kalamazoo 1x42

M

Mr.HD

Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
102
Hey guys thinking about the kalamazoo or the tormek or other wet sharpeners. I use the kme but it takes forever . thanks
 
Paper wheel setup works great once you get it down. You can use an old hacksaw blade for practice. 2 wheel setup is around $50. You need a bench motor to mount. See sticky in this forum for more info if interested.
 
I have the kalamazoo 1x42 and love it. Once you have it mastered you can get great results with it.

Keep a container of water nearby and dip your blade often. There's also a unlimited supply of belts for it.
 
I use one professionally and it's a great machine. Just invest in quality belts and get used to how it behaves using knives you don't care too much about and you'll do fine.
 
Have the Kalamazoo for years. Great for sharpening knives. Have 60 to 6000 micron belts. Also leather belt for stropping
Can adjust grinder to any angle or leave at 90 degrees.
RRP_0006-vi.jpg
 
Mr.Wizard said:
rpttrsn rpttrsn I don't understand your angle adjustment. It looks like the table and platen move together?
Click to expand...

Your right. Now just run the edge parallel to the bench and you have the angle the belt is set to. No guessing. 15 & 20 degrees I don’t usually need to adjust the angle of the grinder due to using this angle so often. Still pretty accurate adjusting the grinder which doesn’t take much time.
The grinder runs slow enough not to over heat the edge. Use a new belt when you want to remove more metal then a normal sharpening.
 
I have the same angle adjuster on my kalamazoo. It works great as long as you can hold the knife parallel.

I mainly keep mine on 19 degrees which works out for most knives. I will adjust for filet and fine chopping/dicing knives though.

I also have a extended platen on mine as it looks like you do too.
 
K80Shooter said:
I have the same angle adjuster on my kalamazoo. It works great as long as you can hold the knife parallel.

I mainly keep mine on 19 degrees which works out for most knives. I will adjust for filet and fine chopping/dicing knives though.

I also have a extended platen on mine as it looks like you do too.
Click to expand...

The added platen I made is adjustable so if you sharpen between the two with x weight belts you can adjust the convex edge. Makes for a very versatile machine IMO.
P10100021-vi.jpg
 
I like your platen idea. Mine is a solid 1"x1/4" flat bar that was machined to bolt onto the original and then polished for a smooth surface for the belt to run on. I can hold just above the top of it if I want a little give in the belt or also move on up for a convex edge.
 
Case Peanut,
When I first got the paper wheels I played with them for some time. Did not find them as comfortable as the Kalamazoo to use. Only one grit for sharpening and the grit didn't seem to last on the wheel. The stropping wheel using different rouge works pretty quick then I finish up on leather strops. I do have laser lines going across both wheels from above which puts me on the angle I want. Have set the wheels up with a separate motor and pulley so the speed is not as fast as most grinder motors. Many are happy with the paper wheels. Its just not my first choice in power sharpening. Still the Kalamazoo works the best for me.
Ron
 
rpttrsn said:
Case Peanut,
When I first got the paper wheels I played with them for some time. Did not find them as comfortable as the Kalamazoo to use. Only one grit for sharpening and the grit didn't seem to last on the wheel. The stropping wheel using different rouge works pretty quick then I finish up on leather strops. I do have laser lines going across both wheels from above which puts me on the angle I want. Have set the wheels up with a separate motor and pulley so the speed is not as fast as most grinder motors. Many are happy with the paper wheels. Its just not my first choice in power sharpening. Still the Kalamazoo works the best for me.
Ron
Click to expand...
Thanks Ron, I’ve been playing with a similar setup of paper wheels + grinder and I find the grinder easier to use too.
 
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