Belt Grinder for Reprofiling?

D

Dave568

Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
118
I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good, but relatively inexpensive, belt grinder for reprofiling a batch of knives. I'd love to be able to get a Tormek, but unfortunately $400 for the amount of work I have to do is out of the question. If anyone have any specific brands to recommend or advice to give me, I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
 
Buy the cheapest one you can get at a hardware store. A small one inch belt sander is a bit too light to actually make knives but it chews off edge bevels instantly with really coarse belts.

-Cliff
 
THe 1x30 from Harbor Freight works good. Usually on sale for under $30. If you want a leather belt, use a thin one... it doesn't have a lot of clearance. (Ones from Woodworker.com work pretty well).

cbw
 
I had the Sears version of that... didn't like it. Doesn't hold much water, and it quickly drys out (and what little water there is goes everywhere). Motor was weak.. it would stop w/o a lot of pressure. And didn't give a very good grind.

If you're looking for a water grinder... contact Thombrogan and ask him about this....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35098
I think he bought one a while back, and had some good results with it... but I'm not sure.

cbw
 
I'm not really looking for a water grinder in particular, I was just wondering if that grinder might suite me well since it is made for knives. It doesn't sound like it will, however, so I think I will keep looking.

I tried to find the belt grinder you mentioned from Harbor Freight, but I couldn't find it in their grinder section. I am going to try looking again...

Edit: I found it... I was looking under the Power Tools -> Grinders section instead of Metalworking Tools -> Grinders.
 
Thanks for the link. I'm going to take a trip to a couple hardware stores tomorrow evening to check to see if they have a similar belt sander for sale (I hate waiting for shipping). If not, I will going ahead and order that one from Freight Harbor.

On another note, does anyone have any recommendations for keeping a constant angle on a belt sander?
 
Does anyone use one of these?:
00922593000


I've used one to reprofile the edge on a BK7 with a worn 220grit. I'd like to find some finer paper but 220 seems to be the finest I've found.

Theres a gap between the roller and the plate that backs the sanding belt that allows me to get a slight convex on the edge.
 
Rupestris,

Contact www.customsandingbelts.com They carry up to 600 grit silicon carbide for most every size imaginable. For my very curved Spyderco knives, they sold me 1/4" x 30" belts for my sander.

Dave568,

If you move the blade lightly and smoothly (but not slowly! :eek: ) across the belt, you won't need to worry about holding a constant angle. It'll take care of itself. Just light and smooth. Some folks like to dip their blades in water between passes to absorb excess heat and some like to count 5-10 seconds, but both ways work. Please wear eye protection and consider a good dust mask if you plan to reprofile a lot.

You may even wish to consider a cheap silicon carbide hone and water if you're only doing this with just a few knives.
 
Thanks Thom. They have the size I need up to 400g. :thumbup:

Thats plenty fine for my needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top