Paper wheels for sharpening

Richard, What size/type bench grinder would you suggest? I haven't bought one in many years (lost my last one in a Divorce):grumpy:
 
if you can find a 1/2 hp motor and put an arbor on it to mount the wheels on that will work. i just sent you an email with a shot of what i use.
 
3/4 hp is sort of overkill but that is a cheap price. a variable speed would be better if you can find one. check into the 1/2 hp 1725 rpm motor.
 
You know, I really need to get a paper wheel setup. Every time I try to sit down and sharpen any of my knives, my 17m.o. son won't let me get all the way through one grit without needing to be saved from his own curiosity so I lose count of my strokes, he knocks my beer over, tries to grab a knife or stone. As much as I enjoy the activity of using stones I need something that takes less time, and so these paper wheels sound like they fit the bill.

I already have a bench grinder, 3/4 hp 3400rpm 6" wheel and 1/2" arbor I believe. I can get a different one if I really need to, but I already have this and don't want to spend money if I can help it, you know the whole college/bail money for the kid when he gets older.

Can someone point me to some information about what and where to buy? Will these work with dendritic cobalt and other non-steel metals?


Thanx-

-Xander
 
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Some nasty edges me and my brother did today
 
Bapple said:
You are right KalEl, bought my bench grinder at Lowe's for around $50, and then bought the Richard J recommended paper wheel kit from Woodcraft for around $55. Have $105.00 in the whole system. Haven't tried em yet, but may give it a go this weekend, time permitting. Now where is Richard's phone number again, ha..:D
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you can get a bench grinder off craigslist for like 15-20 bucks used and its hard to use up a bench grinder so most are fine. as long as they can turn on and spin, they will be fine.
 
Richard - Thanks, exactly what I was looking for. I would have done more searching but my son is asleep in my lap right now and I am viewing this on my phone which isn't the easiest platform for searching forums! Ahh, the joys of being a single parent...


-Xander
 
Just a curio I have to share, what sort of jig would you fella's recommend for bench grinders. Getting angle accuracy has proven to be a small problem for me and wooden blocks with precut angles arent all that useful to me, many knives have non uniform shoulders, artistic what have you's and ninja blood grooves.
 
i grind freehand and you cant make a jig that will work. i would suggest learning how to get good even edges on cheap knives first before going on to good knives. some people pick it up real fast like kelel did. get a set and give them a try.
 
Kermit said:
Just a curio I have to share, what sort of jig would you fella's recommend for bench grinders. Getting angle accuracy has proven to be a small problem for me and wooden blocks with precut angles arent all that useful to me, many knives have non uniform shoulders, artistic what have you's and ninja blood grooves.
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There in lies the problem and why some of us have flocked to guided sharpening systems WEPS,EP,etc.
The "art" is in the angle accuracy, bevel consistency throughout the sharpening process. Both sides every time.:eek:
I would have to get awfully good before I went after most of my knives, God help my practice pieces.
 
if you can hold a blade flat and in one spot on the wheels while drawing the blade across, the wheels are easy to use. a member that goes by electric has 1 eye and he got the hang of the wheels right off the bat just a few minutes after i gave him some tips.
 
The Paper Wheels indeed have a very short learning curve, practically everyone can do it after trying their hand on a couple of cheapies.
There is no magic involved nor are we talking about Japanese sword polishing, it's just plain and simple knife sharpening.

I sharpen commercially for a few restaurants and chefs, and for 99% of these kitchen knives i use the Paper Wheels.
Feedback from the chefs tells me that the Paper Wheel edges are not only extremely sharp (duh), but also durable.
Most of the time kitchen knives don't blunt too much from the food they're cutting but from constantly hitting and slicing those hard & wear resistant nylon cutting boards.
An edge will last longer on good wooden boards, but practically no one uses these anymore in commercial kitchens, at least not where i live.

For sharpening and reprofiling high end production folders like Spyderco's, Striders, Sebenza's & Umnumzaans i like to use a Wicked Edge to get that perfect V-grind.
 
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eccvets said:
awesome! I dont understand why other would pay for other systems without trying a paper wheel first. fast and effective, what more could you want?
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A beautiful edge with an even shorter learning curve? Not having a steady hand and not very skilled at "eyeing it", my edges on the Paper Wheels were awkward and bumpy, and I've had a few polished spots on the handles of a few of my knives that really show it.

Also, not having a workshop like some others(or even a proper table to secure the bench grinder), this system proved to be quite cumbersome for me.

Though I paid a hefty price in aftermarket belts, the Work Sharp system proved to be a worthy competitor. It's smaller, quieter, and the edges I've gotten are nice and pretty and sharp as well:thumbup:. It gets a little tedious to switch between about 10 different grits of belts, but I felt confident enough to put an edge on my Lionsteel SR-1 before even doing more than 5 knives with the thing. I'm currently up by a Sebenza and XM-18 as well.

Still, the paper wheels will no doubt win in raw speed, and it's priced just right for people who are not quite as obsessed with their knives. The basic setup for the Work Sharp isn't quite as good, as the P220 belt is far too aggressive to raise a burr, while the 6000 belt won't raise a burr at all. At least with the paper wheels you can adjust how aggressive the grit wheel is with the use of the included wax.
 
i was talking to someone who is not a member who burned up his blade with the worksharp even after following the directions. he has used the paper wheels for some time but bought the worksharp to see if it would work any better for him.

he said he is going to sell the worksharp and go back to the wheels.
 
richard j said:
i was talking to someone who is not a member who burned up his blade with the worksharp even after following the directions. he has used the paper wheels for some time but bought the worksharp to see if it would work any better for him.

he said he is going to sell the worksharp and go back to the wheels.
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Very true. The P220 belt can make the blade too hot to touch with just a few strokes. However, none of my aftermarket MX belts will do that. Could be some kind of physical trait of the ceramic abrasives in the P60 and P220 belts.

Still, the worksharp has its own merits. As I said, smaller size is a given, and with it comes portability as well if you plan on taking it over to your friend's house and sharpening every knife in his kitchen. Probably might be less of a mess too if you've ever had the polishing compound splatter the table(and you;)). I also believe the mirror polished edge is a bit "cleaner" due to the fact that you don't "jump" as many grits.
 
You can burn your edge with the paper wheels too, it's not unique to belt sanders. You can also recurve the living hell out of your knife with paper wheels faster than any system. Not to mention if you have no experience with power tools, its not hard to cut into the wheel and kill yourself with the knife. By far paper wheels are fastest system, but they aren't without disadvantages... including safety issues.
 
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