Manual reprofiling?

[David Martin]

I'm with L2bravo. I've used a coarse India to reprofile 425M blades as well as S30V on a SiC stone and 440C on a X-coarse DMT. I can't say the diamond worked any better. They all take time 1-2hrs.. Depending on how thick the blade is at the edge. D2 steel is not magical nor made of 'Pixie Dust' its just a normal steel and can be cut with many decent quality stones. DM

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

Thinking about it, is it possible that bringing the blade down a little too hard when I reset the blade to start another stroke, and contact with the stone is chipping my blade? I noticed myself doing that when I went ahead and did a full reprofiled on my Silent Soldier (which finally worked, but damn if it didn't take nearly 2 hours). When I was extra careful and kept my movements fluid the edge came out with no chips.

Seems that you found the answer! Keep it up, as L2bravo said, consistency, smooth and steady is the way to go.

 

[dkb45]

Seems that you found the answer! Keep it up, as L2bravo said, consistency, smooth and steady is the way to go.

Oh I'm definitely getting a grinder and some paper wheels. The edges they give in the paltry amount of time is just too much of a draw. I think the time saving almost make the risk (blades being thrown and wheels exploding) totally worth it.

 

[Noctis3880]

Belt sander worked excellently, it just died and none of the replacements would work. After the 4th replacement not working, I decided that this was a losing battle. And yes, it was a HF sander. The others are just too bloody expensive.

You get what you pay for.

I went for a $275 1x42 Kalamazoo, as it comes highly recommended.

For me, it's the price of one good knife.

However, if re-profiling and sharpening are all you intend to do, paper wheels ought to be good enough. I plan to regrind several knives, so a decent quality belt sander is a must for me.

 

[L2bravo]

Oh I'm definitely getting a grinder and some paper wheels. The edges they give in the paltry amount of time is just too much of a draw. I think the time saving almost make the risk (blades being thrown and wheels exploding) totally worth it.

There was just another thread about a guy who had some horrible luck with a Worksharp. He trashed some pretty nice blaes using it. He too, was at his wits end. Be careful, you can put a hurtin' on your stuff, with paper wheels. There are no free lunches, that is the moral. Just some friendly advice. Good luck

 

[dkb45]

There was just another thread about a guy who had some horrible luck with a Worksharp. He trashed some pretty nice blaes using it. He too, was at his wits end. Be careful, you can put a hurtin' on your stuff, with paper wheels. There are no free lunches, that is the moral. Just some friendly advice. Good luck

Ha no worries there. I actually started sander sharpening with my nicest knife. I figured that working on a nice knife would force me to be hyper vigilant and extra careful, and I was exactly right. I pretty much perfected my form in the short time I had a sander, so ruining a blade is of little concern.

 

[Ben Dover]

I've tried paper wheels. I know that some people have exceptional results with them. I didn't. I also tried a cheap $30 Harbor Freight belt sander.

I wasn't able to get the results I wanted with it either. (I plan to acquire a Kalamzoo 1X42 in the future. Linen belts and 80 micron CBN should make it easy to re-bevel even a steel like CPM Rex 121.:)

I always seem to end up going back to my Edge-Pro, though. The results are absolutely perfect every time if I pay attention to what I'm doing. I like a refined, mirror polished edge.

A couple of friends that I sharpen for like a rough, toothy "rip and tear" type edge, so their knives I usually free hand on DMT plates, and/or an India stone, and give them 3-5 laps on the strop. Very crude looking edges, but quite sharp, and the owners are happy with them.