paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

today i was sent a package from mike for an idea that i have. it will help servicemen who have a dremel tool touch up their knives in the field. joebobx and chromechicken will be the field testers.
 
sharpening tanto knives can be tricky by hand but with the wheels its fairly easy. whenever you sharpen a tanto you need to make a dry run in order to get the hang of sharpening the tip before doing it under power. this involves holding the blade on a stopped wheel and learning how the blade has to be moved across the wheel.
 
for thoes of you who bought the wheels and want to be on the list for drop off sharpening service there needs to be a set price for sharpening. the guy who taught me had his price set at $1. an inch which i consider a fair price. i have been told i charge too little for the job i do but times are tough and most people might consider getting more knives sharpened if the price was reasonable.
 
A couple questions for you about these paper wheels:

1) What are the limitations of these wheels? What can't they do or what things are noticeably harder to do with them versus another system?
2) Would you recommend these to someone with little sharpening experience?
3) I have a couple Global kitchen knives. Global's website recommends some pretty expensive stones to sharpen them with (http://www.global-knife.com/sharpening/index.html). I am more nervous to sharpen them than I am my everyday pocketknife. With some practice do you think the wheels are an equal or better option than the stones?
4) How well do the wheels work for serrated edges?
5) Lastly, and unrelated to the wheels, I am seeing talk about convex edges, V edges, and so on. Can you point me to an explanation of the different edges and why you would want them?
 
richardj,
How much/little pressure is used on the wheels for the buffing side to take the burr off? Do you use the same angle for removing the burr as you do for creating it? Thanks.
 
A post in another thread stated that this paper wheels need a 3000rpm motor. Is that speed unquestionable?
 
I am a newbie to Bladeforum and have been lurking and learning for a couple of weeks.

Spoke with Mike at Razor Sharp today and ordered a 10" magnum kit. Have a Harbor Freight 8" grinder dedicated to mount them on......can't wait! Mike was very customer service oriented, answered my questions and gave me the "Richardj discount". Thanks Richard! Bring 'em on!

I am just getting into this knifemaking sharpening stuff and am afraid it will be expensive and time consuming. Over the last few weeks I have made 3 knives from sawblade steel. Last night I got the first one the sharpest I've ever gotten any knife by using a KME system and then stropped it on leather loaded with polishing compound. It will easily "push cut" newsprint and is face shaving sharp. I have a streak of OCD or (CDO in alphabetical order as it should be) so this sharpening thing will rule my life for a while! Thanks to all you "blade people" for the help and advice.
 
Rich did an excellent job on the knives I sent him.I wouldn't hesitate to send him more difficult (recurves,tantos...etc) blades to sharpen.
 
the paper buffing wheel works good for polishing up more than a knife edge. i polished the sear on my standard model ruger and you cant even feel it release. the paper wheel is hard enough so you can press hard against it without any worries of it breaking down. i have used it to polish up numerous gun parts.
 
Richard, as a sharpening nut I am getting interested in these paper wheels. I also live fairly close to the shop that sells them. Anyway, I just had back surgery and don't have it in me to reprofile my new Spyderco Superhawk (3.5" blade, 2.75" of it sharpened) for hours on my Sharpmaker. How much would you charge me to reprofile it to about 10 degrees per side so I can easily sharpen it at 15 per side on my Sharpmaker. I normally reprofile and sharpen knives in minutes on my benchstones, but this Superhawk and it's hawkbill blade aren't friends with benchstones. Plus, I'd love to see how sharp you get knives!

Thanks, Mike Cheshareck
gunmike1@comcast.net
 
Don't say back surgery please :) , I can only get one more steroid shot and the next stop is surgery.
KC
 
gunmike1, if you want to sharpen any knife to the max the wheels are the way to go for sure. its as easy as working up a burr with the abrasive wheel and removing the burr and polishing the edge with the buffing wheel. there is no need to go to a strop after you use the buffing wheel. anyone who has to use a strop to finish off a knife after using the wheels is either not doing it right or isnt using the real paper wheels. post #84 above has a video of my latest knife i made slicing newspaper with forum member cjpgeyer doing the cutting. chuck was having so much fun slicing the paper he didnt stop cutting after i shut off the camera.
 
chapmanpreferred, some knives require a little more pressure to remove a burr than others. the knives i make for instance take a little bit more pressure to remove a burr and polish the edge compared to other knives but my blades rockwell between 63rc-65rc. the angle for buffing an edge is a little more forgiving than working up the burr but you hold the blade at about the same angle for buffing. with the wheels you are in complete control when it comes to what angle you choose.
 
richard j said:
gunmike1, if you want to sharpen any knife to the max the wheels are the way to go for sure. its as easy as working up a burr with the abrasive wheel and removing the burr and polishing the edge with the buffing wheel. there is no need to go to a strop after you use the buffing wheel. anyone who has to use a strop to finish off a knife after using the wheels is either not doing it right or isnt using the real paper wheels. post #84 above has a video of my latest knife i made slicing newspaper with forum member cjpgeyer doing the cutting. chuck was having so much fun slicing the paper he didnt stop cutting after i shut off the camera.
Click to expand...

I don't need a strop to deburr after using stones when I do my job right, but I sure as heck can't full bevel sharpen anywhere near as fast as the wheels (I'm not too much slower on microbevels, though, excluding my set up time at least).

Either way, would you want to reprofile my Spyderco Superhawk Hawkbill (PE) for your going rate for a 3.5" blade? It is 2.75" sharpened edge, and I am looking to have someone (hopefully you!) reprofile it to 10 degrees per side. I will pay whatever your charges are plus a tip if you would take this on, as I hate having thick angles on my folders and my back won't let me get it done myself. After I get off of disability I have a feeling I'll be getting some of those wheels after I experience the sharpness and think of all of the time I can save myself. I saw the video of yours and I have seen the hair whittling pics from your edges, so I know you do them up right! I also read some of this thread (I need to catch up) and those wheels seem like magic with you operating them.

Thanks, and I really hope you want to take on this job for me. I love my Superhawk, but not having the angle well under 15 degrees per side makes touch ups on the Sharpmaker a PITA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top