burnisher is able to do both straight and curved scrapers. For the ultimate
in ease of use and consistency in hook angle, we suggest using the Veritas
Variable Burnisher (05K37.01) for all of your straight scrapers. The
following instructions for burnishing straight scrapers apply to traditional
burnishers, including the Veritas Tri-Burnisher.

Figure 1: Initial Burnishing
Burnishing is best done in a vise so that the scraper stands erect. When the
scraper has been clamped, draw the burnisher along the flat of the edge with
very firm pressure (Fig. 1).
After 2 or 3 strokes, a burr is formed. For fine work this may be adequate.
Usually you will have to tilt the burnisher a few degrees to get enough hook
(Fig. 2). Only for very heavy work (e.g., paint scraping) should the angle
be greater than 10°. The amount of hook will depend on the burnishing angle,
the pressure used, and the number of strokes.

Figure 2: Burnishing a Hook
Step 2: Resharpening
An edge can be "picked up" once or twice by running a sharp point along the
edge under the hook (Fig. 3). But if there are any nicks in the hook, you
should repeat the sharpening process, starting with Step 3: Jointing.

Figure 3: Resharpening
Step 3: Jointing
Using a mill ******* file, the edge to be used should be squared so that it
is a continuous smooth plane without nicks or shear marks. This can be done
by holding the scraper against an erect surface such as a bench or, even
better, in a vise (Fig. 4). For greater accuracy and a true edge, we suggest
using the Veritas Jointer and Edger (05M07.01).

Figure 4: Jointing
Step 4: Stoning
After filing, the scraper edge will have small serrations that should be
removed by stoning. You can do this by first sitting the stone on top of
your bench while projecting it a bit over the side; then, while holding the
scraper against the front of your bench, slide it back and forth underneath
the stone until you have removed any file marks (Fig. 5). If you use a water
stone, you should use the edge of it since the scraper will scratch the
stone. After the jointed edge has been stoned, the adjoining flats should be
lightly stoned to remove any residual burrs. You are then ready to reburnish
the scraper.

Figure 5: Stoning
By following these steps and with practice, you should be able to obtain a
scraper edge that will work quite effectively.

Source: Downloaded on 2 April 2006 from website:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...310,41069&ap=1 .
Vertias Tools Inc. Canada.

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KB
Saint Charles County, MO