paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you

anyone looking to get a variable speed motor but having trouble finding one, look for a 1725 rpm single shaft motor. youi can put an arbor on the shaft to mount the wheels on. that is what i have used ever since i started sharpening with the wheels. i switch from grit wheel to slotted wheel without any problems. you can find used motors but make sure its no less than 1/2 hp.
 
creature7 said:
I have very limited experience with this system but I got a $30 3500rpm buffer from Harbor Freight and it works great. If you use a good amount of wax it won't grind as much off but be aware, it's easy to go overboard with the stuff. I did at first and thought I had worn off all the grit. Turns out I just had too much wax.

The key is to get a bunch of cheapo knives from thrift stores and practice a bunch on them. Then once you feel confident move on to better knives. It took me a day or two to get things going good. I started working on higher end blades about a week after I got it. I've just been trying to grind/polish the bevel and try to stay true with the angle. I also try not to grind too much if I don't have to.
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Got my wheels in today, and went to town with cheap knives. I think I did this very thing! Does anyone have a picture that shows what the grit wheel with wax on it should look like? THANKS!
 
excess wax is not really that big a deal but over time the wax can hold metal particles and clog the wheel. this can make it seem like the wheel has stopped cutting but this will happen after sharpening quite a few knives. a small wire brush will clean the wheel and then all you need to do is put some more wax on. the way i do it is to put some on in a small area and rub it in with my thumb until i go all the way around the wheel.
 
Atama said:
Got my wheels in today, and went to town with cheap knives. I think I did this very thing! Does anyone have a picture that shows what the grit wheel with wax on it should look like? THANKS!
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The grit just shows through a little bit. I know what you're thinking(I thought the same thing), "there's isn't even any grit on this wheel anymore." It just looks like you wore the grit smooth but really it's just under the wax. Use it for a while without adding wax and it will lighten up and the grit will show through again. This is what the manufacturer of the wheels told me and he was right.
 
Hey guys,

I'm looking into getting the wheels, and saw Richard J's post about being thankful to have gotten the 10" wheels - does anyone know where those can be had? Also, is the general consensus that the 3500 rpm HF grinder is the best choice? Is this still true with the larger diameter wheels (which would have a faster speed as a result of greater diameter than the 8"ers?) I appreciate the help and can't wait to start bangin' out knives in under 5 minutes!

Thanks,

Turner
 
i order mine direct from mike but normally you will have to find a dealer that carrys them to get a 10" set. i can see if mike would sell you a set.

you say you cant wait to start banging knives out in under 5 minutes. back in 09 i did 241 folders that were brand new flat edged in a total of 17 hours. i did it over a weekend. most had 2-3 blades each and took a few minutes to work up a burr which is what i did to them all before going to the slotted wheel the next day. i wish i knew the ammount of total blade length i actually did. here is a link to the thread on the knives. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651061

send me an email with your number so i can let you know what mike says.
 
Been practicing with my wheels for a few days now. Had to go out of town for work most of the week. I took a ZT 0550 with me to use for some heavy duty cardboard cutting (we were stocking a new warehouse) that I hit up on the wheels just before heading out. Edge held up great! My only problem at this point seems to be that I can't get the belly and tip as sharp as the rest of the blade. Any suggestions on what I can do to correct this?
 
its hard to say without seeing what you are doing or not doing. are you getting rid of all the burr? are you somehow changing the angle when you go from belly to tip making it obtuse?

send me your number and i'll give you a call. it might be easier to figure out what you are doing wrong. then you can post about the fix :D

how are you sharpening? do you sharpen the way i do wiht the wheel rotating to you close to the 1:00 position?
 
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i tell people to get an old hacksaw blade and practice on getting an even burr and not worry about buffing the edge yet. strip the burr off on a piece of wood and do it again. you can cut a blade down with tin snips into more of a knife shape if you want but i would sharpen a 3"section but i would go around the radius on the end of the blade. this is good practice and it helps you learn how to keep the blade flat as you make the turn. i could sharpen more than half way around the end before i had to stop.

i have had quite a few guys contact me in the past with all kinds of problems that can be solved by learning how to get a good uniform burr first before going on to their good knives. i practiced on a hacksaw for a week before going to the slotted wheel. a month later my buddy art summers came by with a $1.200 that he just made. i told him it was not sharp. he said thats why i brought it, so you can put an edge on it for me. i was a little nervous but i went downstairs and sharpened it. when i took it back up and gave it to him, he said that it was sharp. i sharpened quite a few knives for him over the years he lived outside town.
 
I love how you help people out! You definitely helped me, and I can't thank you enough! :thumbup:
I feel like a pro now!
 
Sharpnessis said:
I love how you help people out! You definitely helped me, and I can't thank you enough! :thumbup:
I feel like a pro now!
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Richard is the Man. Always giving! I bet he has helped in the thousands, just on this forum.
Merry Christmas, Richard, and may 2014 be better.

Romo
 
a member here that goes by still_learning sent me an email today. he has been to the house twice to learn how to sharpen. where he lives at, he is able to keep busy sharpening for restaurants and butcher stores. here is part of the email he sent me that i thought i would share.

"I've been doing a lot more sharpening and every time I get a free meal at a restaurant in my neighborhood for sharpening their knives, I think of you."

he told me he can pretty much go into any restaurant he sharpens for, order a meal and not have to pay for it whenever he wants. they give him a good meal and he keeps their knives sharp. :D i would get my mom and dad free pizza all the time. sometimes a place would rather trade for something rather than pay out cash. give it a try sometime.
 
Hi everyone,

After reading this thread I picked up some paper wheels a while ago. I like convex edges, so I also picked up a 1x30 belt grinder. I use the grinder to reprofile/touch up/sharpen, and then I use the slotted wheel to remove the burr. I find that the slotted wheel turns black. I can remove the black by dressing the wheel, which I do from time to time, but I comes back pretty much right away. Does this happen to anyone else? My grinder spins at 3400rpm, so I'm guessing it turns black from being burned. That being said, the blades never hear up. I was wondering if this is normal, or am I doing something wrong.

Thanks
Tim
 
that is normal for the wheel to turn black. just keep using it. after several years of use the wheel might get humps between the slots. that should be the only time you need to sand the buffing wheel.

you true a wheel up the same way as dressing the grit wheel. i found that 30 grit sandpaper for wood works the best. a buddy gave me some pieces that they use on the commercial electric floor sanders
 
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Hi Richard,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I'm glad to hear that the wheels usually turn black, and it's not something I was doing wrong. This thread has been fantastic, I've learned a lot.

Thanks
Tim
 
Richard, I have the paper wheels from Mike and like the results that I am getting. I need to put wax on the grinding wheel and polishing compound on the finishing wheel. Is this a special wax or can I use candle wax? If I need a special wax, where do I get it? Also where do I get white jewler's rouge? I have a stick of green polishing grit - will that work? Thank you for the help you give guys like me. GuyG
 
in a pinch you can use candle wax. woodcraft has the wax and compound or you can order it from mike if you want to get more than what woodcraft sells.
 
After 2 years of practice on paper wheels I have a difficult time bringing myself to use anything else. I haven't mastered them according to my own standards yet but I'm close. My only complaint is when sharpening blades with a thick coating, like the KaBar USMC, the grinding wheel has a tendency to grab the coating and if you aren't careful you can ruin the finish on the blade. Certain blade coatings can also gum up the 220 grit I'm using and I have to resurface the wheel sooner than normal.
 
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