I have seen the light, and it's a belt sander.

FoxholeAtheist

FoxholeAtheist

Joined
Apr 7, 2003
Messages
2,315
So I got this HUGE Kershaw Outcast in D2 for my wife to use dividing plants at the greenhouse... only problem is that the edge was VERY obtuse, and it wasn't doing the job.

Sooooo yesterday I went over to the in-laws, and took it along. My father-in-law used to sharpen knives as a side business, so I asked him if he could reprofile edge on his belt sander. He's got a little guide to keep the angle consistent, and he went carefully and slowly from 80 to 220 to 320 grit belts. He did in 20 minutes what would have probably taken me a month to do with a diamond stone! (incidentally, he said that reprofiling this knife was the most time he had ever had to take using his belt sander on a single knife... I guess that D2 really is pretty abrasion resistant)

It was just a little Craftsman benchtop sander , and he had added the guide himself. All I would have changed about his setup is to add some sort of slick tape to the guide so as to not scratch up the coating on the knife.

If I only had space for one of these things, I would be ordering one today.
 
I have that one...it's nice because you can use 2x42 and 1x42 belts on it.

I turned a WalMart knife into a Bark River copy... (course not near as nice and it won't hold an edge like a Bark River) ... my $15 BRKT-Wb (Wannabe) :rolleyes:
 
Could you tell us more about the guide?

I would be interested in maybe seeing a pic or at least a description. Was it capable of varying angles?

Thanks!
 
To be honest, I didn't look all that closely at the guide, but it looked like a piece of angle steel with a couple of screws holding it on. The one further "up" was fixed, and the one further "down" was adjustable for angle. I'll try to get some pics the next time I'm over there. He has some wooden blocks made up with angles cut into them so that he can quickly set the angle between the guide and the backing plate.

He uses the backing plate all the time and has never worked on a convex edge. He says he might try that the next time he sharpens one of his hatchets.
 
I'm geting the best edges ever on my belt grinder. Keep a light touch and move the blade along quickly.
 
For those that wanted pics of the bracket my father-in-law put together for his belt sander, I've got 'em. He made it out of a small piece of 2" angle iron.

Here's an overall shot:

TerryBracket1Medium.jpg


Here's it from the side:

TerryBracket2Medium.jpg


And with one of the wooden blocks he made up to quickly set angles:

TerryBracket3Medium.jpg


I got to use it yesterday evening, and it's really not that hard to use. I reprofiled a super-cheap "Pilot's survival knife" and an EK Bowie. Surprisingly therapeutic to sit there and run the thing.

Edited to add: I just looked more closely, and the sander I linked to in the first post is actually not the one he has. His is 1" only, and a 1/3 hp motor, not the 2/3 of the linked sander. Still, very similar beast.
 
There's a man at the gun & knife shows in my area that sharpens knives with a belt system. He's from Missouri and I believe his business is called the Sharp Shop (?).

He uses a series of increasingly finer belts, with the last one being a felt belt with jeweler's rouge. It puts a mirror polish on the blade edge, and makes for a very even edge.

He also has a system for sharpening curved blades very evenly. He has some small clamps that have little posts sticking out perpendicular to the flat of the blade and behind the blade of the knife. His sharpener has a wooden rail mounted perpendicular to the belt with several grooves in it. He will rest the post on the clamp in one of those grooves and draw the knife along the belt in a steady stroke.

I've had him grind serrations off of a CRKT Mirage and a SOG Seal 2000. He's put a razor edge on a badly-dulled Balisong Bushmaster (large kukhri-style knife) and a large bowie-style 1/4"-thick United Cutlery knife (I usually don't admit to owning this knife, but...).

I've gone to several gun & knife shows just because I thought that he would be there!
 
I've been sharpening and shaping edges using a HF 1x30 sander for about 3 years now. It took a couple of knives to get the hang of angle judging. The heat build up only happened when I got really frustrated, or hadnt yet realized the limitation of a small sander. Reprofiling an entire blade is not out of the question, but plan on spending a couple Saturdays. I usually go from a 320 grit belt to a leather belt w/ white compound. I'd love to try some of the finer sharpening belts from Lee Valley as Jerry Hossom suggested, but havent gotten around to ordering.
 
I picked up a HF 1"x30" also. Mounted it horizontal on a piece of 1/2" high density poly material like one I saw on a web site. Purchased the 500, 1200, micron and leather belts from Lee Valley. It took an old machete to razor sharp in just a few miuntes. Took longer to change the belts than to grind and strop the blade. One thing I did learn was to keep the belt as slack as possible and still track right. Great convex edge...
 
When using a belt sander, does one set a primary bevel and then a micro bevel? Or, do you just sharpen at one angle? Here's some specific numbers to consider to help clarify this. With stones, a stable, but reasonably sharp profile would be a primary bevel equal to 10 degrees and micro bevel equal to 15 degrees. How would I get that equivalent with a belt sander? I understand that the belt sander puts a concave edge on the blade, so would I just sharpen at one angle, say about 13 degrees, on the belt sander to equal the above stone generated profile? Hope this makes sense.
 
A belt grinder will put a flat grind on a knife, a bench grinder will put a concave edge, it's a flat sureface like a stone.
 
This belt grinder is used to put a flat or a convex edge on a knife. My 2 x 72 belt grinder puts a hollow grind, a flat grind or a convex grind on anything.

I'm really gratified he hear people are using this method. It really is dead easy and I've yet to hear of someone who's tried it that hasn't been successful. (probably will now though - :) )

The all up cost of this, including all the sanding belts and a leather belt for final finishing and stropping is about $100 including the Harbor Freight belt sander. Lee Valley Tools has all the belts you need. As Redhawk stated, this tells you how. http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/776367/tp/1/

You don't need an angle guide, it's all done on the slack portion of the belt.

Good luck with it.
 
I feel that I have to remind anyone that is going to use a sander to sharpen knives that the blades should be sharpened edge-trailing ONLY. Any other way is very unsafe. Edge-leading can be done, but it is dangerous.
Bill
 
I think you'll find you don't need a guide. Convex edges are very forgiving, plus you'll be able to look down on the angle between the blade and the belt which makes estimates pretty easy. Just start off with a cheap knife, practice a little, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is.

BTW, supporting what Bill said above, absolutely NEVER use edge leading with a leather belt. If the knife is as sharp as it should be at that point, it will cut into the belt and yank the knife out of your hand. That's not good. I recommend only using the edge trailing method, since it is safe and you don't have to think about what belt you're using.
 
This piece of wood attached to the standard guide I am using with $90 belt sander.

Sander-02.jpg


Interesting part - belt eats out all wood to make guide fit perfectly.

Sander-03.jpg


I use it for grinding blades out of steel bar from http://www.mcmaster.com and then send it to Paul Bos for HeatTreatment... to have my own knives. Like this one:

knife77-16.jpg


Thanks, Vassili.
 
I cherish have fingers that number in the double digits, so I'm right there with you all on edge trailing.
Regarding the angle guide--I know I can estimate. That ignores my knifenut, OCD nature, though. I must have total control! :cool:
 
I read your post too quickly and thought "jigs" was something else. Could do with a couple of those, too...:p
 
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