Remember that salvaged L6 hunting knife I couldn't get sharp on the Sharpmaker?

I e got the 1x30 harbor freight sander as well. I use it mainly for reprofiling. It take a little getting used to but once you figure it out, it's fantastic. I use it to sharpen friends/coworkers knives all the time. And the majority of them are plumbers. So their knives cut cardboard, wire. Anything a knife wasn't designed to cut 😀 If it's REALLY bad I'll use the 120 grit belt first. But usually I'll do a 320 grit and then just crisp up the apex with the sharp maker rods. You get scary sharp in less than 5 minutes. If I'm feeling froggy, I'll use my 800 grit belt and then finish off on the buffing wheel for a nice mirror polished edge.
My best advice is to start with a knife that you aren't really attached to. I also lay my sander on its back with they belt running away from me. That way it sort of mimics using a bench stone. It uses the same muscle memory for getting the right angle on the blade
 
I do have a 1x30 belt sander, and I can go from no edge to hair jumping sharp, in a matter of minutes.

But I don't use it on all my knives. It is great to set an edge, and convex it. Removing a lot of steel relatively quickly.


For finer edges that just need a little work, I just use my stones, or sandpaper on a rubber backing, or glass.
 
We used a belt sander on our construction jobs to fast sharpen all,sorts of edged tools we kept ours loaded with a 300 grit belt . I got to get another belt sander cause my old one has died. I been using my demel tool to sharpen hoes, shovels and machetes around the house.
 
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