My new knife sharpener

markhait

markhait

Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
297
I went out the other day and bought a cheap
belt sander from Harbour Freight. They have
a store here in Michigan thats close to me.
Anyway...I bought it and indeed its cheap quality,
but I believe thats its good enough for what I
want it to do.
Belt_Sander.jpg

It only came with a 80 grit belt, which is way to
course for the knife sharpening that I wanted
it for. All they had in stock was 125 grit, so I
bought a pack of those.
Once I got home, I ordered some more belts from
Lee Valley. I ordered a 180, 320, 500 and a 1200
just for fun
I also ordered a leather belt for stropping.
Once I received the leather belt, I applied
some 15000 grit diamond paste.
Man o man what a edge you get!
After the knife is shaving sharp, I take it to
the strop and polish the edge. Sure makes
them look pretty!
On the picture of my Wetterlings axe, I polished the steel with a belt sander
and finished it with my Porter Cable random orbit sander 320 grit.
The casting isn't great as you can see, but I'll work on it a bit more soon.
Wetterlings.jpg

I love the look of a polished head on a axe.
I'll re-visit the head with some 600 wet/dry and see if I can't get it to shine.

In case your wondering...if you can even see it, to the left
on the axe head picture, yes, thats arm hair!
Does a pretty good jobs on axes as well
This is pretty cool! and FUN
 
The sander was $34 and the belts from Lee Valley were $30 with shipping
Lee Valley hits you hard with shipping. Like $10 for something that weights next to nothing.
I looked around me first at places like Lowes and Home Depot and Sears, but they had nothing. Maybe a online knife supplies store might have them cheaper.
The sander was only $34 because I went to a Harbour Freight and didn't have to pay shipping.
 
damn, I want one too. how many rpm is the HF sander? I have 240V over here, how do I make a 110V machine work here..? (sorry, but I absolutely suck with DIY)
 
They say 3412 rpm, but I'm not sure about that. Whatever it is, it works really nice.
As far as 240 to 110, I've just disconnected one of the hot wires before, which drops the voltage down to 120. It works and I don't think it would cause any problems.
Just be certain to DISCONNECT the power source!!! BEFORE you do it.
 
I have a similar one from HF only it is orange and has a disc on the side too. Works great.
 
Don't throw away those 80 grit belts. They are very useful for removing a lot of steel at cooler temperatures than the finer grits. I used a sander just like yours to reprofile convex edges on my machetes years ago. Of course, I removed the platen to get the proper belt flex. Keep it in a safe place for those times when you want a flat grind. Once you get your convex edge with the 80 grit and see a wire edge or burr forming, you can go to finer grits for a finished smooth edge. Keep a bucket of water handy to cool down the blade when necessary. Use eye protection. That little sander can do a lot more than just sharpen. :thumbup:
 
Nice - I keep wanting to step up to a belt grinder for sharpening, but then I always seem to end up buying another knife.....Gotta snap out of that bad habit!

How easy is it to change belts on your setup?

btw - you should try to meet up with us folks in Ann Arbor next time we have a little get together, there are a bunch of us in the Detroit Area!
 
Where's this place in Michigan? Lower south east or more west from Ann Arbor / Detroit?
 
Horn Dog said:
Don't throw away those 80 grit belts. They are very useful for removing a lot of steel at cooler temperatures than the finer grits. I used a sander just like yours to reprofile convex edges on my machetes years ago. Of course, I removed the platen to get the proper belt flex. Keep it in a safe place for those times when you want a flat grind. Once you get your convex edge with the 80 grit and see a wire edge or burr forming, you can go to finer grits for a finished smooth edge. Keep a bucket of water handy to cool down the blade when necessary. Use eye protection. That little sander can do a lot more than just sharpen. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Also, you can use the 80 grit sander to re bevel, then use the mousepad method to polish up the edge. Cuts time easily in half, and saves money on the extra belts, also a lot less worry of heating the blade, if you are less confident in that area. :thumbup:
 
Just be carefull to keep the blades cool that you are sharpening, it's real easy to ruin the heat treat.

It's also good for more than just sharpening, I've made a few blade completely using that same exact sander.
 
Josh K said:
Where's this place in Michigan? Lower south east or more west from Ann Arbor / Detroit?
Click to expand...

JoshK - its Chelsea MI - Waterloo State Recreation Area, about 15 minutes west of Ann Arbor off of Hwy 94. Not sure the next time we'll get a group together, but I try to get out there regularly. I like it so much, I'm getting a seasonal pass next year!
 
Once a 120 grit belt gets worn down a bit, it works about as well as anything. You are much more apt to burn your blade with a very fun belt if you don't take your time. I have had that same sander for three years, still works great.
 
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