paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

go with a variable speed motor. i think you can still get them at lowes. you can sharpen just about any knife out there with the wheels. convex edge knives have to be done on a belt sander but they can be finished off on the slotted wheel.

you want the wheel to be 2" larger than the motor housing so your fingers clear the housing.
 
Thanks RichardJ! :thumbup:
I wanted to say thanks for suggesting the paper wheels to me; I've now cut myself 3 times since buying the 8" paper wheels/kit because of my new-found sharpening prowess! (and poor knife handling :foot:)

They do work very well for getting a quick and (very) sharp edge. I just sharpened my gayle bradley last night and holy hell is she sharp now... The difference from before to after was scary actually, in a good way. :D

P.S, a hard-learned suggestion for anyone new to paper wheels: touching the grit wheel while it's turning at any speed is a no-no and bad finger ju-ju. I've got a nice scar on my pinky from where it brushed up against the grit wheel, it basically took a chunk outta my finger, took forever to heal :foot:... It did hurt like a sum beach too.

Thanks again Richard!

Evan
 
I've been using my slotted wheel to polish the grind lines out of my factory spydercos. Until now, I've never noticed the differences in steel, performance wise. My VG10 Lum Tanto polished up quickly, my CTSBD30P Manix took about 10 minutes longer, and my CTS-XHP Military still has lines, but a razor sharp edge, so I gave up.
 
i gave my brand new manx2 a couple of passes on the slotted wheel to fine tune the edge. i wanted to leave some tooth to the edge and make it shave too.
 
i thought i would post the address and phone number again to a supplier to get different size grit for the abrasive wheel.

Detroit Abrasives CO,
11910 Dexter Chelsea Road
Chelsea, MI 48118-9539 map
Ann Arbor, MI Metro Area
734-475-1651
 
i was watching a show on pbs called craft in america. this woman making boots had a set of razor sharp paper wheels set up on a buffer :thumbup: :D. this is the woman.. Oklahoma's Lisa Sorrell is one of a very few women who make custom cowboy boots. Episode number: 302
 
Richard where can you get more of the white compound for the slotted wheel? And has anyone watched the taxidermist show on the History channel they use paper wheels for getting really sharp knives for their work skinning animals. I thought that was the first time I've seen the paper wheels on TV:)
 
i posted the website where you can get more compound at but i'm not sure where in this thread. i'll look around and see if i can find it. detroit abrasives is where you can get more grit.
 
jackson lea is where you can get more compound. the wheels come with c5 since it is a medium grit. you can go coarser or finer.
 
Thanks for the help but still can not find anyone selling Jackson Lee products went so as calling them but they only sell in large amounts. And they couldn't tell me of anyone selling it retail.:mad:
 
you can order some from mike at razorsharp or pick some up at woodcraft. sears also sells compound in a 4 pack of assorted grits. let me know if you have trouble getting some and i'll see what i can do.
 
a while back a member had set up a laser to use as a guide to help in keeping the blade in the right spot on the wheels. i thought the idea was a little too dangerous due to the laser being reflected in your eyes and causing you to flinch which might turn out to be bad. i'm still a little leary of something like this but if the laser is set up correctly and a test run made to make sure the laser is not reflected back in your eyes, i guess it would be a good aid in learning how to use the wheels a lot better.

here is a link to a thread started by 1scooter who had a pretty neat setup. keep in mind he has his wheels running backwards with the edge facing away from him. i'm sure the idea will work for the ones who sharpen like i do with the wheels rotating to me and the edge facing me. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/889854-New-Take-on-Paper-Wheel-s

one thing that might lessen the chance of a reflection is to put tape on the blade.
 
i was looking at my slotted wheel yesterday and how there was compound built up around the wheel and in the slots. i was thinking of a way to get more compound to stay on the wheel and remembered a little gadget a buddy that plays pool has.

its a little tool with a bunch of pins that you perforate the cue tip with so it holds more chalk. i'm going to take a hack saw balde and hold it across the wheel to cut tiny grooves in the paper so the compound can stay on better which would require it to be applied less often (i hope).
 
i talked to a guy named joe gamache that has been sharpening knives about as long as i have but he is new to the wheels (less than a year. i told his boss about them). he works for a walk in store in minnesota that sells wustohf kitchen knives along with a few other brands. the owner of the store set up 2 variable speed grinders to put the wheels on. he has sharpened quite a few thousand kitchen knives on the wheels and likes the lowest possible speed he can get. he said there is no need to run the wheels 3400 rpm. he said all the chefs he sharpens knives for love the edge the wheels put on their knives.
 
These wheels are great. I got a great edge on my knives but my hands aren't steady enough to keep the knife in the same spot so the edge "wanders." The knives are sharp as heck but I don't care for the "wandering." I hate getting old but the alternative is worse.


Regards, Lou Castle
I have a "ready to plug-in" setup of these wheels mounted on a variable speed grinder for sale.
 
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FWIW, I haven't sharpened any of my blades in a few months. My mancave was in a quite a mess, but after a good cleaning I'm now back in biz. I sharpened two knives yesterday. Just a few passes for each and I got damn good edges. Not EdgePro perfect, but when I look at the edge I don't see any shiny spots and the edges cut. The paper wheels give me edges that are damn good enough for me. :thumbup:
 
splat, its not what the edge looks like. its how it cuts that counts. just because an edge looks pretty doesnt mean its a good cutter.
 
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