paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

i wanted to mention that i am back to sharpening knives again if anyone needs something sharpened. i'm still not 100% and i do have days where i am not feeling that well but i will try to get knives out as soon as i am able.
 
Richard, great to hear that you are on the road to mend and able to do some sharpening if even on a limited basis. Just don't over do and harm your progress. Welcome back!

Blessings,

Omar
 
i have been trying to be careful and watch what i'm doing. i'm wanting to get outside and do some grinding but i'm not allowed to lift anything heavy so i'll have to wait till next year unless someone comes by to help me. luckily i do have my sander set up in the basement so i can at least make some more neck knives which i plan on doing soon. i made unit a real nice one which i need to get sent out to him.
 
if i wanted to thin an edge, i'll hold it higher up on the wheel while keeping the blade flat. if i want the edge to be more obtuse, i'll hold the blade lower on the wheel. not everybody sharpens the way i do so i would not pay much attention to the vids on youtube. i need to make some new vids and put them on my website. if i can get my buddy that has a high def camera to help me, i'll try to get some made before i go back in the hospital.

is that your setup? if not, it looks like they are holding the spine lower or higher which is not the best way to sharpen. also its hard to tell exactly what you are doing with the edge facing away from you. also its a lot easier to place the blade wrong (on or above the shoulder instead of right on the edge) on the wheels that way too.
 
Yes, that is my set up, And can you explain further on holding it higher up on the wheel? I want a more acute angle
 
send me your number and i'll give you a call and save us both some typing.

here is a link to a vids i made a long time ago. its not that good but it will give you a good idea of what i mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plMbnQMQJMg the vid is pretty dark but you can get an idea of what i am doing.

i'm sharpening a chisel ground knife i made. i'm holding it a lot lower than i normally would but that was a hard use fixed blade so i wanted to put a more obtuse edge on it. the knife still shaved hair and push cut newspaper. i could even split hairs up the middle with it.
 
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i see a lot of members ask if a certain steel is hard to sharpen or not. thats what i like about the wheels. no matter what the steel is (except junk stainless marked made in pakistan) the wheels can sharpen it.
 
thats correct.

you should have the wheels running the other way and sharpen on the backside so you can see exactly what you are doing. its a lot easier to match up an existing angle that way. i know some guys are afraid to have the wheels running tword them but i have been sharpening that way from the start.
 
Richard, first I'm glad you are on the mend. Second, thank you for this thread. You influenced my fathers day present this year, again thanks. I just got everything and assembeled today. I started with the knife at 9:00 oclock and relaized that 12:00 oclock gives a better line of sight for what your working on.

I do have a question for you. In the instructions they state that a little wobble is ok. I went the cheap route, HF, as I also needed a buffer. So I ended up with two seperate setups. 1 dedicated to these wheels and one for grinding and buffing, (my mule scales that I just finished.) It seems that the shaft has a bit of built in wobble. Here's my question: It really isn't that big of a deal once I dress the wheels and make sure I don't take them off until I have to replace them?
 
My wheels have a bit of wobble in them (grinder fell when I wasn't using it which bent the wheel slightly). I find that it doesn't make a difference but if I were you I would try to true them. Also don't move the washers on either side of the wheels, I find that could make them wobble, or at least on my grinder.
 
if you true the wheels, follow my directions which i posted a few pages back how to do it.

i glued my washers to the wheel to keep them in place. that way i can switch between my slotted and grit wheel faster. a little wax makes them slide on and off easy.

i had 2 members come by (bpeezer and pmc, both great guys) to learn how to sharpen on the wheels and belt sander. i showed them how much easier it was to sharpen a knife on the backside compared to the 9:00 position. it is easier to match up an existing angle on the backside but you need good light set in the right position.

pmc had a brand new but dull busse that i i sharpened up by just buffing the edge. a lot of times it is not necessary to work up a new burr in order to get a knife sharp or bring a slightly dull edge back to shaving sharp. i also fixed the edge on another busse he had convexed on the worksharp (which actually messed the edge up).

they both left with shaving sharp knives and a lot less arm and leg hair, lol.
 
Thanks for having us up to visit Richard, it was an enlightening experience! Sharpening with the edge toward me wasn't as scary as it looked at first, and that's how I'll set my wheels up as soon as I get them. I seriously couldn't believe the edge you put on the busse, that has to be the thickest knife I've ever seen and it made hair just pop right off the skin. My arms and legs are losing more hair by the minute :D
 
it was nice meeting 2 more members :D i was going to try and have a get together this year but that will have to wait till next year.

watch the weather and catch a weekend that will be cooler than what today was. if i catch the weather and its going to be cool over the following weekends i'll let you and matt know. it would have been nice to have taught you and matt how to grind a knife and not roast while doing so.

if you thought that busse was thick, i just remembered a huge fixed blade that i sharpened up for a buddy back in the early 90's. it had ivory slabs and if i remember right, a silver dollar in the ivory. this thing was huge and weighed 4-5 pounds. i think it was made frmo 1/2" x 8" or 9" wide stock and at least 20" long if not longer.

i sharpened it on the very first belt sander i designed which was far from what i have now. i'll see if he still has the knife and get a picture if he does.

the hair on my left arm managed to slowly grow back while i was in the hospital :D.
 
Hey Richard, thanks for having me and bpeezer out. It was great meeting both of you and thanks for the knowledge that you shared. It was so nice to be able to see how you sharpen with the wheels and belt sander. As bpeezer said, sharpening with the edge toward me wasn't scary at all. I plan on buying my set up soon and get to practicing like you showed me. My legs and arms are missing a lot of hair and the newspaper cutting was eye opening. I will be back up to see you, you taught me more in three hours on how to sharpen than I have learned thus far in my life. Thanks!
 
it was nice having both of you up. i like to share what i have learned over the years of sharpening. i would be careful and not let your wife see your bare legs. if she finds out how much better your knives shave compared to her razor, she will be using them to shave her legs, lol.

before either of you buy a set of wheels, get the 1 1/4" x 10" like mine. they will last long enough to pass them down through the generations. plus they have a flywheel effect which is nice when sharpening axes or hatchets that need a v edge instead of a convex edge.

when you and bpeezer come up again we'll try the 24 grit experiment. i'll make a test blade from some scrap and heat treat it. i need to see if my buddy will bring me up a new piece of unsplit ash about 26" long or so. i think i seen a few pieces 12" or so in diameter. if its cool enough, we'll go out to the woods behind the b&b and you and ben can chop some trees down with k II and any other knives you want to try out. i'll borrow my buddys inverter and take my whole setup. we can fine tune edges on the spot :D.
 
JSMcustoms said:
Do these wheels remove a lot of metal quickly?
Click to expand...

If used properly, the gritted wheel will not eat away a lot of metal. They have a wax applied to them to keep your blade cool, and the grit is very shallow. They are not like a regular grinding wheel on a bench grinder. You use a light pressure on them to slowly grind your blade to an apex. If you keep the blade moving, they will take no more metal away to get your apex established and a burr formed than a wicked edge or similar system.

To reach an apex and therefore a burr, you have to remove some metal. The Paper wheels will do this just as efficiently and safely as any other system, only much quicker. There is some experience and know how required to do this effectively as is true with any sharpening system.

The slotted wheel acts as a strop, and removes very little metal while stropping and polishing your blade. As with any system or sharpening method, there is a learning curve. You should practice with some cheap knives or as Richard suggests, an old hack saw blade to become proficient before trying on your good knives. I bought some thrift store kitchen knives for $1 each to learn on when I first got my wheels. The learning curve is relatively short, at least it was for me, and I had never used a powered system before. I had only used a stone for sharpening my knives. Takes me about 5 minutes to sharpen a good knife with some good steel on it to hair shaving, push cutting paper sharp. I take my time and do not get in a hurry.

Blessings,

Omar
 
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