bench grinder for sharpening

[FortyTwoBlades]

And many factory edges are often remarked to chip very easily, and then "clean up" after a manual sharpening. In most cases this is simply the damaged edge steel being removed.

Chipping is the result of the steel being too hard, not too soft. Dinging or rolling occur in soft steel. Chipping often stabilizes because the geometry thickens a little after a few sharpenings.

 

[Czechmate]

And many factory edges are often remarked to chip very easily, and then "clean up" after a manual sharpening. In most cases this is simply the damaged edge steel being removed.

I can't say that's been my experience at all.

In fact, by using a fine ceramic hone followed by stropping/buffing I've been able to extend the useful life of quite a few factory edges for quite some time.:thumbup:

 

[RX-79G]

Chipping is the result of the steel being too hard, not too soft. Dinging or rolling occur in soft steel. Chipping often stabilizes because the geometry thickens a little after a few sharpenings.

I would think soft+high carbide content is not going to behave like mild steel. But I could certainly be wrong about that.

The main thing I wanted to emphasize is that the best way to preserve the heat treat all the way to the edge is keeping the edge cool when applying abrasives. Such a tiny volume of steel will build heat at a tremendous rate. It takes a blower to get coal hot enough to make a blade orange hot, but the tip of a needle will get that hot with candle.

 

[daizee]

Ooh yeah, don't put a knife near a bench grinder. I'd pick a rock from the yard before doing that.

If you such at sharpening, you're probably not using enough pressure.
Get a full-size diamond bench stone (medium) and make some drawings on paper of a 20d angle to look at. Then PUSH LIKE YOU MEAN IT (while maintaining the angle). When you've raised a burr, do the other side. Then strop it off. 5 minutes.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I would think soft+high carbide content is not going to behave like mild steel. But I could certainly be wrong about that.

Imagine a lump of clay with a bunch of pebbles in it. The pebbles are carbides. The clay is the iron.

 

[linuxology]

A bench grinder is never a good idea. People do sharpen on belt grinders, but you need to be careful not to over heat (ruin the temper) the blade. It takes practice. The Ken Onion Work Sharp would be a good choice if you like the power tools route.

Don't be the guy who does this to a beautiful blade.

I have seen worst sharpening jobs than that. Actually that is not that bad. Is it jacked up? yes. Can it be fixed to be an awesome user knife? Yes. Who cares if the factory bevel has been removed? Guess I'm not a stickler for freaking out about the bevel being bigger than factory delivered and scratches on the blade. Biggest mistake was someone buying that caliber knife and not learning to sharpen on their own or knowing the type of results one would get from that type of service. Goes to the old adage. "If you want it done right, do it yourself." Or screw it up yourself. haha

 

[G. Scott H.]

perhaps with a set of those paper wheels specifically ment to sharpen knives... but not with a stone wheel no.... not unless VERY proficient.

That's what I was thinking. A variable speed bench grinder set at the slowest speed with a set of paper wheels would be fine, but absolutely, positively do NOT use a single speed hardware store bench grinder with the stone wheels (or even paper wheels, imho). As others have said, they'll ruin your blade before you even realize what's happening. Unfortunately, I speak from experience here. I tried sharpening some throwing knives on a 6" bench grinder back in my 20s. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. Good thing they were cheap United Cutlery throwers.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Ken Onion WorkSharp, does a great job, also you can remove the blade guide, tilt the belt down so you can sharpen axes and machetes pretty easily with that too, I sharpened a fellow's axe from work and was happy with the results.

I also bought the BladeGrinder adapter and use that mainly for sharpening, mostly kitchen knives or larger knives, I still hand hone smaller bladed knives.

Key with any belt sander is to lift the knife off the belt before the tip comes off the edge, otherwise you risk rounding the tip.

As to a stone wheel, I imagine you could get an edge on there, but then, I have a very vivid imagination and I do not always trust it

I have used one to get some semblance of an edge back on lawnmower blades of a friend, they were SO blunted it was not funny, so the stone wheel was the way to go, if I had a 'real' belt sander I would have worked them on that as it is just too much metal to remove otherwise.

G2

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

I love my knives of all kinds but I am TERRIBLE at sharpening. I dont have the time or the inclination, I want a system that is simple and quick and effective. I came acrrorososs bench grinders and I wasnted to hear your thoughts if there was a good grinding system that can simplify this issue for me.

As an aside note, I am first and foremost looking for a system for my edc knives but it wuold also be nice to be able to charpen household and garden stff like axes and machetes, etc.

Any products fit the EDC and or Both roles?

Thanks

My suggestion is not to use a machine to sharpen until you get used to doing it manually. Maybe get some extra course DMT rods for your sharpmaker or whatever they have that is like that

 

[Sam Dean]

I like power tools too, and have little patience for hand sharpening....

Get either a cheap LOW speed or Variable speed bench grinder, and a set of paper sharpening wheels.

Practice on cheap knives, kitchen knives, etc...

I've used paper wheels for the last 2 decades. I like getting a mirror polished shaving sharp edge in less than a minute....... With practice and a steady hand, you can get at least the same quality edge as any other manual sharpening system out there.

DISCLAIMER: My knives are mine, and yours are yours. You're free to grind them into dust, no-matter how much the rest of us cringe about it!:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[RX-79G]

Imagine a lump of clay with a bunch of pebbles in it. The pebbles are carbides. The clay is the iron.

Exactly. When the clay gets soft the pebbles break out.

This happened with a D2 knife I had. Sharpened the crud off and it has been stable since.

 

[deltaboy]

No to a bench grinder . Get a good set of Lanskey crock sticks.

 

[HeavyHanded]

For powered sharpening I have become a fan of the wet wheel systems. I picked up a Triton a few months ago, with a few guides its very useful and never a chance of ruining the temper.

They are not the cheapest, but if the jigs and guides are all trued they do a great job. That said, for household sharpening of a relatively small number of tools one should learn freehand - nothing else will serve half as well. Powered systems as mentioned are more for saving time or wear and tear on the operator and are best for when a lot of metal needs to come off. Is not a free lunch by any means.

DO not use a bench grinder.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Exactly. When the clay gets soft the pebbles break out.

This happened with a D2 knife I had. Sharpened the crud off and it has been stable since.

Your carbides would have to huge to be causing visible chipping from that...I don't think you quite understood the analogy.

 

[Spartan00]

Work Sharp KO with blade grinding attachment is what I use, easy to set the angle and I can turn the speed down to keep from removing to much metal too quickly.

That Viel S3 looks nice though, first I've seen it, bet it gets the job done in quick order.

This is what I use . I also have an edge pro honestly for the money and lack of experience grab an edge pro. Power tools without a basic understanding of sharpening is just going to cause a lot of jacked up knives (no offense)

 

[Spartan00]

I don't honestly think you can sharpen a knife at machine speeds without water cooling and NOT damage the temper of the edge. It might only be the smallest part of the edge, but that's the part that does the cutting.

Might as well just use a strip of mild steel at that point.

I thin my well used knives on a belt sander all the time . These are knives and steels I've used a lot (why they are needed to be thinned out). I haven't noticed a lose if edge retention or chipping after any of them .

Now I do use common sense. I don't hold the blade to the belt for long periods of time and I keep water close by if the blade gets warm. Also do this bare handed and never let the blade get too hot .

If I'm actually doing the edge of a knife I turn the speed down and go slow .

Now on one of your other points I kind of agree with you on factory edges . Not so much on the chipping but I've noticed the more you sharpen away from a factory edge the better edge retention you get .

 

[me2]

Chipping is the result of the steel being too hard, not too soft. Dinging or rolling occur in soft steel. Chipping often stabilizes because the geometry thickens a little after a few sharpenings.

It's not unheard of for improper grinding to cause temperatures high enough to reharden the steel, with all the issues associated with untempered material.

 

[kn4wd]

bottom line here if you cant keep a bevel with a good dmt you wont be happy with anything you get of a good belt grinder. these do what your hand and skill tell them to do not as simple as putting it in and taking it out. maybe you need to see about the pull thru sharperner advertised on here, eru I think its called. if you cant keep a constant angle the grinder wont do it for you.

 

[Bivens Bros Knives]

I personally hate the work sharp... It is faster, but the guide is a little wonky and I find that I have to tape the whole knife edge to prevent scratches... I find that using a Lansky (5 stone system), you can sharpen a dull knife to shaving sharp in a few minutes... I thought Gough Custom has a video on Youtube to demonstrate a good sharpening technique... I would recommend a piece of painters tape on the back edge of the knife, under the contact area for the lansky guide...

I think the biggest issue is practice. Sharpen every knife you have, and then use them to dull and sharpen again... You just have to do it a lot to get good at it, whatever method you choose...

 

[dsmegst]

If your bench grinder has variable speed control, lowest speed setting + paper wheels will be a great combination.

I had to learn to sharpen manually but never really enjoyed it. Going with a powered alternative is just smart and the learning curve is pretty short. I spent some time practicing on some thrift store junk knives to get the right technique down. How much pressure to use, best way to keep the blade steady, making proper strokes, seeing how the burr forms, etc. I'm never going back to manual sharpening if I can help it. It take me 2 or 3 minutes to get my folder from dull to hair popping sharp using extra time and care. A quick touch up can be done under a minute.

As much as people caution that a mistake can quickly damage a blade, the proper application of wax on the grit wheel will slow the cutting action and help things stay cool. I wish I'd learned about paper wheels before investing in other systems. My bench stones, guided system, water stones, and ceramic rods all stay in their boxes now. I have my Sharpmaker for when I'm away from home but that's rarely needed.