Help, I have to blend

S

Sharpco

Joined
Mar 27, 2019
Messages
34
I sometimes have to fix the badly damaged blade surface. I have a rotary platen but feel hard to blend. I need something different, for example cushion for the belt.

I saw some guy use scotch brite belt for that. He glue it on the platen. But I don't like that because I think it will reduce the life of the belt.

Please recommend a cushion for the belt.

Thank you for your help.
 
Have you tried to piggy back two belts at once?
I’ve seen someone, and tried with limited success, to run a scotch brite belt with whatever finishing belt over it at the same time. It seemed to work well with used gator belts, I’m not sure if since they were used they were a little stretched. I tried with new belts over a scotch brite but the scotch brite would have slack bunch up and be a pain to get to run true. Also I think running slow is key to getting this to work.
 
I sent some horsehide leather to Devin Thomas for this. He says its working great.
 
Horsewright said:
I sent some horsehide leather to Devin Thomas for this. He says its working great.
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I think he said he has a rotary platen ... so doing something like felt or leather on top of a stationary platen, which others have done, will not work...
 
Cushing H. said:
I think he said he has a rotary platen ... so doing something like felt or leather on top of a stationary platen, which others have done, will not work...
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Don't most rotary platens also have a fixed platen incorporated into the deal? Mine does and a quick Google search shows most do, so why wouldn't horsehide work, Quien Sabe? When Hoss contacted me about what leather to use I recommended the horsehide because it tends to be denser while still soft enough for the job.
 
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Dreaded Double. Seems like a lot of that around this morning.
 
Horsewright said:
Don't most rotary platens also have a fixed platen incorporated into the deal? Mine does and a quick Google search shows most do, so why wouldn't horsehide work, Quien Sabe? When Hoss contacted me about what leather to use I recommend the horsehide because it tends to be denser while still soft enough for the job.
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Ahh, yeah, duh. I don’t have a rotary platen, so that did not occur to me. :-(
 
If it needs to go between the belt and the rotary platen, there are polishing belts without abrasive.
Hermes PN721.
 
S Sharpco , I have some left over felt and I'd be happy to send you a piece if you would like to try it. The material is pretty firm, you can look at the specs here. If you'd like to try it, just let me know where to send it and how long a piece you need for your platen and I'll put a piece in the mail.

To be honest, I am a bit surprised that you want to switch to a cushioned platen from a rotary platen. I got the felt because I did not want to spend the money for the rotary platen, but I always thought they were the way to go with the adjustable tension. I'm curious what you are trying to blend and why the rotary platen does not work well. Can you post a picture of one of the damaged knives you are trying to fix?
 
Hubert S. said:
S Sharpco , I have some left over felt and I'd be happy to send you a piece if you would like to try it. The material is pretty firm, you can look at the specs here. If you'd like to try it, just let me know where to send it and how long a piece you need for your platen and I'll put a piece in the mail.

To be honest, I am a bit surprised that you want to switch to a cushioned platen from a rotary platen. I got the felt because I did not want to spend the money for the rotary platen, but I always thought they were the way to go with the adjustable tension. I'm curious what you are trying to blend and why the rotary platen does not work well. Can you post a picture of one of the damaged knives you are trying to fix?
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Hello Hubert.

If the bevel is not wide(eg. saber grind), rotary platen is works well. But chef knife has over 40mm surface. So when I tried to remove scratches on it with rotary platen, the scratches in the middle of the surface were not removed.
 
Sharpco said:
Hello Hubert.

If the bevel is not wide(eg. saber grind), rotary platen is works well. But chef knife has over 40mm surface. So when I tried to remove scratches on it with rotary platen, the scratches in the middle of the surface were not removed.
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I have only done a few knives with the felt platen so far. This weekend I did a nakiri with almost 50mm height, first saber ground to around 30mm high and 0.5mm edge thickness and then switched to the felt for convexing. I did not have an issue with the middle of the blade. The tallest FFG I have used the felt for convexing on so far is 38mm and that worked without issue as well. The felt I have is pretty firm, maybe you can try increasing the tension on your rotary platen, or switch to a section with less distance between wheels?
 
Hubert S. said:
I have only done a few knives with the felt platen so far. This weekend I did a nakiri with almost 50mm height, first saber ground to around 30mm high and 0.5mm edge thickness and then switched to the felt for convexing. I did not have an issue with the middle of the blade. The tallest FFG I have used the felt for convexing on so far is 38mm and that worked without issue as well. The felt I have is pretty firm, maybe you can try increasing the tension on your rotary platen, or switch to a section with less distance between wheels?
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I use middle distance between wheels and applied quite tension. How long can a felt pad be used?
 
Sharpco said:
I use middle distance between wheels and applied quite tension. How long can a felt pad be used?
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I don't know how long they last, I just started using one. But I imagine it would be quite a while. Robert Erickson Robert Erickson recommended the felt I purchased in this post and commented that he replaces his "every so often".

I have not used a rotary platen, so I don't know how big a difference in tension there is between the sections. It might be worth trying the shortest section, maybe put some marker on the blade to see where the belt touches.
 
Sharpco said:
I use middle distance between wheels and applied quite tension. How long can a felt pad be used?
Click to expand...
Hubert S. said:
I don't know how long they last, I just started using one. But I imagine it would be quite a while. Robert Erickson Robert Erickson recommended the felt I purchased in this post and commented that he replaces his "every so often".

I have not used a rotary platen, so I don't know how big a difference in tension there is between the sections. It might be worth trying the shortest section, maybe put some marker on the blade to see where the belt touches.
Click to expand...

I think I replace mine about every 9-12 months. When it becomes too dished out, that's what initiates a replacement.
I try to use the top part when I'm using more pressure. This creates a little more convexity. I keep the bottom part flatter by only using it for lighter pressure grinding. So I in a sense I create a 2 radii felt platen.
Longevity really comes down to how much you use it and how hard you press.
 
Robert Erickson said:
I think I replace mine about every 9-12 months. When it becomes too dished out, that's what initiates a replacement.
I try to use the top part when I'm using more pressure. This creates a little more convexity. I keep the bottom part flatter by only using it for lighter pressure grinding. So I in a sense I create a 2 radii felt platen.
Longevity really comes down to how much you use it and how hard you press.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Robert. I think you probably make a lot more knives than I do, so the felt will likely last me even longer. I will mark my platen for top and bottom, it installs either way around and I have not paid any attention to the orientation.
 
Robert Erickson said:
I think I replace mine about every 9-12 months. When it becomes too dished out, that's what initiates a replacement.
I try to use the top part when I'm using more pressure. This creates a little more convexity. I keep the bottom part flatter by only using it for lighter pressure grinding. So I in a sense I create a 2 radii felt platen.
Longevity really comes down to how much you use it and how hard you press.
Click to expand...
Hello Robert.
Could you tell me how do you set & replace it?
 
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