Bench Grinder Sharpening

[mdole]

Hey all, I asked for and received a sears adjustable speed bench grinder for Christmas with the intent of sharpening my knives with it. My idea is to use paper wheels (or is there an equivalent and cheaper option?) to make my knives scary sharp. I'm not really looking to re-profile edges (not all the time anyhow), just sharpen. What do I need to know before I start? What do I need to buy? Any and all helpful input would be great! Thanks in advance for your help!:thumbup:

 

[Noctis3880]

All you really need(aside from safety goggles) is a bunch of cheap knives to start out with. This is really important! Save yourself some frustration by doing no less than 5-8 "practice" knives before moving onto your more expensive cutlery.

 

[Poez]

All you really need(aside from safety goggles) is a bunch of cheap knives to start out with. This is really important! Save yourself some frustration by doing no less than 5-8 "practice" knives before moving onto your more expensive cutlery.

An excellent recommendation. No amount of good advice can possibly substitute your own experience and practice! Not in this, at least.

 

[eccvets]

yep, paper wheel is the best way to go about getting a razor edge on a blade without the time and hassle of other methods. Your gonna be happy with your paper wheel, I never would have believe it until I got my own and I can't believe I was such a moron for spending money on other systems which were no where near as good at getting a scary edge on a knife. On average it should take you no more then 5 mins to go from blunt edge to shaving ready edge on a blade and that includes the time to actually pull out and plug in the grinder. It takes me much longer to actually pull out the grinder and clean up my work area compared to actually sharpening a blade!

 

[mdole]

thanks for the advice so far guys, if I'm doing paper wheels, which ones would you recommend? I've also heard of people using felt wheels with a paste, is that as effective? And one last question, the grinding stones that come attached to a grinder, other than complete re-profiling, are they used at all? Should I treat them like a rough file for major metal removal? Thanks!

 

[Poez]

thanks for the advice so far guys, if I'm doing paper wheels, which ones would you recommend? I've also heard of people using felt wheels with a paste, is that as effective? And one last question, the grinding stones that come attached to a grinder, other than complete re-profiling, are they used at all? Should I treat them like a rough file for major metal removal? Thanks!

I personaly would never use that grinding stones on anything but blade blanks.
Felt wheels with a paste are soft. So I would avoid them for lack of real control - it is just impossible to keep the edge straight.
That is all just common sense based. So you better see for youself - try on some expendable knife.

 

[mdole]

thanks poez, are some paper wheels superior to others? Which would you recommend?

 

[Poez]

thanks poez, are some paper wheels superior to others? Which would you recommend?

Sorry mdole, I hope somebody can help you with this. I do not know much about what is abailable in US - can not recommend anything specific.

 

[THG]

And one last question, the grinding stones that come attached to a grinder, other than complete re-profiling, are they used at all?

I use them for reprofiling. That's actually the only thing I use my bench grinder for. And you have to be really, really careful.

I would NOT use them for sharpening. They eat metal quickly.