paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

That is like the one I have and it works fine. If you have a 5/8 arbor on it just remove the plastics in the holes and it will fit. When I feel the blade getting warm I just dunk it in a glass of water and keep going. It have never gotten a blade hot so that you can't touch it, just warm nothing to worry about. I sharpen up blades 4.5-6" on it with no problems.
 
Dirty rotten stinking finances are the reason I'm not in. And the ONLY reason.

However I am getting reasonably good with a Sheffield Pocket Steel a buddy has loaned me to the point I can shred paper or mow hair off my arms/legs IF the blade had a decent edge to start with.

To some degree I can fix edges with a stone so all is not lost.

But I STILL want Paper Wheels!
 
PBJSIII said:
Dirty rotten stinking finances are the reason I'm not in. And the ONLY reason.

However I am getting reasonably good with a Sheffield Pocket Steel a buddy has loaned me to the point I can shred paper or mow hair off my arms/legs IF the blade had a decent edge to start with.

To some degree I can fix edges with a stone so all is not lost.

But I STILL want Paper Wheels!
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Luckily the paper wheels are the only fixed cost. A benchgrinder new may be expensive, but hunting for one at a flea market can definitely pay off. Garage sales too.
 
I just wanted to post a video that RichardJ sent me of ArtInNC chopping a piece of elm. The heat treat on the blade is right on the button but watch the shaving edge after the chopping. I gotta learn to do that some day.

Here is the details that richard sent with the video:

art summers is doing the chopping. the steel is 1075 and the blade rockwell is around 63rc-65rc. its a chisel grind with a half convex edge. the wood is dried red elm and harder than oak. before making the vid i chopped the left end off that same log and chopped several other pieces of elm.



http://s633.photobucket.com/albums/uu51/panch074/?action=view&current=art_chopping_with_k_II.mp4
 
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riz_aaroni said:
A benchgrinder new may be expensive, but hunting for one at a flea market can definitely pay off. Garage sales too.
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What size grinder/buffer do most people find adequate? Most of my knives are 3-7" bladed and straight handled. Would I be fine with a 6" grinder and 8" wheels or is it worthwhile to pony up the extra bit for 8" grinder and 10" wheels?

Also, I have a couple of larger blades (BK9, machete, Rodent Waki) but I'm thinking I won't need to go past the belt sander for those. If I did decide to bring those up too, can I do large blades like that on the paper buffer wheel?

I'll be sending you a PM sometime soon to arrange a call Richard, just figured I'd post up a question here to save us time down the line :thumbup:. Btw, I think you're doing a great thing, making yourself this accessible to help people branch out. :thumbup:
 
i have the 8" wheels on a 1/2 hp motor and i also have a 10" abrasive wheel that i use on occasion. the 6" grinder and 8" wheels will be a good setup. i have sharpened 4' machetes before on the wheels but the edge wasnt pretty but for a machete it doesnt matter. if you look at the first page of this thread you will see a pizza knife i sharpened. i used my belt sander to work up a burr and finished it off on the buffing wheel. for knives like that i tend to hold them lower since a shaving sharp edge isnt necessary. (unless you get a hairy pizza :barf: :D)
 
If you think it through, you do not need an industrial strength grinder motor. You are taking off heavy stone wheels and replacing them with paper wheels that are approx 10% the weight of the stones. So, even a cheap grinder motor is over engineered for paper wheels (that is a good thing). If the motor is dedicated to paper wheels, it will most likely last a lifetime. Hindsight, I would have liked to have a variable speed 1750/3500 option. My motor turns at 3500 and I feel it is an overkill for the work being done. I should have chosen the variable speed, but not a big issue.
 
Yeah, I wasn't really worried about the strength of the motor, as the grinding wheels are indeed heavier. I was more wondering about clearance while sharpening. :thumbup: I'll keep an eye out for variable speed ones, if I find any cheap ones, thanks for the tip!
 
you can always get a used 1/2 hp motor. check with a company that puts in furnaces. some older squirrel cage blowers use a 1/2 hp motor. another option is to get a set of pillow blocks and make a belt drive sharpener for the abrasive wheel that you slow down with pulleys. the buffing wheel can run faster so it can be left on the buffer.
 
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richard j said:
you can always get a used 1/2 hp motor. check with a company that puts in furnaces. some older squirrel cage blowers use a 1/2 hp motor. another option is to get a set of pillow blocks and make a belt drive sharpener for the abrasive wheel that you slow down with pulleys. the buffing wheel can run faster so it can be left on the buffer.
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Richard, can you show me a picture of the pillow block rig? I get it, pulley the current grit shaft, and gear down with a slower pully wheel belt drive, cool. Do you have any illustrations or pictures?
 
Way cool Richard. If you ever get out to Simi Valley CA (east end of Ventura Co.), make sure you ping me, so we can have lunch.
 
Since I'm still a noob at using these wheels I'll ask this question. How long on average can the abrasive wheel be used before you need to reapply the grit? My abrasive wheel seems to lose it's cutting ability pretty quickly...after a few knives. I'm using light pressure.
 
it depends on what steel the knife is made from and how hard it is. i have extra grit wheels on hand since i do a lot of sharpening.
 
in the video panch0 posted art used the tip to shave with but the entire blade was just as sharp as the tip. after art was done cutting i showed him how k II cut free hanging newspaper like in this video http://knifetests.com/kII.html after that i was push cutting newspaper.
 
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