Sr101 @ its finest

Nice - what did you use to sharpen? I am terrible at sharpening - just cant get the consistent angle on stones I guess....
 
That's from DMT diamond plates. Ya kinda need to just FO it, and once you find the burr, flip it over and make the burr on the other side, then go down a coarseness level. Mine end up being one form of convex or another. I got my leather 1x30 strop on my harbor freight last night..... Holy crap. This taliwacker will go through paper without pulling. It's sweeeeet.
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
That's from DMT diamond plates. Ya kinda need to just FO it, and once you find the burr, flip it over and make the burr on the other side, then go down a coarseness level. Mine end up being one form of convex or another. I got my leather 1x30 strop on my harbor freight last night..... Holy crap. This taliwacker will go through paper without pulling. It's sweeeeet.
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:confused: If you have a 1x30 HF sander, why the heck are you wasting time with DMT plates??? :confused: Get yourself some 1x30 Trizact and Norax belts and don't look back. And yeah, the Surgi-Sharp leather belt takes it all to the next level. :cool: I run one with green compound (which is usually plenty), and another with white compound to get things really scary sharp. :eek:

xxwarderxx said:
Damn Timmy.

I may need to pick up one of those grinders myself. Looking good
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Highly recommended! :thumbup:
 
SpyderPhreak said:
:confused: If you have a 1x30 HF sander, why the heck are you wasting time with DMT plates??? :confused: Get yourself some 1x30 Trizact and Norax belts and don't look back. And yeah, the Surgi-Sharp leather belt takes it all to the next level. :cool: I run one with green compound (which is usually plenty), and another with white compound to get things really scary sharp. :eek:



Highly recommended! :thumbup:
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I hardly think that practicing a skill is a waste of time.
I like to practice freehand sharpening. I get a bit more satisfaction out of it. For me, its harder to f up going slow. If there's no power, I'm golden because I know how to use my plates. YMMV.

I'll try those belts for sure though!

Do you take off your leather belts when not in use?
 
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Well, my time is worth more than that to me these days (very little free time with 3 young children). I spent WAY too many years freehand sharpening before the HF 1x30, so many that I could probably do it in my sleep and get great results. ;) But if you're still perfecting that skill, then I suppose it isn't necessarily wasted time.

Look for the Trizact/Norax belts at TruGrit. I've written a number of different posts over the past few years with links, tips, etc. for the HF 1x30. If you search my name and Trizact, TruGrit as keywords, that should give you about a night's worth of reading material.

And yes, remove the leather belts when not in use. I found that mine fit a bit tightly, and they'd stretch too much if left on all the time. Also, go easy on the sharpening compound with them. Apply just a little at a time, and use a small piece of 100 grit sandpaper to carefully clean it off when it accumulates too heavily. A little compound goes a long ways!
 
Thanks for the tips! I do know how valuable time becomes with a growing family. I have a 7 month old and he's a handful.

Day a dude DID happen to leave a leather surgishaarp belt on for a bit... Is there any way to "unstretch" it?
 
I can safely say I have never put an edge like that on a knife. I can get them sharp enough to use but never like that!!
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
Thanks for the tips! I do know how valuable time becomes with a growing family. I have a 7 month old and he's a handful.

Day a dude DID happen to leave a leather surgishaarp belt on for a bit... Is there any way to "unstretch" it?
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Just take it off and let it sit. I've forgotten to remove mine a couple times after I was done using it, and it was fine after a day or two.
 
Ok. Going camping in about 5 hours. I'll let it sit until Sunday.

SP: I've read a few of your threads, did you ever get any of the low micron belts? What ones did you get? Did they work for the intended purpose? I'm assuming it's the same as a leather belt with the equivalent micron paste?

PatrickKnight said:
I can safely say I have never put an edge like that on a knife. I can get them sharp enough to use but never like that!!
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Practice! I've gained quite a bit of skill and knowledge from the forums. Once you learn what the burr feels like, and how to knock it off, you're halfway there.

Good luck!
 
Tinfoil - we should have a MN sharpening party! Tricks of the trade, show and tell - beverages...:)

We dont need no stinking park - we can use your garage!
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
SP: I've read a few of your threads, did you ever get any of the low micron belts? What ones did you get? Did they work for the intended purpose? I'm assuming it's the same as a leather belt with the equivalent micron paste?
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I never did get the lower micron belts. My results have been SO good, I decided they weren't necessary. But yes, I would think leather with micron diamond paste would be equivalent. However, the diamonds will enbed in the leather to a certain extent, and I'd think you'd get poor results when using a finer paste afer a coarser one.

I use the 240 grit (65 micron) and 600 grit (30 micron) Trizact "Gator" belts for the bulk of my work (30 or 60 grit Norton ceramic "Blaze" belt for serious stock removal or reprofiling), and clean up with a 1200 grit Norton Norax belt. From there, green compound on the leather belt is usually good enough.

If I really want a fine, screamin' sharp edge, I'll use an old 1200 grit Norax belt (probably equivalent to 1800 grit by now) before going to the leather belt with green compound. I'll then finish with the other leather belt and white compound. That gives a superb mirror finish without any visible scratch marks whatsoever. :cool:

I did, however, pick up a couple scotchbrite belts. Unfortunately, they don't work well on the HF 1x30 without modification due to their thickness. You either need to take off the table or notch it a bit to clear these belts because they're so thick.

Finally, once you've established an edge this way, most sharpenings are only a quick strop with the leather belts. Minor edge damage can usually be quickly cleaned up with the Norax belt, the 600 grit Trizact at worst. What I'm saying here is that edge maintenance becomes a breeze. I sharpen my dad's and in-law's kichen knives, and it had become a chore that I would dread doing freehand. Now, it is SO simple and FAST that I don't mind doing it one bit. :thumbup:

Beyond that, my only other tip is to keep the blade cool. Do not stop in any one spot, and always keep moving. Use bare hands in order to feel if the piece is heating up. Dip it in cold water and wipe off with a towel before the next pass if it's getting warm at all. Also, the Norax belts are a quite a bit more flexible than the Trizact Gator belts are (due to the much finer macro pattern in the belt). For that reason, you have to use a slightly shallower angle when movng from the Trizact to the Norax belt to prevent the Norax belt from "wrapping around" the very edge apex and dulling it.

HTH

ETA - Link to Trugrit 1x30 belts page.
 
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