Appearances are deceiving

[Folderguy]

Appearances are deceiving

Here is a pic of my Worksharp in action. Really looks smooth, right?

Well, check this out. The smoothness is gone. This belt has already been used for probably more than 45 minutes, and it still cuts well.

Here is a pic of the Norton Blaze SG R980 belt in 40 grit, ready to be installed on my Worksharp.

Closeup of belt. Nasty.

It made mince meat of the edge on my 22" machete. Definitely rough looking.

Pics of a knife made from a power hacksaw blade. M2 HSS steel, HRC 65-66, a bear to grind.

Using this belt is not for the faint of heart, and I'm not recommending using it on any of your good knives, unless you don't care if the result is plenty rough. However, I have found that I can get a really serviceable edge quickly using this belt to quickly raise a burr on one side of a blade and then regring the other side to reverse the burr. Once the blade profile is where I want it, without going to finer grit belts, if I use a kitchen sharpening steel I can get a razor sharp edge in no time at all. Obviously, the edge is not polished and beautiful, but for a quick edge that really cuts aggressively, this may be the ticket for you.

How sharp is the edge after this treatment? Well, the machete edge, which is made of a softer steel, probably 420, hardened to about HRC 52-52, will slice through newspaper without too much trouble, and will also slice through leather decently. Here are a few pics of a machete-sliced piece of leather cut out from an old briefcase. Not too shabby for rough cutting.

For putting a really aggressive edge on kitchen knives, this 40 grit belt does a number. Followed up with a sharpening steel, the edges easily shave hair, and the feel when slicing through meat with this kind of edge is almost primal. Just be careful or you'll have a smaller blade in no time.

 

[changeofseasons]

I've done heavy grinding with 40 and 60 grit belts. Beyond 80 grit, I don't find cutting speed to be increased at all. The grit is just too big... and I'd never use one of these on a knife. You're either crazy or brave or a little of both .

One of the interesting things I've found when using large grit belts like this is the size and shape of the burr. These belts can sometimes produce a burr that is hard to distinguish apart from the edge. I've ground chips out of a guillotine type blade with one of them and the burr maintained the same look as the chips I was trying to remove... until I knocked the whole thing off with a finer belt.

Ultimately, anything coarser than 80 grit is going to leave deep scratches that are a bear and a half to remove with finer belts. Think bearing down on a DMTXXC times 10. Not worth it IMO.

 

[Folderguy]

I've done heavy grinding with 40 and 60 grit belts. Beyond 80 grit, I don't find cutting speed to be increased at all. The grit is just too big... and I'd never use one of these on a knife. You're either crazy or brave or a little of both .

One of the interesting things I've found when using large grit belts like this is the size and shape of the burr. These belts can sometimes produce a burr that is hard to distinguish apart from the edge. I've ground chips out of a guillotine type blade with one of them and the burr maintained the same look as the chips I was trying to remove... until I knocked the whole thing off with a finer belt.

Ultimately, anything coarser than 80 grit is going to leave deep scratches that are a bear and a half to remove with finer belts. Think bearing down on a DMTXXC times 10. Not worth it IMO.

Yes, the scratches are pretty deep, as is to be expected when 40 grit is used on just about anything. However, after doing my best to get the profile I wanted on the knife made from the power hacksaw blade using the 80 and other grits I had available before the 40 grits belts came in, it was more than slightly an exercise in frustration getting the angles and convex edge I sought. Once I tried the 40 grits belt on the hacksaw blade, I felt relieved that I was getting something I desired. Although I didn't go to finer belts on it afterward, the sharpening steel worked just fine. With a softer steel, the belt just eats up whatever's there. Gotta say I like it for this sort of chore. Would probably not be bad working on a chipped axe or hatchet either.