paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

[richard j]

here is a tip for anyone who uses a single shaft motor to run their wheels on like i do. to make the wheels come off and go on easily, take a narrow blade that will easily fit inside the hole and lightly scrape around the inside testing the fit until the wheel goes on a little easier. make sure the blade is perfectly straight and long enough to scrape the entire surface.

it would be best to wait till you get ready to redo the wheels so you can true them up again.

i know i have posted this before but here is how to true the wheels.

take a long board that you can set at an angle under the wheel and have it resting on the bench.
with a piece of 24 grit paper attached bring the board up to the wheel until it just makes contact.
lightly press the abrasive to the wheel and slowly remove a little at a time and avoid just pressing it up against the wheel and holding it there.

if the wheel is out any at all you will just make it worse. you have to take a little at a time until you get the wheel true. when you are done you should be able to hold your thumbnail up close (and almost touching) to the wheel with it spinning and not see any runout.

[banksy]

My wheels arrived yesterday. I probably should have thought about this earlier, but but the immediate problem I can see is that the wheels will quickly buckle out of shape in the damp air in my workshop. To give you an idea, the rods in my Lansky kit became badly corroded in just a few months. And that was over the summer!
I'm wondering if a solution would be to make it easier to remove the wheels for dry storage after each use by fitting tapered pigtails to my grinder, like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2803908386...9#ht_500wt_986
Do you think the wheels would run true and stay in place if I remove the 1/2" plastic and use the 5/8" paper core?
Thanks

[richard j]

dont even try that. i can see you getting hurt. read my post above. if you do not use them very often just take them off and seal them in an air tight bag or put the entire grinder in a heavy plastic bag with some dessicant to get rid of moisture. you can get some at wallyworld probably or at a sporting goods store. they put it in gun safes to keep guns from rusting due to moisture.

[topher]

My wheels arrived yesterday. I probably should have thought about this earlier, but but the immediate problem I can see is that the wheels will quickly buckle out of shape in the damp air in my workshop. To give you an idea, the rods in my Lansky kit became badly corroded in just a few months. And that was over the summer!

At many common stores (Target, Walmart, etc) you can find large plastic bins. Many of them are nearly airtight, and can do a great job of protecting things from the damp. I have a half dozen of them that I keep in my garage specifically for holding things I want stored out there, but that need a little extra protection from the elements and dust/dirt.

[richard j]

banksy, send me an email rje196021@gmail.com

[richard j]

i thought i would post my paper wheel tips page link. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=608864

here is another one that i started on factory edges. if the factory edge held up great, i try to match it. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=819683

[richard j]

over the years of sharpening with the wheels, i have had some knives with thumb studs get in the way when sharpening on the wheels. anymore i remove them if possible but if not i tape them up really good.

folder frames can also be a pain due to odd shapes like the frame sticking out over the blade at the plunge line for instance. when i see a knife like this i tape the heck out of the area to protece the frame.
sometimes i wonder if they ever considered the frame getting in the way of sharpening when they designed the knife.

[richard j]

here is something for you guys with the wheels to try. after working up a burr, take a few passes on the slotted wheel without adding any fresh rouge and see if you notice anything different about the edge sharpness and then put some rouge on and buff the edge again.

[protourist]

Thaks Richard for the lessons the other day. I'm seriously impressed. It didn't take long at all to learn how to use the wheels and the few moments that I used them to touch up my 52100 necker that I thought was sharp before was really an eye opener. I used that knife to shave last night.

[richard j]

i see threads every now and then where someone asks what a burr is. here are a few shots of a long burr i worked up on a putty knife. when you have a properly formed burr like this, you switch over to the slotted wheel to remove it and polish the edge. i made the burrs in these 2 shots long on purpose so they show up better. the burr on this knife is all you need to get a sharp edge and its about the size of a human hair if that. smallburr2.jpg

[richard j]

when working up a burr on the grit wheel, making more than 1 pass on the same side can cause that side to become wider if you make too many passes. its always best to alternate sides on the grit wheel.

[PeteG]

Been reading this tread and decided to go with this setup (Thanks Richard), first picked up the paper wheels at my local Woodcraft shop and starting looking for a different grinder than the one I have and found one at Toolzone, 6” 1725-rpm grinder. So far so good did some kitchen/old knives that turned out very nice, my only problem is keeping a correct angle all the way down the blade.

[richard j]

neat setup pete. how much was the motor?

[PeteG]

neat setup pete. how much was the motor?

The grinder was $99 and so far works great, never had a low-RPM grinder before.

[richard j]

thats not a bad price. is it a 1/2 hp motor? i think the lower rpm is a lot better. i tried a 3400 rpm buffer once and i think i'll stick with the 1725 rpm motor i'm using.

[PeteG]

thats not a bad price. is it a 1/2 hp motor?

No, wish it was just 1/3 HP.

[RubiconSS]

Richard, I know the answer to my question(s) is somewhere in the thread.....
The grinder I have is one speed, one direction and IMO spins the wrong way. But, if I have to I guess another grinder ain't the end of the world.
I have gleaned you like variable or at least low-speed. Should it spin counter-clockwise (away from the edge being sharpened?)
I love my Wicked Edge but hey, I loved my SharpMaker too.... it's a Hobby!

I am going to buy a set-up (with your help) for some of "your kinda sharpening" just need the short list from the Master

[richard j]

No, wish it was just 1/3 HP.

does it bog down? you could probably get a better one at lowes for less. if you want to see what grinder it is, look back through the paper wheel thread and i'm sure you'll find it.

[richard j]

Richard, I know the answer to my question(s) is somewhere in the thread.....
The grinder I have is one speed, one direction and IMO spins the wrong way. But, if I have to I guess another grinder ain't the end of the world.
I have gleaned you like variable or at least low-speed. Should it spin counter-clockwise (away from the edge being sharpened?)
I love my Wicked Edge but hey, I loved my SharpMaker too.... it's a Hobby!

I am going to buy a set-up (with your help) for some of "your kinda sharpening" just need the short list from the Master

if the grinder spins counter clockwise looking from the right side you are good to go. a 1725 rpm motor would be best but if all you have is 3400 i guess that will have to work. go to your local woodcraft store and pick up a set. if there is not a woodcraft sore close by, there is a directory at mikes website with dealers in all 50 states.

[PeteG]

does it bog down? you could probably get a better one at lowes for less. if you want to see what grinder it is, look back through the paper wheel thread and i'm sure you'll find it.

The motor is fine, it has plenty of power for sharpening.