- Joined
- Aug 11, 1999
- Messages
- 1,111
Hi Sal and all,
Every few months, it appears, someone asks you if the Sharpmaker can be used to maintain, or create, convex edges. With the ceramic rods, not really; but would it be possible to design new rods for this purpose?
I imagine this would be possible with round rods comprised of a hard core and soft (leather or rubber?) surface sleeve, with pins or fasteners to securely affix pieces of SiC cloth paper wrapped around the soft surface. The idea is to provide a sharpening surface that "gives" a little, and therefore follows or creates a convex grind rather than flattens the face of the edge, as with current ceramic and diamond sharpeners.
I suggest leather and rubber simply as examples for the texture/characteristics needed in a surface sleeve. There are probably other synthetic materials to consider that can more effectively "give" or slightly yield to a harder surface (i.e., blade edge), yet remain resilient over extended use. This surface sleeve (1/8" thick?) may need to be replaceable.
I suppose a soft sleeve can be made to fit over the current ceramic rods. However, a round rod with a triangular heel to fit in the base is, I imagine, better than the triangular design for this purpose, as it allows for uniform tension across the whole surface. This would minimize tearing of the SiC cloth or other unequal wear, as well as allow for sharpening of recurved blades.
SiC paper is simply a suggestion, too; perhaps better abrasive wraps are available. In any case, SiC wraps or something similar would also allow for a wide range of grits, from highly abrasive to extremely fine. This might be a solution to the perennial "diamond sleeves" request, too. On the other end of the spectrum, one could, conceivably, even wrap around a piece of leather with jewelers rouge or stropping compound to final-polish the edge.
Okay, Sal & Co., now tell me whats wrong with this idea and RRRIP IT APART!
My .02,
Glen
Every few months, it appears, someone asks you if the Sharpmaker can be used to maintain, or create, convex edges. With the ceramic rods, not really; but would it be possible to design new rods for this purpose?
I imagine this would be possible with round rods comprised of a hard core and soft (leather or rubber?) surface sleeve, with pins or fasteners to securely affix pieces of SiC cloth paper wrapped around the soft surface. The idea is to provide a sharpening surface that "gives" a little, and therefore follows or creates a convex grind rather than flattens the face of the edge, as with current ceramic and diamond sharpeners.
I suggest leather and rubber simply as examples for the texture/characteristics needed in a surface sleeve. There are probably other synthetic materials to consider that can more effectively "give" or slightly yield to a harder surface (i.e., blade edge), yet remain resilient over extended use. This surface sleeve (1/8" thick?) may need to be replaceable.
I suppose a soft sleeve can be made to fit over the current ceramic rods. However, a round rod with a triangular heel to fit in the base is, I imagine, better than the triangular design for this purpose, as it allows for uniform tension across the whole surface. This would minimize tearing of the SiC cloth or other unequal wear, as well as allow for sharpening of recurved blades.
SiC paper is simply a suggestion, too; perhaps better abrasive wraps are available. In any case, SiC wraps or something similar would also allow for a wide range of grits, from highly abrasive to extremely fine. This might be a solution to the perennial "diamond sleeves" request, too. On the other end of the spectrum, one could, conceivably, even wrap around a piece of leather with jewelers rouge or stropping compound to final-polish the edge.
Okay, Sal & Co., now tell me whats wrong with this idea and RRRIP IT APART!

My .02,
Glen