Advice request- What am I doing wrong?

A

alex

Joined
Oct 12, 1998
Messages
1,003
Gentlemen,
I have recently purchased a 1 x 30 belt sander and good quality 3M and Klingspor sharpening belts to learn how to slack belt sharpen my knives.
I am having a bit of a problem with some of the smaller blades in rounding off the points on some of the knives. I have tried to figure out what i'm doing wrong by varying the angle I'm holding the blade at but still have not figured it out to my satisfaction. I have been able to put some scary sharp edges on the knives I have sharpened but the tip problem has me afraid to sharpen my good (expensive) knives.

Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.
 
Alex,
I assume you are starting at the plunge/base and move towards the tip in your sharpening stroke. Watch to see if the edge of your belt (opposite from the edge you finishing your stroke at) is twisting toward the tip or if the pressure on the final edge is bowing the belt. In either case, the geometry changes enough that you can easily round the point if you are not very careful. I've found that finishing the stroke about mid belt gives me a stable enough area to maintain correct geometry.
Regards,
Greg
 
Ripper,
I believe you may have hit on my problem. I was starting at the plunge and finishing all the way thru at the tip but I do remember the tip was bending the belt over a bit at the end of the stroke. I never thought to try finishing with the tip at the midpoint of the belt and was only trying to vary the angle and the amount of pressure against the blade. I will have to try sharpening a few more blades to practice on. Those belt sanders sure are addictive.
Best 30 bucks I ever spent.

Thank you very much for the advice.
 
Do not run your tips off the edge of the belt. Pull blade off the belt before the tip reaches the edge of belt you are pulling toward.

RL
 
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