New to belt sander, need some advice.

230grains

230grains

Joined
Jul 10, 2009
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I'm going to buy a belt sander for convexing some larger blades and machetes. I was looking at this one - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2485 I have a paper wheel set up and still plan on using the wheel with the polish on it to actually sharpen them (if that will still work), but to be honest, I suck at convexing by hand on a mousepad and sandpaper because I lack the time to do so properly. What belt/belts do I need? Any pointers or instructions to convex the edge and not destroy the knife? I'm going to practice on some kitchen knives and maybe a machete or two before I touch anything worth any money. Any videos and pics would be helpful also.
 
Go to www.leevalley.com for belts.

Practice on a lot of cheap knives before going at the good ones, cheap knives will also grind different than quality steel too. Do not run the tip off the belt unless you want a shorter knife.
 
What grit belts do I need? Will I be ok switching to the paper wheels or is this going to give me a razor sharp polished convex edge? Do I need to do anything different to convex the edge on the sander?
 
230 Grains, here is post that got me started on a belt sander. The post is by Jerry Hossom. I followed this post and really believe it really shortened the time I took to learn how to sharpen on a belt sander. Link . The most important thing for me is to dunk the blade after every pass, good luck and have fun with it.
 
230grains said:
What grit belts do I need? Will I be ok switching to the paper wheels or is this going to give me a razor sharp polished convex edge? Do I need to do anything different to convex the edge on the sander?
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Some people say its possible but how are you going to use a round wheel to sharpen a round edge? The contact point is so small between the two that there is no way you could polish the edge without adding a microbevel or missing or rounding the edge.

Belts: 80, 220 or 320, 1200, leather.

I used a 80, 220, 1200 and leather belt to regrind my JK AK, full convex main grind with convex secondary bevel.

Picture670.jpg
 
Wow that edge looks amazing, that's what i'm looking to get! Any instructions on how to actually sharpen using the sander? Hold the edge like i'm stropping it with the belt not turning into the edge? What kind of angle? Pics/video anywhere?

I seem to remember richard j (who turned me on to paper wheels) saying he uses the belt sander to convex and then just the slotted cardboard wheel (not the grit wheel) to polish.

Does your leather belt have a compound on it or is it just leather?
 
Your edge won't look like that if you try and use the wheels for all the reasons I said before. Pressure on the belt is key, you need to try and keep it even as possible and don't forget about the tip. When you get close to the tip ease up on the pressure a bit and remember to not run the tip off the belt. If your not carefull you can also recurve a blade, something you will notice with your first few try's.

I am curently using 6 micron DMT diamond paste on my belt, seems to be working very well.
 
You dont really NEED a belt any finer than 220 for sharpening before going to the 1x30 leather belt on the sander. The edges won't look like the one above, but it will still be hair whittling sharp. For a good range I'd say a 120 for rebeveling, and 300-400 for resharpening, plus a honing compound loaded 1x30 leather belt for final sharpening and burr removal. Higher quality belts last longer and stretch less and the ones from Lee Valley are very good, but dont seem to last as long as others. I did not try the 180 grit belt from Lee Valley, but the 320 one seemed to quit cutting pretty kinda fast. I could have just pushed it too hard too early by rebeveling with that instead of a 120 like I should have.

For long blades and machetes, a belt sander is the only way to go unless they are soft enough to be filed. Machetes take forever any other way I've tried besides these 2. For cutting light, thorny vegetation, its hard to find a better implement than a long machete or bill hook with a hair splitting edge off a belt sander. That reminds me, time to resharpen the Cold Steel Panga and Kukri machetes.
 
after convexing a blade on the belt sander i use only the slotted wheel. you dont need a fully polished edge to have a knife that cuts good. i had an old harley mechanic tell me that chrome pipes on a motorcycle wont make the bike go any faster, it just looks good. the same with a knife. i can sharpen a knife on a 120 grit belt and get it just as sharp as one done on 400 or finer belts but its not necessary.
 
richard j said:
after convexing a blade on the belt sander i use only the slotted wheel. you dont need a fully polished edge to have a knife that cuts good. i had an old harley mechanic tell me that chrome pipes on a motorcycle wont make the bike go any faster, it just looks good. the same with a knife. i can sharpen a knife on a 120 grit belt and get it just as sharp as one done on 400 or finer belts but its not necessary.
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So you convex the blade on the sander, then bring it right over to the slotted wheel? How does that work? What angle?
 
a convex blade is a radius so there is no angle. when you buff the burr off its done the same way as a v edge. with the buffing wheel not running you can see what i mean by laying the blade flat on the wheel and slowly lift the spine until you see the edge meet the wheel. the same goes for a convex edge. you roll the spine up until you see the edge meet. i sharpen with the wheel rotating to me and the edge facing the same direction. you can watch what you are doing easily this way and see the burr come off.
 
Buy the 1x42 belt sander as you progress in your skills you will find that more surface area is needed....the sander you are looking at is entry level....you will spend over a hundred bucks on a better one but you will be happier soon after.
 
Hi, I just purchased a fbm with black coating and I got the 1" 30" belt sander ,wich belts should I buy- so that I can try remove the coating,convexing and polishing it,goal is to get as good as that awsome picture.

will ofcourse practise on crap knifes first.
 
you should take a look at this thread http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/776367/

It's about 30 pages long, Jerry Hossom discusses using a 1x30 belt sander for the quickest sharpening method around. I went ahead and bought one and couldn't be happier with the results. There's info on what grit belts to use and what kind of compound to put on your leather belt and links to where you can buy all the goodies you'll need. This method is awesome, after practicing on a few beaters you'll be sharpening 10 knives in the time it used to take to do 1. And you'll be getting them sharper.
 
THG said:
I really recommend that you don't get that one. I have it, and it really isn't all that great. The belt runs off to the side, and the adjustment doesn't fix it. The belt is too fast.

If I were to do it again, I'd put my money in a better quality belt sander.
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Yeah, a little late on that.

It works, but honestly kind of sucks because of the belt running off the side. I'll invest in a better one soon.
 
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