Belt sander

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kelbro

Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
267
I just found this great site and noticed that some folks are using sanders to put edges on blades. As a free-hander for over 40 yrs and a Lansky-er for the past 5 or 10 years, the idea of using motorized sharpeners has some appeal. I have some hunters and kitchen knives that take forever with stones.

I have the 30x1 belt sander and was thinking that 3400rpm was too fast for sharpening. What belts are you guys using on these sanders? Do you slow them down some? Leather stropping belts too?

I also have a 6" bench grinder and have seen some cardboard sharpening wheels. Do those really work?

Any tips/ideas will be appreciated. Thanks for the input.

I collect no-dot Case kniives but they would not be subjects for this experiment :)
 
i use and sell the cardboard wheels and yes they do work. i had a sharpener similar to a lansky but gave it away once i bought my wheels and learned how to use them. there are cheap wheels out there that are made of cheap white paper but the ones i have are the origonal ones. i also have 3 short videos, one is at this link. i can email the others if anyone wants to see them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plMbnQMQJMg
 
kelbro said:
I have the 30x1 belt sander and was thinking that 3400rpm was too fast for sharpening. What belts are you guys using on these sanders? Do you slow them down some? Leather stropping belts too?
Click to expand...

I have the HF 1x30 and use it pretty much like Jerry Hossum describes. Very straightforward. The speed is fine - just have a bucket of water nearby to dip the blade n between passes. Make sure you have a wide selection of belt grits. I've taken off the platen and the side and top covers - they just get in the way.

I sharpen edge in (instead of edge trailing like Jerry recommends) - I feel I have more control that way.

At this point, I don't sharpen on anything but the belt sander. I use a wood backed leather strop for stropping - that's about the only thing I do by hand now!


p.s. I learned to sharpen from my dad, and I've been putting "scary" sharp edges on my knives since then, using Arkansas stones, and more recently diamond stones. I've got an Edge Pro, which I liked and used before getting the HF. But the HF is the best thing going, as far as this old codger is concerned!
 
Grampa, I don't doubt that you can get a scary sharp edge on a knife using stones and leather:D When I managed a print shop a number of years ago, there was a guy who used to come in to replace our cutter blade - an older (late 60's) guy who worked for the machine shop that actually serviced the blades. A buddy and I were sitting around sharpening our pocket knives one day when this dude came in, and he offered to take the knives home and get 'em "scary sharp" for us. AND he did! He later explained that he just used a couple of stones and some leather to do it. HOWEVER - I've got a set of these wheels, and I have to say that they are the best way I've found to sharpen a knife - especially if your traditional sharpening skills are, shall we say, somewhat lacking (like mine):rolleyes: Because of that (and my somewhat-lacking ability with a sharpening stone), I'd recommend them to anybody who wants to put a "professional edge" on a knife blade. Just my 2 cents worth...
 
i was set up at a fundraiser one day and sharpened a bunch of knives. i averaged about a knife a minute from start to finish getting each one shaving sharp. the only exception was a cheap pakistan folder that was made from some really soft stainless. i wont even bother to mess with them anymore since they seem to load up the grit wheel.
 
I have used my Burr King 1 X 42 for some time, finding a buff is always just right to make it leap into sharp. I use 220, worn out and then very high grit belts.
 
I plan to pick up one of the razor sharp kits for the bench grinder today and see how it works.

Thanks!
 
Well the Razor Sharp kit does make quick work of a long tedious job. Put edges on about 5 or 6 knives. It would probably get most peoples knives as sharp as they have ever been. My personal opinion of sharp says that this kit is great for kitchen and work knives but to get one REALLY sharp still requires a light touch up on stones or sticks. Do I just need more practice or is this as good as I can reasonably expect?

How about the belt sanders with the leather belt as a finish step? Is that going to satisfy a picky rock polisher like me?
 
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