Finding a Hobby While Recovering Often, people in Utah who are recovering from a major surgery find themselves seeking out a hobby to help them pass the time as they recover. Along with the recuperation routine prescribed by their orthopedic surgeon in Utah, recovering patients can become actively engaged in an activity to help them remain productive and sharp through their recovery process.
Wood Working One of the great hobbies that many people have found to be both mentally stimulating and enjoyable to engage in is wood working. Wood working allows recovering individuals a creative outlet while they recover and a lifelong hobby to enjoy following their recovery. One of the primary responsibilities of a person who gets involved in wood working is the care and maintenance of their tools. The care that one gives their tools will be reflected in the longevity and performance of the tool. Before one does any maintenance on their woodcarving tools they should consider clearing a perimeter at about an arm’s length all around. Keeping others out of this zone will prevent the vast majority of accidents from occurring while either working or maintaining the woodcarving tools. Sharpening a tool is fairly easy, but there definitely is technique behind this action. The most commonly used wood carving tool is a pocketknife, so going over how to sharpen one of those is something worth discussing. To begin with, one will need to have access to a whetstone. These can be bought at a hardware store or hobby shop easily for a very affordable price, and they are some of the most useful items one can have.
Sharpening a Knife To sharpen a knife, hold the whetstone in the off hand. The stone works best when it is lubricated with oil or water, so it will be important to lubricate it from time to time while working. Holding the knife in the other hand, a person can position the blade so that it is at an angle facing down toward the stone. At this point in time, the blade should be nearly parallel to the flat surface of the stone. Shift the blade so that it is touching the stone, and then apply pressure down while gently pushing away from oneself using a gently curving motion. This is done so that the edge of the blade is thinned and sharpened. Repeat this process a few times, and then flip the blade over.
Once again, put pressure on the blade so that the edge is being honed. One does not have to do this for a very long period of time before the blade will become noticeably sharper. There should be an appreciable difference in sharpness over the blade after a short time of using the whetstone properly. Do not over sharpen the blade, as this can actually lead to dulling the blade faster once woodcarving resumes. Once done, wipe off the knife and then use it as needed. Done correctly, this process should be able to keep tools in good shape for a very long period of time and so allow a recovering patient the ability to keep up their newly-found hobby even after they have fully recovered from their operation. Photo Credit: phre3a, wowphotos