Grinders and belt sanders

T

TAK65

Joined
Jan 28, 2019
Messages
44
I haven't bought a new knife for years. I figure there are a lot of nice used knives that have better fit and finish. They do what a knife is supposed to do. Cut.

I don't need the fancy new steels or the outrageous price tag that is seen on the knives that are most talked about here.

I've picked up a few lately that for some stupid reason the previous owner has decided the best way to sharpen a knife is either with a grinder or belt sander. To me its just a waste of a good knife.

It makes me cringe to see that a person won't take the time to learn to use a stone to do the work.

I started using sharpening stones when I won a set in a box tools an auction for a $1.67 when I was 14. That was about 40 years ago.

I guess my point of this rant is why do people chose to be lazy and not learn the proper skills to get the job done right?

My apologies if this offends anyone.
 
TAK65 said:
I haven't bought a new knife for years. I figure there are a lot of nice used knives that have better fit and finish. They do what a knife is supposed to do. Cut.

I don't need the fancy new steels or the outrageous price tag that is seen on the knives that are most talked about here.

I've picked up a few lately that for some stupid reason the previous owner has decided the best way to sharpen a knife is either with a grinder or belt sander. To me its just a waste of a good knife.

It makes me cringe to see that a person won't take the time to learn to use a stone to do the work.

I started using sharpening stones when I won a set in a box tools an auction for a $1.67 when I was 14. That was about 40 years ago.

I guess my point of this rant is why do people chose to be lazy and not learn the proper skills to get the job done right?

My apologies if this offends anyone.
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No offense taken by m at least and I too see knives that have fallen to the Grinding wheel and I mean with a very course wheel at that. I learned at an early age to sharpen as well using stones. I can only guess that a knife to many is a a basic tool and time trumped patience when it came to obtaining some sort of edge. I hate when I see a very unique and rare vintage knife and the marks on the blade reveal it was subject to the grinding wheel of fate. On the other hand you can see a knife that may have been sharpened to toothpick status simply due to years of use and sharpening that came from stones. I admire that it was a long time faithful companion:thumbsup::cool:
 
One of the most beneficial side-effects of my getting into knives as a hobby a while ago was learning how to sharpen properly. I have a decent assortment of stones now - diamond, Japanese water stones, Arkansas, ceramic, alumina, silicon carbide - and strops I made myself from leather and compound, and balsa with diamond compound.

It is amazing how sharp I can get even simple, cheap knives with very little time invested, now that I have the skills (which took a fair amount of practice over a period of 6 months to a year or longer).

I honestly think, in retrospect, that anyone who is interested in knives for any reasonable use, especially in the kitchen, invest the time (and expense in sharpening tools) to learn to sharpen, before they spend a ton on amassing a large collection of knives.
 
No offense taken here. I think most of us on this forum would agree that power equipment might not be the "proper" way to sharpen a blade.

On the other hand, it's my opinion that if someone owns a knife they can sharpen it however they want. It's their knife after all.

I think that a good edge can be obtained with power equipment if the operator knows what they're doing. Most manufactures use a wheel or a belt sander to put the factory edge on their knives and some of them are impressively sharp with good geometry. I've bought knives from individuals who used something like a Work Sharp power tool on the edge and I had no problem with the results.

In my opinion, it has more to do with skill than the sharpening method but I'm about as far from an expert as one can get.
 
I used a Spyderco sharpening system and bench stones fr many years but I have to say that the Worksharp belt sharpener that my stones see almost no use.

The Worksharp is quick, easy and gives me a great edge. I am not criticizing anyone and I can understand the pleasure of using stones but for ease of sharpening I will take a powered belt system.
 
I love my belt grinder for fixing knives that are ground too thick. Reprofiling is a snap and thinning the whole blade is an option. And there was at least one long time manufacturer famous for thick D2. Done it by hand, never again.
 
I grew up on stones but have had a Worksharp since they came out and like Rick said if you know how to use it you can easily put a professional edge on most any blade. I sharpen my Hawkbills on it as well and maintain the needle sharp point:thumbsup: and I too don't give a whit what others do with their knives.
 
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