Hi, I am new to knife sharpening and wondering what size belt, 2 inch or 4 inch is easiest to start out on if I wanted to sharpen kitchen knives, paring knives, scissors and then work up to garden tools like chain saw blades, lawn mower blads, etc. Thank you!
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
new to knife sharpening and belt sanders
- Thread starter mixap
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,822
Don't. Get a book on sharpening (there are lots available on-line), invest in a set of good hones or one of the guided sharpeners.
Peter Hartwig
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2008
- Messages
- 5,652
The slower the better, so hones are a good idea, or if you have the money to spend a system like the wicked edge is easy.
For chain saws there is a guided grinding stone for dremels that I have found works well. Fast but hard to scew up and chain saw chains are relatively cheap if you do.
But before you start, you need to understand what you are trying to do. So some reading on sharpening will do wonders.
For chain saws there is a guided grinding stone for dremels that I have found works well. Fast but hard to scew up and chain saw chains are relatively cheap if you do.
But before you start, you need to understand what you are trying to do. So some reading on sharpening will do wonders.
Last edited:
GreX
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2024
- Messages
- 299
I bought a Work Sharp belt system a few years ago, and while it works quickly, it also causes things to go sideways just as, if not more quickly. I have since walked things back, got loads of different sharpening stones, and forced myself to learn how to do things with manual stones to learn proper sharpening skills. While I'm not great, I now understand the basics and can now use the belt system with a LOT more confidence. I rarely use it though, as I moved over to the KO3 Pro Hunter system, and PDT CBN stones, which allow me to sharpen pretty much any steel.
Cobalt
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 1998
- Messages
- 17,717
Nothing wrong with practicing angles on cheap knives with belt sanders. You will learn that it is easy to burn an edge on a sander. The biggest mistake people make with machine sanders is putting to much pressure on the knife. But it's a good way to learn to maintain proper angles. I just would not do it on a nice knife. I use belt sander to reduce the thickness of the knife near the edge. Basically, a reprofile, which means I am removing a lot of metal. But after I do that, I finish sharpen by hand.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
- Messages
- 7,877
Yes, but for MOST people, they won't do enough knives to learn proper geometry and muscle memory..... Heck, idk IF I even know what I'm doing, half the time.
Stay away from the grinders
*best advice I can give...get some good sharpening stones, learn freehand.
My dad taught me when I was 8, or younger.
Next best, get a guided system. (I don't have one)
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2024
- Messages
- 72
Get a manual fixed blade sharpening system that works for you first. Something like this, you can learn on. People kept telling me to learn free hand. I personally can’t tell the difference between 17deg and 20 degrees using my hand. I’ve fixed several knives that people free handed, that “knew” what they were doing. With a fixed blade system, I could see how uneven and inconsistent free hand was for me and many others. I can get any normal knife I use daily, more then sharp enough for normal tasks. Diamond stones are the most consistent when I checked them when switching stones. Sharpening snobs told me it wasn’t good enough, however it works good for me and I’ve never had a complaint from family or friends I sharpen knives for.
smithsproducts.com
If you want to try a belt sander I use one of these to fix angles on knives that are really fubar. In other words, the angles were so far off I didn’t feel like spending an hour getting it back to where, literature said it should be or a good general angle on old knives from junk stores or old military knives. I also have a leather strop I use on mine to clean up knives that are a bit dull. Once I get a good established angle I hardly ever use more than a strop with diamond paste for a quick touch up.
www.worksharptools.com
If you think you need to try a larger belt sander, get an angle guide and finer grit belts to start with. It’ll be slower but also harder to mess up a knife. I use one of these with a metal conditioning belt to clean up rusty old knives.
prosharpeningsupply.com
Diamond-Arkansas Precision Sharpener
Our Diamond-Arkansas Precision sharpener is a all-in-one diamond sharpening system. Set at an affordable price so you don't have to break the budget.
smithsproducts.com
If you want to try a belt sander I use one of these to fix angles on knives that are really fubar. In other words, the angles were so far off I didn’t feel like spending an hour getting it back to where, literature said it should be or a good general angle on old knives from junk stores or old military knives. I also have a leather strop I use on mine to clean up knives that are a bit dull. Once I get a good established angle I hardly ever use more than a strop with diamond paste for a quick touch up.
Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener Mk.2™
Precision and Speed Bring professional powered sharpening to your workbench or job site with the versatile Work Sharp® Ken Onion Edition Mk. 2™, offering adjustable guided sharpening for precise results without the learning curve. Backed by 3-Year Warranty.
www.worksharptools.com
If you think you need to try a larger belt sander, get an angle guide and finer grit belts to start with. It’ll be slower but also harder to mess up a knife. I use one of these with a metal conditioning belt to clean up rusty old knives.
Knife Sharpening Angle Guide Pack - 1x30 Belt Sander Guide & 5 or 15 S
Knife Sharpening Angle Guide Attachment & 5 or 15 Pack 1x30 Belts Our Easy To Install Sharpening Angle Guide Attachment will get you sharpening like a pro on your 1 inch belt sander Along with your Knife Sharpening Jig, you get a 5 or 15 Pack of Sharpening / Sanding belts to get you sharpening...
prosharpeningsupply.com
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
- Messages
- 16,961
Almost everywhere I read says sharpening on a powered belt grinder is bad. But I never saw those until years after I had already started doing it. I still do it. But I know the pitfalls of powered sharpening (i.e. excessive heat buildup, negatively affecting heat treatment) and how to mitigate them:
1) Use ceramic belts, not aluminum oxide;
2) Do not use the platen backed section of the belt, use the slack section;
3) Do not push hard or make slow passes, instead make quick passes with light pressure;
4) Do not go to a very high grit, as higher (i.e. finer) grits are faster to generate heat with, and thus easier to negatively impact your edge's heat treatment.
In my knife making, I grind thin blade geometry (for performance and ease of sharpening), and then sharpen the edge bevel geometry on 36 grit, followed by cleaning it up on 120 grit, and then 220 grit belts. Straight off the grinder my edges are slightly convex due to using the slack belt, paper slicing sharp, and ready to work. However, I also do some freehand honing and stropping before sending them out, at a slightly higher angle than the primary edge bevel, resulting in a small microbevel. All freehand, so no angle measurements, other than to say that the primary edge is usually an estimated "couple/few" degrees below 20 per side, since the microbevel is often done using the Sharpmaker in the 20° per side slots.
1) Use ceramic belts, not aluminum oxide;
2) Do not use the platen backed section of the belt, use the slack section;
3) Do not push hard or make slow passes, instead make quick passes with light pressure;
4) Do not go to a very high grit, as higher (i.e. finer) grits are faster to generate heat with, and thus easier to negatively impact your edge's heat treatment.
In my knife making, I grind thin blade geometry (for performance and ease of sharpening), and then sharpen the edge bevel geometry on 36 grit, followed by cleaning it up on 120 grit, and then 220 grit belts. Straight off the grinder my edges are slightly convex due to using the slack belt, paper slicing sharp, and ready to work. However, I also do some freehand honing and stropping before sending them out, at a slightly higher angle than the primary edge bevel, resulting in a small microbevel. All freehand, so no angle measurements, other than to say that the primary edge is usually an estimated "couple/few" degrees below 20 per side, since the microbevel is often done using the Sharpmaker in the 20° per side slots.
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
- Messages
- 16,961
Use a two 2 inch belt. 4 inch belt is liable to increase your edge contact time with the abrasive on each pass, which can make it harder to control heat buildup.
But I don't see how you're going to use a belt grinder to sharpen chainsaw blades. And might be better off using an angle grinder with flap disks to sharpen lawnmower blades.