Belt sander + leather belt + red buffing compound =

J

JackBauer24

Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
850
absolutely the fastest easiest way to touch up a blade. Actually I think it goes beyond touching it up. I don't know why i didn't use this thing more. Now there's still a few blades that I like to keep hair popping sharp that won't ever see the belt. but for the kitchen knives and 95% of my pocket knives, I can get a polished shaving edge in a matter of seconds.
 
Not to interject, but I've made a few knives with a 1x30 sander. By few, I mean 3-4, and also some polishing of old rusty blades and putting handles on blades. I limit myself to blade lengths of less than 4", most less than 3.5". It takes a long time, but I havent burned the motor out yet. I also limit the thickness to 1/8" or less. Also, 2 of the 4 were Kiridashi with 1.5" blades and primary grinds of 10-15 degrees, so there wasnt a lot of metal removal.
 
Wow, I'm not speaking from experience, but I wouldn't have thought a 1 x 42 would do the trick, at least not as far as stock removal goes, much less a 1 x 30. What make of sander is it, and what grit do you start with?
 
Its the Harbor Freight 1x30. I start with a 40 grit Zirconia belt. I must emphasize that this is a poor excuse for a real belt grinder for knifemaking. The Grizzly 2x72 goes for about $500, and at 10 times the price of the HF, it is more than 10 times the grinder I'm sure. However, sometimes you get the itch and have to go with what you have. If you dont know what a kiridashi look like, dig around in the for sale forums for pictures. You could shape the blade for a simple one in less than an hour with a file and a hacksaw and some 1" wide by 3/32" stock, which is what I may do next time, since I cant grind them straight. The ones on the for sale forum are likely more complicated and elaborate than the ones I make. I once ground a 3.5" blade from 1" x 1/8" O1 stock. It took about 3.5 hours for a full flat grind, but I was using 80 grit belts for roughing then, instead of 40.

Addressing the original poster, do you use the platen to back the leather belt? I've found this the only way I can get consistent results. I havent tried red rouge, but use the white from Sears. Takes about 30 minutes to bring the whole knife block from dishwasher nicked dull to beard hair whittling sharp, using a 220 or 320 grit belt and the leather and compound. Of course, the life of the knives has gone from 20 down to about 6 years, but I'm still learning. Also, do you use belts for rough sharpening, and if so, do you back them with the platen? I tried this last week and was surprised by the results. Very even and a little quicker than a slack belt, but also with greater chance of over heating.
 
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