The goal is to create a nice flat edge across the face of the scraper. When I sharpen a scraper, I like to brace it between my legs to hold it steady, and I run the file at a pretty specific angle to create a little tiny hook or burr on the edge. This angle can differ slightly from person to person, so finding a process that works best for you is important. The mill bastard file does an excellent job. While maintaining your specific scraper angle, I cant the file across the edge of the scraper at about a 60-degree angle to create a larger and thus flatter cutting surface between the scraper and file. The only thing I like to do is hit the corners a tiny bit with the file to remove the sharp edge so that it doesn’t create a gouge in the wood at the edge. Once it does get dull, it takes about three or four strokes to sharpen it back up and refresh your edge.
