i was thinking which knives i have sharpened over the years that have been the most challenging blade shape. after doing some thinking, the cotton sampler design was one that started out to be challenging but once i found a trick it was no longer challenging. the straight section past the belly to the tip was hard since the knife had to be held in line with the wheel and the knife facing away from me while being kept paralell to the floor.
this would require twisting your wrist around quite a bit while drawing the straight section across the wheel to the tip after going past the belly. keep in mind that my wheels are rotating to me and i'm holding the knife on the back side of the wheels.
i turned off the motor and switched to my buffing wheel so i could use it to make dry runs on so i could find a better way to sharpen the knife. i did this with the motor off for safety. after a while i found a way to sharpen the entire blade while keeping the knife off to the side of the wheel.
i have a little challenge for thoes of you who have a set of wheels. trace out the pattern on a piece of heavy cardstock and see if you can figure out how to sharpen a cotton sampler and keep the knife on either the left or right side without having to go in line with the wheel. (dont post your answer and i ask that anybody that doesnt have a set of wheels to refrain from posting.)
as an example is how you would go about sharpening a tantol blade on them. to do the tip, you would have to hold the knife with the handle facing away from you. dont post anything here in this thread but send me an email telling me how you would sharpen a cotton sampler once you make it past the belly.
i done the sharpening in one motion and the blade never left the wheel until the tip was reached. the only tip i'll give is it took 2 motions not normally done when using the wheels. lets see who's the smartest between you guys when it comes to using the wheels.
before sending me the email with your only answer, make sure to do several dry runs to make sure you're right. this isnt a contest but a learning experience. i'll post the correct answer or answers next week or weekend. if nobody gets it i'll post how its done.
