Kalamazoo 1x42 or Craftsman 2x42 -OR- Other?

Concur, Noctis. I use my fingers to determine temperature, I just pinch the edge after every couple swipes and see if I can detect any warmth. If I can, it gets water-dipped for a couple seconds and it's stone cold again for the next pass.

A general rule of thumb: Use the coarsest belt you possibly can for the purpose. The coarser the belt, the less heat generated per unit of material removed. That becomes easier with practice, of course, it's fairly easy to screw up with a material removal rate that high. When I started out, the first thing I did was clean out all the local Good Will / Salvation Army, etc of every crappy knife they had in stock. Picked up a dozen or so cheap chinese kitchen knives for a buck or less a piece. Some of those died massively over-ground deaths, but I can still say I've not managed to wreck a good blade yet. :)
 
I would start out with the coarsest belt for regrinds, but with sharpening I generally try to stick with P240 and finer unless I'm not making a dent after 5 passes.

Also, Norton Blaze is the only real option for me with coarse belts. Other ceramic/zirconia belts actually require heavy pressure to cut, which generates more heat and is easier to over grind.
 
I like that little Kalamazoo platen, i may have to look into one of those. I have been JB Welding glass platens onto the stock platen. This provides enough offset to work on either side of the platen, but i have not done this to the Kalamazoo yet, i like that little bracket even more.
 
Another cool thing about the viel is that That have an AMAZING array ofjjigs that will work with it... Everything from ones that will allow you to sharpen drill bits, planer blades, scissors, etc. Plus you can pick your own motor.
 
razor-edge-knives said:
Another cool thing about the viel is that That have an AMAZING array ofjjigs that will work with it... Everything from ones that will allow you to sharpen drill bits, planer blades, scissors, etc. Plus you can pick your own motor.
Click to expand...

Through a strange set of circumstances, I wound up with both the Kalamazoo and the Viel S5 with the 1/3hp motor. I like them both a great deal. If I had to keep only one, I would keep the Viel. I like to buy US tools when they are available, so that is why I wanted the Kalamazoo. Other folks make great stuff, I just try to support workers here when I can.

However, upon receiving both, there are some pretty obvious and significant differences that make the Viel a much nicer machine for me. The only attachment I have is the knife angle attachment, which turned out to be pretty useless as I wanted a convex edge (the angle tool sharpens on the platen unless removed). Before I get to the comparison, let me state that all I have done with either of them is sharpen knives. I am not a machinist, etc., so please forgive me if I use incorrect terminology. Anyway, let me get to a comparison.

Kalamazoo

Pro's
Very solid & sturdy
Quick belt changes
Industrial/rugged good looks
Very well packaged
Lightning fast shipping (seriously)

Con's
Platen bolts very difficult to get to (no space between motor & housing)
Platen crooked (even with belt at bottom, ~3/16 out at top. My biggest gripe.)
Can only use one edge on the platen (extends to the left out to housing)
Relatively difficult to remove platform & no angle adjustment
Has to be be bolted down
More vibration
Terse instruction manual
expensive ($260 or so vs $220 for Veil)


Viel S5

Pro's
Very solid
Quicker belt change (no safety box)
Very, very good looking (precise, refined, almost pretty yet still solid)
Super quick attach/remove platform & attachments (very slick)
Rubber "feet" for smooth, nearly vibration free operation (doesn't have to be bolted)
Slightly less noisy (probably due to rubber feet)
Long 1 inch platen perfectly aligned with belt
Platen bolts easy to reach for add/removal
Better instruction manual/documentation (though still not great)
Tons of attachments

Con's
Longer ship time (1.5weeks to US, I ordered direct from vieltools)
Poorly packaged (Ripped totally open & not double boxed. I was shocked that it wasn't damaged and parts lost)
No safety box at top (not hardly enough room anyway)
Short distance from top of platen, to top pulley (about 3 inches vs 6? or so for Kal - rough guess)

I am being picky. I really "like" both machines. I was surprised that the Viel had less vibration because the pulley on the bottom of the Kalamazoo is some kind of rubber (not sure) and the Viel has a larger metal one. Since the S5 machine seems generally more precise, my guess is that overall precision is the difference.

Neither had tracking issues, but if they did the adjustment for Kalamazoo is quicker and more obvious. I really like not having to bolt down the Viel because of the rubber feet since I am just sharpening anyway. Being able to move it around is nice. Some of the Viel options for blades look really great for chisels & long blades too, though I can't review them (maybe later).

So if I had to keep one it would be the Viel, though I enjoy having both. I suspect that it will be easier to sharpen a machete on the Kalamazoo (have not tried it yet) because the arm is longer. If I were buying for a shop, I would be inclined to buy the Kal because it may be slightly more rugged and has less attachments, etc., to mess up. Anyway, it is not a bad thing to support our northern neighbors too. They need plenty of booze to stay warm in the long winter months ;-)

I hope this helps in your search. Best of luck.
 
Viel can be used horizontally I have read. I have Kalamazoo. How do I use it horizontally? I can find no pictures on google of any kalamazoo 1sm mounted horizontally for sharpening. It looks a lot easier to use that way. Comments??
 
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