Paper wheel vs belt sander

S

scubasteve1942

Joined
Oct 6, 2006
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221
Which one do you prefer and why? Im looking a purchasing one or the other and would like some opinions. Also what is a good website to order the machine and belts/wheels from?
 
i have used the wheels for over 18 years plus i have a belt sander with an assortment of belts. i have tried sharpening with a belt finishing off the edge with a 19 micron belt. it was sharp but not as sharp as i could get a knife with the wheels. i even had an ez sharp which is similar to a lansky. i made a post about the lansky in the following thread post 6. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=746260
you can get the wheels at any woodcraft store or grizzly imports. check out my paper wheel thread for more informatioin.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787
 
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Hi There,
In my honest opinion, I also have a belt sander and the Wheels BLOW the sander away...

Electric
 
If you plan on needing rapid stock removal for shaping a new blade, get a belt sander. If all you want to do is sharpen, I'd go with the paper wheels.
 
I use both in a complimentary fashion. I use rough belts like 80 - 120 grit to reprofile badly damaged edges, and for sharpening edges where people want a coarse edge. I then move onto the wheels once the profile more on target. Then I buff the edge to remove any burr that was created.
 
I have used both the wheels and belt grinders for a while now and I would definitely go for the belt grinder. I don't get what the big deal with wheels is to be honest; it is hard to control by nature and usually produces less than ideal edges for me. I have actually taken a couple cm from a military because I wasn't aware how much metal they would actually they would remove. It may just be me though.

I have a couple of reasons for liking the belt grinder, but I recommend it because in my experience, it removes metal as fast or slow as you want, you get more defined bevels, and for me much sharper edges. It is worthy to note that most production and custom knife makers use belt grinders for their edges.

I would recommend stones above any power equipment, but it is all up to you.
 
Wheels are great,but a medium fine belt followed with a leather belt and green chrome polish produces an awesome polished edge that last longer than the wheel edge imo.
 
I took Richard advice a few weeks ago.. Bought the whole system and could not be happier.. less than 100.00 and a smaller learning curve than by hand and my knives are scary sharp.. I actually look forward to getting my knives dull.. where before I stressed about getting them back sharp.. Plus I get sooooo much more time with my family!! I still learned to sharpen by hand for the past 18 months and can get a pretty good edge.. So when I am in the field and need a touch up, I have the skills.. I cannot speak for a belt sander, having never used one.. But the wheels are the real deal.. I am not ashamed to say, that I have spent hours on more than one knife and still could not get them as sharp as I can with the wheels..

Richardj-- I Thank you and so does my wife:)
 
I love a leather powerstrop but the paper is generally more consistent for getting a hair-popping edge.
 
If there is a manufacturer or a well known knife maker that uses wheels of any sort, I've never heard about it, so maybe I'm undereducated.

Near as I can tell, belt grinders are the breakfast of champions.

I've bought lots and lots of power equipment in the last 30 years. Whenever I see a need for a tool, I figure out what the best in the business use, and I buy that. I hate re-buying because I didn't get the right tool in the first place almost as bad as I hate al-kida.

I think the biggest difference between wheels and belts is the type of edge you get. They're both sharp, but one is known for good slicing and durability, and the other one is basically the opposite shape. I don't know how else to explain it.

Again, I'm probably undereducated about how to use wheels. I followed the directions to the best of my ability. I think I saw Richard J say he does something like half convex with them, but I didn't get the full picture. My feeling is that a regular stone grinding wheel would work better than a paper one with grit glued onto it, and I don't know why it wouldn't. I don't know why the paper honing wheel would work better than a leather belt, and a belt will hone a convex edge to absolute perfection.

You can get a Kalamazoo lots of places. If I can get one where I'm at, chances are very good that you won't have far to go. The 1x42 is a smooooth machine, and I think they only run about $225. The half horse Baldor motor is worth that much, and in all likelihood will out live most people buying it, or two cheap grinders, whichever comes first.

Get 3M Trizact belts. If you can't find them let me know.
 
myt132-cu said:
If there is a manufacturer or a well known knife maker that uses wheels of any sort, I've never heard about it, so maybe I'm undereducated.

Near as I can tell, belt grinders are the breakfast of champions.

I've bought lots and lots of power equipment in the last 30 years. Whenever I see a need for a tool, I figure out what the best in the business use, and I buy that. I hate re-buying because I didn't get the right tool in the first place almost as bad as I hate al-kida.

I think the biggest difference between wheels and belts is the type of edge you get. They're both sharp, but one is known for good slicing and durability, and the other one is basically the opposite shape. I don't know how else to explain it.

Again, I'm probably undereducated about how to use wheels. I followed the directions to the best of my ability. I think I saw Richard J say he does something like half convex with them, but I didn't get the full picture. My feeling is that a regular stone grinding wheel would work better than a paper one with grit glued onto it, and I don't know why it wouldn't. I don't know why the paper honing wheel would work better than a leather belt, and a belt will hone a convex edge to absolute perfection.

You can get a Kalamazoo lots of places. If I can get one where I'm at, chances are very good that you won't have far to go. The 1x42 is a smooooth machine, and I think they only run about $225. The half horse Baldor motor is worth that much, and in all likelihood will out live most people buying it, or two cheap grinders, whichever comes first.

Get 3M Trizact belts. If you can't find them let me know.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly.

Edit: actually, victorinox uses wheel type grinders for their edges. You can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC78CMFIwnc
 
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I view them as different tools with different purposes. I guess in theory, the belt sander should be more versatile. In practice, I'd rather not have to choose between one or the other. If you have a bench grinder already, wheels are not a very expensive addition, if you look around. If you don't already have a grinder, I'd be tempted to just bite the bullet and get a good belt sander, a good selection of grits, and leather belt for power stropping. Plus I find belt sanders very useful for all kinds of other non knife projects.
 
myt132-cu said:
You can get a Kalamazoo lots of places. If I can get one where I'm at, chances are very good that you won't have far to go. The 1x42 is a smooooth machine, and I think they only run about $225. The half horse Baldor motor is worth that much, and in all likelihood will out live most people buying it, or two cheap grinders, whichever comes first.
Click to expand...

Newbie question, but what is this Kalamazoo you are talking about, and where can I get info on it? I've been thinking about possibly trying the paper wheels, but would like to check this out also.
 
You can get a HF belt sander and then a bunch of belts for about $50. Sure that isn't a great belt grinder but it is more than enough for sharpening and truth is I've even grinded a knife or two out of a very hard hacksaw blade. To sharpen they both will work belts and wheels. There is no majic to either one. Don't beleive anyone who says one will get a knife sharper or sharpens faster. They both will do the same thing as long as the speed the grit moves is the same. The grit is the same and same size. And the angle you put on for an edge is the same. Truthfully for me once I thin out a new knife to sharpen it a bench stone is just as fast as anything else, and there is no power needed. :)
 
I prefer a convex edge on all my tools. Plus I often sharpen axes which also have a convex edge. So I went with a belt sander. My knives have never been this sharp before and if it is possible to get them sharper, I don't think it would be to a useful degree as my knives currently are super sharp. I go from a 220 grit belt up to 600, then 1200, then finish up with a leather belt loaded with diamond spray, and then hand strop to make sure it's perfect. I get a razor sharp polished edge everytime. If you are going to go with the belt grinder there is no better for your bench than the Kalamazoo 1SM. It runs at half the speed of other belt machines and has a wide variety of belts available. Low speed is key to keep from removing too much material or having too much heat build up. I've pretty much trashed or given away all my other sharpening stuff after buying my kalamazoo. I keep a field sharpening kit in my bag. But for home sharpening, this thing saved me lots of time and produces scary edges for me. But it does limit me to a convex edge. But IMHO, that's just fine as I prefer it. I'll look up some belt info for you. There was a place that was selling 220 grit belts dirt cheap. And 220 grit is gonna be your workhorse belt. The rest are just for polishing and refining the edge. You can get a knife razor sharp with 220 alone.
 
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