Cheapest Way To Get Sharper?

A

A_Blade_Afficionado

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Jan 20, 2009
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I currently have a SM and a makeshift strop I made with an old belt and a wooden block. I can get my steels (SG2 especially) to whittle hairs that are run along my finger, I can't whittle free hanging hairs so they're sharp, just not "sharp enough" for what I want.
The SM has served me well over the past year but as I'm being known as the "knife guy" at work I'm asked to fix and sharpen many knives and some wetdry with the SM is starting to get old. It's tiring and takes too long anymore to be efficient.
I'm looking to be able to quickly repair bad edges and throw the best edge I can on the cheap. I'm getting tired of sharpening badly abused knives and having it take hours so I'm thinking either diamonds or something powered would be the best bet.
I've looked at DMT diamonds but they're pricey so I'm thinking of getting a set of paper wheels. I'm thinking I'll buy a set of them from wherever richardj recommends and then buy a cheap grinder from Harbor Freight. Since the grinder would only ever be used for paper wheels I was thinking I'd go cheap on it.
Any other options? I'd like to keep it under $100 please.
 
I guess it is not clear to me what you want to do.

First you talked about wanting to get sharp enough to whittle free hanging hair which may only require you to put a better polish on the edges you are already able to create.

Then you say you want to be able to quickly repair damaged edges...which is a VERY different task.

If you want to quickly repair damaged edges and already have a SM (and a tight budget), perhaps a set of diamond rods and a set of UF rods will work for you?
 
unit said:
I guess it is not clear to me what you want to do.

First you talked about wanting to get sharp enough to whittle free hanging hair which may only require you to put a better polish on the edges you are already able to create.

Then you say you want to be able to quickly repair damaged edges...which is a VERY different task.

If you want to quickly repair damaged edges and already have a SM (and a tight budget), perhaps a set of diamond rods and a set of UF rods will work for you?
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I'm looking for an <$100 system to fix bad edges but be able to sharpen to a higher degree than I can right now. I've heard that the paper wheel set with both wheels will do that, as will a full set of DMT diamonds. I'm looking to see if there's any other cheaper option.
I've looked into a belt sander but I have recurves and I'm unsure of how well a 1" wide belt would be able to sharpen tight recurves like on the Kershaw Bump and other odd blade shapes.
 
A_Blade_Afficionado said:
I'm looking for an <$100 system to fix bad edges but be able to sharpen to a higher degree than I can right now. I've heard that the paper wheel set with both wheels will do that, as will a full set of DMT diamonds. I'm looking to see if there's any other cheaper option.
I've looked into a belt sander but I have recurves and I'm unsure of how well a 1" wide belt would be able to sharpen tight recurves like on the Kershaw Bump and other odd blade shapes.
Click to expand...

$100 or less, and you want to repair and sharpen.
Belt sander is where you want to be.
a 1" belt will work just fine for a recurve. The belt will flex a little into the recurve if you are using a slack belt on a 1x30.
 
I use LV's aluminum oxide grinding belts for the most part. The 320 grit is my favourite for touching up the average dull blade I get. If I get something with no edge whatsoever or otherwise need to take off more steel fast, I've gotten away with using generic sanding belts from local hardware stores to reprofile things before going back to the 320's.

I don't change belts/grits frequently because mine is a cheapo belt grinder that doesn't make the process easy. This is why I sort of settle on the 320 grit as a "belt of all trades".
 
So I've basically decided to get a belt grinder in 1x30 and a 120 grit, 320 grit, and leather belt. How effective is the 15 micron belt?
As cheap as belts are I want to get the 120 for doing heavy cutting on lawn mower blades, machetes, and the like. For a couple bucks it'll be worth it.
Which belts from the leevalley site? There's two types, grinding and sanding or something like that. Which ones for sharpening?
 
If you're thinking of getting into sharpening for $$, look at the sander that Lee Valley sells. It runs slower (depending on the motor you get of course), smoother, and belt changes are a snap.

I like the Sharpening Wheels for sharpening, not so much for making repairs. So I guess the answer depends on what you actually mean when you say "fix" blades. Taking out minor chips, a bit of rebeveling, reshaping a rounded tip are no big deal, but some bigger repairs (broken tips, reshaping blades, etc.) are better done on a belt sander. My .02 is that you can repair and sharpen with a belt sander so it's my first choice. For quick sharpening w/o repairs, I'd go with the Wheels.

cbw
 
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