Belt Sander for Reprofile

zatch

zatch

Joined
Sep 6, 2008
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Just a quick question/ramble. I am pretty comfortable using a belt sander (both a work sharp and a standard 1") to resharpen an edge. Lately, I have been wondering if it would be possible to re-profile the entire grind with a belt sander. I have owned knives that were a bit thick for me - knocking the shoulders down a bit would be really nice. I saw a good deal for a larger belt sander and I wondered if that would get the job done (4" by 36" I think, or something similar)

Maybe I would need a grinder? Could I then use the belt sander to thin out an axe/hatchet head?

Everything I have searched for so far has yielded results for thinning out an edge - this I do know how to do. Part of me is thinking that this would be better left for the experts.

Thanks!
 
Sure you can do it. In fact I've made a knife with a HF 1x30 belt sander. I used hardened M2 steel and the key is use coarse belts.
 
4 X 36s are woodworking machines. Save tour money.
A Craftsman 2 X 42 is a good starter machine.
 
as always mister DeShivs is right you won't find a lot of adequate belts for a 4x36.
 
If you're talking about a regrind(like what Tom Krein did), I would think you'd need a belt sander in which you can adjust the tension of the belt to be super taut, or maybe even have a metal plate behind the belt, otherwise all your grinds would end up being full convex rather than say, a full flat grind. Though I'm not sure it matters too much so long as it's thinner behind the edge.

An interesting idea though, I might give that a try on one of my Moras with my Worksharp. Though my primary concern is what to do with the finish.
 
Most of my "regrinds" would be on fixed blades, anywhere from 3 to 6 inches. Would a 2 x 42 work for that?

Good thinking on the belts, I would definitely want some higher grits (and I'd like to find some of the belts locally, rather than rely on the internet).

Thanks for the replies! I'll look into the craftsman.
 
You can definitely use a 2x42 to reprofile a knife. You will want to start with coarse belts and move up to higher grits. If you only use coarse grit belts there will be deep scratches left on the blade.
 
When looking at belts you need to look at more than just grit size. There are belts for wood and then there are belts for metal. Try useing a wood belt to regrind hard steel and you'll quickly find out why there are belts for metal. I have a hard time finding belts for metal locally, hopefully you will not.
 
Will do. Thanks for the hint (I probably would have made that mistake).
 
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