Scrapers are one of the most effective tools in your workshop and, when tuned properly, they are capable of producing a lustrous finish on most timbers. It is hard to imagine how such a simple and inexpensive tool can make such an impact on the quality of your woodworking. A scraper is a piece of flat steel, that, when sharpened correctly, will produce fine shavings. The steel must be hard enough to hold an edge, but malleable enough to be able to create a hook or burr. A scraper may be used to smooth hard timber with difficult grain that is subject to tear out or fiddle back. It can remove machining marks or even out marks left by the sweep of a hand plane.