Sharpening and stropping on a belt grinder.

Will Batayte

Will Batayte

Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
640
Ok so after making a washtub forge and having some fun and some frustration forging. I've decided to stop messing around and take the plunge. Took out 5 grand from the bank and am building a legit shop. No more jimmy rigging and using inefficient tools. Getting a variable speed kmg, floor drill press, metal cutting bandsaw, wood cutting band saw, safety equiptment, disk sander, a couple new work benches, possibly a propane forge, and all the other little tools I want. Edge scribe, drill vise, and so on.

So I was thinking about final sharpening and how i want my knives to go out scary sharp. So was contemplating a power strop. But I was wondering how many of you guys use your belt grinder for final sharpening? And if so do you use those cork belts with compound to strop? Or is this not a good idea?
 
I set the edge bevels on my belt grinder. Usually got 120 grit belt, then 400 grit belt. After that I go to a 600 grit stone, 1000 grit stone, then a leather strop. I'm sure there are better ways, but it works for me so far.
 
Yeah I get great results on my personal knives using course then fine diamond bench stones the I go to a medium then fine Arkansas. Then strop. Results in an edge that can push cut newspaper. For the knives I make I want the same result only faster. But I wont sacrifice edge quality for speed.
 
I might add, I started making knives with a 2x42 craftsman, which runs WAY too fast. Consequently, I developed a light touch when grinding. If you're going to use a belt grinder to sharpen, turn it down slow if you can, and use a light touch. Don't want to over heat the edge.
 
You have to be very careful when doing the final grits on bade edges, or you can do a micro-tempering at much higher than desirable temps. You can't see it or even feel the heat, but the very edge ( which is what cuts) may get lowered a lot in hardness. Power stropping can be a really bad thing. Strop by hand slowly and evenly....just a few strokes each side.

Most folks who do a lot of high end sharpening only use power equipment for restoring the actual bevel angle. The actual sharpening and honing/stropping is all done by hand and well lubricated with water.

I lost the heel of my left palm power stropping many years back.
 
Good point, this is one of the reasons I'm going with the variable speed grinder. That and so I can take things nice and slow at first and get cleaner lines.
 
If you have any questions about equiptment or want to check out my shop I am only 30 minutes away near Willimantic.
 
I have found that control of consistent edge angle is harder to achieve in final sharpening with a belt grinder than by hand fwiw
 
I have been sharpening all manner of knives on my belts with great success for a number of years.

As Jason and Bladsmth have mentioned, heat is the enemy! You want fresh sharp belts or they make too much heat. Also I never have the variable speed over 25% on my 2 x 72". Keep the knife moving, a few light passes work better than really digging in and possibly building up to much heat.

Along with being a knife maker I also take in sharpening for my business.
For resharpening I use a 120 grit superflex belt, Then a 600 belt and buff with green chrome. Japanese knives I also use a 15 micron belt before buffing.

For my knives I start with a 60 Ceramic belt for putting the bevel on my knives then the 120 and the 600 along with a 15 micron for my knives.

There are many ways to achieve your final sharpened edge. This is how I do it. Fine what works best for you with consistent results.

Laurence
 
I have several different ways to put the initial bevels on my blades... it all depends on the geometry and intended purpose. However, no matter how they go on, the final sharpening is done on well lubricated stones(for exactly the reason Bladsmth points out). I use Japanese water stones but DMT plates or oil stones will work as well.
 
I knew the edge was easy to get hot but didn't know it could be affected without noticable clues. I'll probably end up doing the final finish on bench stones and a regular strop.
 
I sharpen my gardening knife, axes, hatchets and other tools on the belt sander but all precision cutlery with my name on it starts with a 325 diamond stone, 800 or 1k stone and finished on a 4k or 8k stone. Final strop on leather with chrome oxide.
 
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