paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

I posted this in the main area but I think it belongs here.
I know this is a real beginners question, but here I am! :)

Just got a set and still making friends with them...
I'm wondering what the advantage is, over a belt? Every page I go to says, "Gee, these work great and are fast"
but if you're a knifemaker and very comfortable with belts, why not use a belt and then just buff on the white rouge wheel? What's the advantage of the paper grit wheel?

Oh, one more thing- it's not unusual to sharpen 60 or 70 knives at the Saturday market- do you really have to re-grit every hundred? That's about what I get out of one 1x30 grinder belt (the cheap ones I use for adjusting bevels) and it takes about 5 seconds to change one instead of 24 hours.
None of this is to diss paper wheels, just trying to learn if they're right for me, while I wait for the glue to dry!

Thanks,
Andy G.
 
Last edited:
i can sharpen faster on the grit wheel than on a belt. i only use my belt sander for convex edges that i finish off on the slotted wheels.

i have several sets of grit wheels so i'm never without a good wheel.
 
Andy, you should not have to re-grit your wheel every 100 knives. You should be getting 5 to 6 hundred knives at least on one grit application if it is done right. Are you using the wax to imbed into the grit? It will extend the life of the grit and also aid in keeping the knife blade cool and prevent it from ruining the heat treat. You want to apply very light pressure when grinding on the wheel. With my set up, I can barely see any sparks when I am sharpening my knives. I have had my wheels for about 1 1/2 years, and I just last week re-gritted the grit wheel for the first time. I also sharpen as a small sideline business as I am retired. If I have a major re-profile job on a large folder, I will use my Work Sharp to get the new basic grind on it, and then put it on the gritted paper wheel to finish it up. The wheels are ideal for your farmer's market gig. It should take you about 5 to 8 minutes to sharpen most knives after you become used to it. I can sharpen a kitchen knife in fair shape in about 4 minutes if I take my time to do it right and razor sharp.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Thank you for the quick replies, can't wait to try them!

A neighbor gave me a pair of wheels, the 3/4" ones with 1/2" hole. The plain wheel didn't appear to have any grit on it, so it's drying overnight right now.
There's some logic to the way most people set them up, with the wheel rotating away, but I figure since everything else I have rotates toward me I'd better stick with the system and try Richard's method. It would be too easy to stab the wheel when some Old Man in a Hat is talking in my ear!
 
elementfe said:
It would be too easy to stab the wheel when some Old Man in a Hat is talking in my ear!
Click to expand...

when i did special wish fundraisers at a local motorcycle club in town i would tell anyone i was sharpening for to wait till i was done before asking any questions. what i hated about doing fundraisers there is when drunks bump into the table watching and i tell them to move away, my sharpening table is not a leaning post. one guy never listened so i told him if i got cut due to him, i was going to stick him in the ass with the tip. he moved back quickly :D
 
i have a funny story about sharpening knives at the motorcycle club fundraiser that i went to back in the mid 90's. it was told to me by a friend who camped out all night. it seems this guy who i sharpened a knife for was totally amazed at how sharp i got his knife. he was walking around the grounds showing people how easily it shaved the hair off his arm (the guy was so hairy he looked like an animal).

all this time the guy was drunk and probably shouldnt have had a razor blade as my friend calls any knife i sharpen, in his posession. the next morning my friend hears a commotion and looks out. he sees this guy with one arm totally bald complete with razor burns and one arm all hairy except for a few bald spots and some more burns.

he thought someone had shaved him while he was asleep but my friend told him what really happened. later on after a few cups of coffee the guy told my friend he sort of remembers what happened. i wish i had been there to have seen this. it sure would have been a kodak moment.
 
Can you use beeswax for the grit wheel?
I do have some petroleum based goo for saw blades, but the beeswax smells so nice and I have pounds of it...
Has anyone out there ever tried it?
 
i asked mike about that and he said there is no beeswax in the wax at all. you can give it a try but rub it in the grit wheel with your thumb. i found it works better that way and cuts down on the excess.
 
Here is an update on my paper wheel sharpening. I've become a lot more adept at the process and now can sharpen near anything without overheating. Keeping the wheels lubricated with wax/compound and constantly moving the knife edge is the key. I was wrong about grit coming off the wheel, it was just wax buildup and the grit wheel still works great.

One of my wheels arrived out of true, but sharpeningmadeeasy immediately sent a replacement for free so their service is really good. I'm still using the warped wheel without problems, but I'll switch it when I have to do more delicate sharpening around a choil or something.

OHALLUM said:
1. 3600 is recommended by the mfg, so no it is not too fast. You should just use light pressure and keep the blade moving. A slower turning machine is better, but what you have is ok as long as you learn the limits of it. I have a 3600 rpm buffer that I use, and have had no problems.

2.You should get a somewhat polished edge if you are using enough of the white rouge on the slotted wheel. Add some each time you strop a knife on it. Yes you should use the same angle on both wheels as close as you can.

3. If the "patches" are wax, and not bare paper, then there is enough grit on the wheel, as long as they still grind your knife blades. You should only have to re grit after sharpening lots (as in 100 or more) knives if you are using light even pressure. Let the wheel do the work. Mine show little grit and mostly wax patches, but still sharpen my knives ok. The wax is to help keep the blade cool when grinding.

It does take some practice to get it all down and working right. The key, I think is to use light pressure and keep the blade moving on both wheels. Sounds like you are close if your santoku will cut paper like you said. Get some old knives to practice on, or as Richard says, sharpen some old hack saw blades to get your rhythm and technique down. Good luck!

Blessings,

Omar
Click to expand...
 
Bob.... If the wheel is out of round or true as you put it, you can get some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper and staple it to a 1X4 about 3 feet long and slowly sand all the grit off down to the bare paper wheel. Put the board with the sandpaper on it under the running wheel on something level and straight. Lift the board up slowly and lightly until you make contact with the wheel and sand away. When you get it sanded smooth and it is running true, then mark the wheel in reference to the shaft and washers so when you re-grit it you can re-mount it in the same spot. If you need pointers on re applying the grit, let me know. If the wheel is warped and runs side to side very much, then I would pitch it. If it is only out of round, the the above will fix it.

I just re-gritted my wheel after using it for a year and a half for the first time, so they will go a long time between a re grit. I also ordered a plain wheel with no grit from Steve so I would not have to grind the grit off if it was out of round and to have a spare on hand.

Blessings,

Omar
 
OHALLUM said:
Bob.... If the wheel is out of round or true as you put it, you can get some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper and staple it to a 1X4 about 3 feet long
Click to expand...
you only need a piece of wood about 12" long and maybe 1/2" thick and 3" wide. 80 grit is enough to do the job. you put the stick under the wheel at an angle and slowly let it make contact. rock the stick back and forth maybe a 1/2" side to side keeping the stick square to the wheel. wrapping some sandpaper around the end will keep it from sliding. do not try cleaning up the wheel by holding a sanding block in your hand or it will just make any high spots worse.

doing it this way will get the wheel true by removing the high spots first. keep going until you go completely around the wheel. (you only need to use light pressure to get the job done and its always best to take it slow. have someone hold a vacuum beside the wheel to collect the dust or mount the hose to a board off to the side. out of the way )
when you get the wheel cleaned up all the way around you will no longer see any glue. if you have any doubt if the wheel is square, you can check it part way through with a square and adjust accordingly.
 
OHALLUM said:
Bob.... If the wheel is out of round or true as you put it, you can get some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper and staple it to a 1X4 about 3 feet long and slowly sand all the grit off down to the bare paper wheel. Put the board with the sandpaper on it under the running wheel on something level and straight. Lift the board up slowly and lightly until you make contact with the wheel and sand away. When you get it sanded smooth and it is running true, then mark the wheel in reference to the shaft and washers so when you re-grit it you can re-mount it in the same spot. If you need pointers on re applying the grit, let me know. If the wheel is warped and runs side to side very much, then I would pitch it. If it is only out of round, the the above will fix it.

I just re-gritted my wheel after using it for a year and a half for the first time, so they will go a long time between a re grit. I also ordered a plain wheel with no grit from Steve so I would not have to grind the grit off if it was out of round and to have a spare on hand.

Blessings,

Omar
Click to expand...

Omar, it was a lateral warp side to side... about 1/4" horizontal deflection when looking from edge to edge. I'm still using it for now, but I'll replace it soon with the new wheel. I actually have a diamond wheel dresser for truing to round that works well, and I used the sandpaper trick when first installing the wheels, so they are pretty round now at least.
 
bobasaurus said:
Omar, it was a lateral warp side to side... about 1/4" horizontal deflection when looking from edge to edge. I'm still using it for now, but I'll replace it soon with the new wheel. I actually have a diamond wheel dresser for truing to round that works well, and I used the sandpaper trick when first installing the wheels, so they are pretty round now at least.
Click to expand...

You could try tapping it with a rubber mallet where it's off. That's what I did after my grinder fell off a shelf and knocked the wheel off center.
 
DJG097 said:
You could try tapping it with a rubber mallet where it's off. That's what I did after my grinder fell off a shelf and knocked the wheel off center.
Click to expand...

That is an excellent idea, DJG097. I will have to put that into my memory bank. Did it turn out nice and flat afterwards? At least flat enough to be useable? Some side to side wobble is not to bad if it is not excessive I would think. My slotted wheel has a small amount of wobble to it, but not enough to negatively effect it. Both of my wheels are nice and round after dressing them when I re-gritted. If they are smooth running and round, then half the battle is won.

Blessings,

Omar
 
It's not as flat as it was when I first got the wheels but its pretty dang close. If anybody uses the idea I'd suggest getting a pice of 12 gauge wire or something similar and setting it up so you have the end of the wire against the outside of the wheel just so it barely touches. Then slowly spin the wheel to find where it's bent then just tap it out with the hammer. I hope that makes sense, but that's also how I true wheels on bikes (zip ties instead of wire around the fork or frame)
 
Hi, I have have just started back on this site after a fairly long absence. I don't have wheels but have been curious about them for quite awhile.
That is not why I am posting today. The reason is to thank Richard J for his presence one this website. He has been helping people for years and I just want to state my appreciation for his time and knowledge. This site is a better place because of him.
If I ever get the nerve up to try wheels I am sure he would help me just as the countless other he has aided in the past.
That is what I have to say, Thanks Richard!!!!!!! Russ
 
russ, you should get a set and learn how to use them. if you run into problems just let me know and i'll give you a call.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top