Cheap Leather Wheel

[wsfarrell]

I finally read the Verhoeven paper on sharpening/honing, in which the very best edge was obtained using CrOx or aerosol diamond on a Tormek leather wheel. I can't afford $350+ for a Tormek. Does anyone make a machine that has ONLY a low-speed leather wheel? Thanks in advance!

 

[cbwx34]

Within the confines of the study that might be true... but you should look at the Paper Wheel setup... even if you just use the polish wheel to finish an edge.

You can get a leather wheel thru Woodworkers supply...

http://woodworker.com/1-12-x-2-leather-sleeve-mssu-110-852.asp

...no idea how they work though

cbw

 

[wsfarrell]

Thanks for that. The Verhoeven paper looked at cloth and felt wheels, used by a "master bladesmith," and concluded they removed a lot of metal. I would think paper wheels (and even leather wheels) would do the same at 1,750 or 3,500 RPM. Too fast for me...

 

[myt132-cu]

Grizzly makes a couple of machines similar to the Tormek, and the small one is pretty reasonable.

Small belt grinders are very popular for a few good reasons. First, it's easy to switch grits, so you can use a very coarse grit to fix broken tips or badly damaged blades in nothing flat, and with very little worry of overheating the blade. It's then up to you to choose what grit will be best for any given application. Belts are cheap and come in all grits. For final honing, a leather belt charged with chromium oxide will polish an edge to a mirror finish in no time.

The best thing about belt grinders is the type of edge they produce. Convex edges are the most durable edges, and that means less sharpening, which makes you and your knife happy.