paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

I use a 3600 rpm motor. IMO if its slower it would be better but 3600 is manageable you just have to be careful not to overheat the blade, which is pretty hard to do if your using the wheels the right way.
 
BIG thanks for the info, and pics of your set-up Ron! (The control is what I am after while learning.)

Dug up an old drill press motor that runs 1725.
And I am taking apart a treadmill so I will have speed-pot adjustment.
(And I am going to find a laser to hang in the rafters till I get used to freehand.)

Tried the benchgrinder, and grind/polish is very aggressive, so I am sending out for a 1/2" LH..and a 5/8" RH arbor set after the holidays.

Thanks for the help!
John
 
Ron
" I am taking apart a treadmill so I will have speed-pot adjustment."

I think with the existing speed knob wired in, I will be able to save the whole system...but ....(don't think I should use the pulse monitor till I get used to this new way of sharpening tho! ;)

I did a pretty even burr quickly, while matching existing angle pretty well with the 3600rpm motor, so I think if I go with the slower motor I should do pretty good.

I have been freehand belt sharpening since 82' so I can match angle/profiles pretty well.

Been scrounging for parts...so I'll update after I get something together, and get some batteries for my camera.

If I was closer to Richard I see if I coule stop in to learn.
(Working 50hrs a week at the factory, and chasing 4 grandkids I don't get very far from home anymore.)

Thanks again for all the help!
John
 
My understanding is that most treadmill motors are DC motors. If I'm correct, they should be good motors, but the the speed control won't work on AC motors.

As far as speed goes, Mike the Razor Sharp owner recommends the higher speeds. I think that each individual will work out a technique that works with his (or her) system. You're looking at four surface speeds (not counting belt driven) to start with because of the different diameters as well as the different motor speeds. In my experience with stationary power tools, high speed motors work best with high speed applications and low speed motors work best with low speed applications.

Of course where I am, 50Hz is used so the speeds are 5/6 U.S. speeds. I'm using slow speed direct drive and 10" wheels - works for me.
 
Used the wheels for the first time today. Really simple. I started in some junk knives. I'll have to practice making the grinds even and getting angles right, because these are not perfect. But hoooo boy, are they sharp. Only a few minutes per knife and they are better than I ever could get on the sharp maker, even after long periods of time.
 
Robertk I think you will find that it only gets better with practice. Every time I use mine, it is better than the last time it seems. These wheels are amazing to me in what kind of results you can get in such a short period of time. I once sharpened a cheap machete I found to where it would shave hair and cut newsprint.

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
Shucks, if I never got better, the results are already amazing. And I do plan on getting better! ;)
 
Hi all,

Thought I'd check in and share my experience with the paper wheels. Before I do, a big thank you goes out to the OP, richard j, for single-handedly getting so many people to try this knife sharpening system with good results. About myself, although I do enjoy and appreciate just about any edged tool, I make no pretensions of being an expert or even knowledgeable about them and much less when it comes to sharpening. My one and only sharpening system is a Sharpmaker that was purchased about 10 years ago. I found, as many have, that it's a great system to keep a sharp knife sharp, but not that good for knives that need a good bit of material removed.

Before I stumbled onto this thread, I convinced myself that I needed to get a belt grinder setup so I bought a Harbor Freight 1x30 belt grinder and a bunch of belts. I was going to learn how to sharpen blades with an old 20" or so Collins machete. The blade had a few chips in it and the only sharpening I've ever done on it was using a 6" bench grinder and then later on a v-shaped carbide sharpener that you pull across the blade. While I was waiting for the additional sanding belts to arrive, I tried repairing the edge with the one 180 grit belt that came with the belt grinder. I got discouraged after a while when it seemed like I just couldn't remove enough material to get rid of the chips in the edge. That's when I came across this thread, read all 50+ pages and really wanted to try it. I went with the Porter Cable 6" variable speed grinder and reversed it because I feel more comfortable with the wheels turning away from me. Once I got it all set up, I tried sharpening that machete again. Again, I just couldn't remove this one chip about 5" from the tip. So I broke out the HF 1x30 belt sander and sanded away with that 180 grit belt and finally removed the chip and put a convex edge on it. As per richard j's suggestion in this thread, I went to the buffing wheel and now that machete is so much sharper than it ever has been. It slices newspaper very nicely.

Next up was our Chicago Cutlery knife set that we've had for 20 years. My wife messed up two of the thin blade knives in her attempts to sharpen them with the steel. It appears that she was running one spot on the blade down the length of the steel so there was a 1" area in the middle of the blade that looked like three serrations. I took my time and was able to remove the damage and this knife set is now sharper than it ever has been. I had to stop feeding my Rottweiler raw chicken because I couldn't get my knives sharp enough to cut raw chicken easily. It was taking too long and I was getting blisters on my hand from cutting 10-15 lbs of meat at a time. I am really happy to say that my dog is back on a raw diet and it takes less than half the time now to cut up raw meat. On top of that, the knife I'm using, a Chicago Cutlery stainless santoku, not only slices through skin and chops bones easily, but holds its edge much longer than ever. I usually prepare about 10-15 lbs of meat at a time so I will have about 4 meals prepared. So far I have done that process three times and the edge is holding up without even running the steel on it. In fact, I'm going to skip the steel and maintain the edge on the buffer wheel before the next feeding.

For my purposes, All of my sharpening needs are going to be met with the paper wheels, HF 1x30 belt grinder, and Sharpmaker. I still like the way the Sharpmaker sharpens serrated edges and I can even use it to sharpen peelers.

So anyone who is a novice and on the fence about the paper wheels, I say go for it. For about $100 for the wheels and grinder, you will get a system that is easy and quick to learn. I am nowhere near mastering this system, but have gotten great results (to me) so far. All I know is that I am going to get better results the more I use it and that's pretty hard to beat.
 
Just cut into my second wheel. Ironically with a chisel again it should sand out though being on the inside of the wheel (facing the body of the grinder).
 
Hey DJG097, You watching "girly" movies while you sharpen?:D Just kidding, but be careful there.

Omar
 
Honestly I was reaching for some buffing compound on the table... Then, well a chisel flew across the garage.
 
Funny.. I got your emails, Richard. I can't reply back though as I'm having trouble with my Internet just wanted to let you know I got them though.
 
I have to re-grit my wheel. Seems I pulled a lot of it off after a fairly light amount of knives.

I didn't want to use too much wax. Seems I may have used too little. ;)
 
How much pressure are you applying to the wheel? They should last a long time before needing re-gritting. I had to re-grit mine after trying to re-profile a really bad blade, and applied too much pressure. Would have been better off throwing the knife away. (actually it was a machete of questionable steel) My wheel was originally not very round from the factory. It is nice and smooth and round now after re-gritting and making sure it was smooth and round before applying the new grit. Works much better now.

Omar
 
i have posted before about how i apply the wax but i'll post it again. with the motor off i'll rub wax on a small area and work it in with my thumb repeating the process until i get all the way around the wheel.

i have found that it helps to take a toothbrush size wire brush and clean the wheel after a while to get the metal particles that get built up on the wheel cleaned off. then i apply more wax again.

here is a link to my tips page again http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608864
 
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