Commercial sharpening machine - vertical or horizontal?

B

bennyblanco9

Joined
Apr 19, 2016
Messages
2
Hi guys,

I'm interested in picking up a good commercial machine out of Japan. I have a few options but I'm unsure if I should go with a vertical or horizontal machine type. Are there any distinct advantages or cons with either? I'm use stones for all my needs currently, but am looking to speed up some of the initial work. Thanks for any advice!

http://imgur.com/mji30c0

or

http://imgur.com/c0kz0GA
 
Nice machines, I've used the style where the stone lays flat.

One thing to remember is Japan uses a different electrical plug and voltage IIRC. You will need to find a supplier that has one that works for the electrical service you have.

Although they work, they are best suited for working on Japanese style kitchen knives. Personally, I think a good belt sander is a better option in most cases.
 
Jason B. said:
Nice machines, I've used the style where the stone lays flat.

One thing to remember is Japan uses a different electrical plug and voltage IIRC. You will need to find a supplier that has one that works for the electrical service you have.

Although they work, they are best suited for working on Japanese style kitchen knives. Personally, I think a good belt sander is a better option in most cases.
Click to expand...

Hi Jason - thanks. The machines are both 100V / 200W. I believe I can get a transformer to handle the conversion.

I mainly work with Japanese knives.. repairs, etc.
 
I've always wanted one of the gigantic water wheels myself, too crazy expensive to get one here though.

The donut sharpener as its referred to, was ideal on single bevel knives but for everything else I still used the 2x72 belt. 50/50 edges just feel weird on the donut wheel and it was noticeably slower than a belt sander. Again, for single bevels it was a lifesaver, makes quick work of chipped edges and yields a flatter-smoother blade road than a belt sander allows.

Overall, a 2x72 belt sander gives you more options for grinding and refinishing blades. The water wheels are cool but more limited in capabilities.

(but if you decide to go the water wheel route I would recommend the horizontal donut sharpener)
 
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For what the OP is planning I'd imagine the horizontal will be a much better fit. Plan on using a guide with it though, they are merciless when attempting to freehand unless the bevels are very large. I have a vertical wheel as well and it is great for woodworking tools, not really worth it for cutlery IMHO though does great job is maybe not as fast as freehand. I made a jig to do convex edges on it as well, so not everything needs to be hollow ground.

Make sure it comes with the wheels/grit value you need, replacement wheels for those can be quite expensive.
 
bennyblanco9 said:
Hi guys,

I'm interested in picking up a good commercial machine out of Japan. I have a few options but I'm unsure if I should go with a vertical or horizontal machine type. Are there any distinct advantages or cons with either? I'm use stones for all my needs currently, but am looking to speed up some of the initial work. Thanks for any advice!

http://imgur.com/mji30c0

or

http://imgur.com/c0kz0GA
Click to expand...

Just curious if you have an actual link to these?

(Think the 2nd one is kinda cool looking).
 
My former workplace had the Makita horizontal wheel grinder. Apart from a 6" high speed bench grinder, it was the only grinder we had so I sharpened a lot of knives and tools on it. It worked well on plane irons and chisels, and once I got used to it, it did a fine job on my EDC knives. It removed metal fairly slowly, but that's a function of the grit of the stone... One thing to mention with the horizontal grinders is that they do sling water and swarf through 360 degrees and when you are sharpening a long blade, or tool with a handle that hangs off the wheel, you'll have to lower the splash guard and deal with the mess.
 
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