> Following your post, I purchased a "cabinet scraper". This
> scraper is approximately 1/16" thick and is made by Sandvik. Could
> you tell me how sharp this is supposed to be - should it be as sharp as a
> knife (with little thickness)or is the metal edge to be sharp? I've tried
> it on some epoxy runs and it will remove thin strips but it takes quite a
> bit of work. Thanks.

The proper tool you need for applying a hook to a cabinet scraper is called a burnisher. You may have missed this item (if they sell them where you purchased your scraper), as it's pretty plain looking; it's basically a _VERY_ hard (around Rc64) polished metal rod with a handle on one end. They come in different cross-sections, circular or oval, for example. If you're really picky about properly "tuning" your scraper you'll also need a file and a couple of water/oil-stones (800x or 1000x and 6000x or 8000x); first file a square edge, next hone the edges to a mirror finish, then hone the faces near the edges to remove any burrs left by filing and honing, and finally burnish. When burnishing, you hold the scraper in your hand or a vise, and the burnisher in the other hand. Then apply around three or four LIGHT strokes to each of the four edges with the tool slightly skewed to the length of the scraper. Light means around 4oz, yes that's right, 4oz, not 4lbs or 40lbs. If you consider the pressure involved with 4oz applied to an extreeeeemly small area, you'll realize why enormous amounts of force are not required, or even desired (you'll probably fold the hook right over, and ruin the edge - you know your scraper is working properly when you produce fine shavings, if you get dust, start over). You can tilt the burnisher with respect to the face of the scraper (typically under 5 degrees), but this is not an absolute requirement. Also, you should make sure that the burnisher stays polished (no dents or scratches, especially no nicks), otherwise your hook will get buggered up. :-) A typical solution is to use a hard felt wheel loaded with a buffing compound.

Below is a link to Lee Valley Tools. They've got a wide range of scrapers, plus scraper holders, scraper plane inserts, variable burnishing jigs, scraper jointing jigs, and burnishers... what more could you want?! I've also included a picture from their site so you can get some idea of what the tool looks like an how it's used.

HAND :-)

Mike Spence