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The New Snark Thread

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worldwood said:
Does the blade get hot when using the worksharp? I really like the price of the worksharp better LMAO but it looks like it would be difficult to use on some of my larger knives. How would it work on a blade that is .32 thick and 9.5" long?

Do any regular belts work on it? or do you have to buy specific worksharp belts? are they about the same price as normal 1x42 belts?

Sorry... A lot of question lol, Id much rather pay 70 than 280, but I wouldnt want to HAVE to buy expensive name specific belts everytime they run out.
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I've never had the blade get hot. You'd have to hold it in one spot for a long time for that to happen. I think the belts are proprietary and I have found them 5-for-$10 shipped. They last a decent amount of time so it's not like you're buying belts every couple of months. It comes with two of each grit and I think I'm on my 3rd fine belt and second course belt since I bought it like a year and a half or more ago. And I've used it a bunch. With pretty much any system it's best not to let the blades get very dull in the first place. Only stopping can be effective depending on how often you do it.
 
Thanks man, that doesnt sound bad at all!

Would it work with a blade larger than .25 thick?
 
bigghoss said:
I've never had the blade get hot. You'd have to hold it in one spot for a long time for that to happen.
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You may have and just don't realize it; it doesn't take nearly as long as you might think to overheat an area of steel that's measured in thousandths of an inch. If you can feel that the edge is getting hot, you've definitely got a problem.

Without getting completely geeky about it, thin sections like a knife edge can reach tempering levels very quickly when sharpened with power tools or even dry stones. That doesn't mean a small grinder is automatically going to ruin a blade, but you can pretty easily temper the edge back enough to make it a bit softer and end up sharpening much more often than you really should have to. Use a light touch and dunk the blade in water often.

The good news is, even if you do damage the very edge, that over-tempering is unlikely to extend more than a couple dozen microns into the blade, so you can sharpen past the "bad" steel and get back to good hard steel without much trouble. Now if you turn the whole thing blue or red :eek: , that's gonna require a tad more work.

On new knives, I currently set my basic edge angles with a 360- or 600-grit belt so it's just barely reaching an apex and forming a burr, and clean up/polish them with stones and light oil. Then finish off with a strop and green chrome compound.

To get more geeky... obviously, there a lot of factors involved; steel type (stainless and tool steels resist heat much better than plain carbon steel), edge thickness, grit of the belt/stone, speed, pressure, etc. On a lawnmower blade or cheap machete, I don't even worry about it... go ahead and throw some sparks :p It's actually kind of a fascinating field of study unto itself. Look up a guy named Roman Landes; I think his book is only published in German but he's discussed his very detailed findings in this area (in English) on other knife forums.

bigghoss said:
With pretty much any system it's best not to let the blades get very dull in the first place. Only stopping can be effective depending on how often you do it.
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That is absolutely true :thumbup:

Sorry for the drift... I now return you to your regularly-scheduled snarkery :D
 
I second James's opinion.

Occasionally I'll use a 1x42 to set/start an edge bevel on a burly knife that never had one, but anything that already has an edge bevel I'd sharpen on stones. Power tools can mess things up REALLY fast, and sharpening is a delicate operation.

-Daizee
 
worldwood said:
Does the blade get hot when using the worksharp? I really like the price of the worksharp better LMAO but it looks like it would be difficult to use on some of my larger knives. How would it work on a blade that is .32 thick and 9.5" long?

Do any regular belts work on it? or do you have to buy specific worksharp belts? are they about the same price as normal 1x42 belts?

Sorry... A lot of question lol, Id much rather pay 70 than 280, but I wouldnt want to HAVE to buy expensive name specific belts everytime they run out.
Click to expand...

For just sharpening, I haven't seen my knives get hot... the belts are a lot thinner (1/2" wide) so they conform better to recurved blades... I've sharpened my ZT 0350 on it. It comes with a couple of guides that work really well, but even if your thick knives don't fit in the guide, it's easy to remove the guide and do freehand. You do have to buy special belts, but IMO they aren't that expensive and seem to be lasting quite well, although I've only done a dozen or so knives. Also, it c comes with a 6000 grit belt that does a really nice job of polishing our just touching up. Belt changes take seconds, the learning curve is pretty shallow, and I can't say enough about how happy I am with this piece of equipment - even had a 10% off coupon from Woodcraft, so I bought extra belts at the same time -they are still in the box, don't think i'll wear out the ones that came with anytime soon. If it helps you to decide, look for their promo video on YouTube. You can probably guess, but I'd give this baby a "10".
 
Yea i strop after every "real" use. And never let the edge of my blades get too dull for the most part.

But i have an ontario sp8 that needs a new edge on it. it has a few chips and rolls on it and i want to fix it up. Its .25 thick and 10" long blade so i want to make sure what ever i get will fix that knife up.
I have never used a belt sander on a knife, I have used one on wood quite a bit but thats not very helpful in sharpening lmao but I am pretty decent at sharpening free hand. I have used a friends diamond stones a few times with great success but id like a belt system. Ill start with the kershaw cryo and sp8 for practice so i wont be upset with rounding the tips.
 
These scales improve the knife 10 fold!

It really makes the whole thing feel so much better in the hands.

cjys.jpg
 
Not saying it isn't a useful blade, but I never could get into the looks of the Potbelly. Those scales are freakin sweet though. :thumbup:
 
The Warrior said:
Not saying it isn't a useful blade, but I never could get into the looks of the Potbelly. Those scales are freakin sweet though. :thumbup:
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LMAO see im the opposite, Im not too sure it will be a useful blade "for me" but I think it sure looks cool.

And thanks man, Tommy did an excellent job on these. makes me want to replace some other knives scales with this bocote.
 
worldwood said:
LMAO see im the opposite, Im not too sure it will be a useful blade "for me" but I think it sure looks cool.

And thanks man, Tommy did an excellent job on these. makes me want to replace some other knives scales with this bocote.
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I like the blade okay, just never was crazy about the shape of the handle.
 
I did a quick "mod" some time ago, on one of Guyon's photos of his. They were quickies, so bear with me:

P1020586-1b.jpg~original


P1020586-1.jpg~original
 
Yea the "hump" in the handle does seem to get in the way when im trying to choke up on the knife. Holding it in the rear of the handle is really comfortable though.

Not sure yet if this will have a role to play or not. I got it for a user but it might sit in the collection. I love how it looks though.
 
I like that Mod! I was just thinking it wouldnt be too much work to grind off the hump.
 
TMHunt said:
Very interesting looking piece crimson. Did you do the engraving and etching as well? Would like some more picks and info. Awesome job!
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I did the engraving, my wife did the artwork for the etch, and I acid etched it in with ferric chloride. I've got a thread up in the sword subforum with more details. It's been a lot of firsts: First blade that big for one, first bolsters/guards, first engraving, first time etching a blade that long, etc. Blade is CPM 3V, 36" OAL, 28" blade, weighs under 3 pounds, with a POB ~4" up from the guard.
 
worldwood said:
I like that Mod! I was just thinking it wouldnt be too much work to grind off the hump.
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especially once you get that belt grinder.
I'd recommend a real grinder instead of a worksharp for that reason, but it won't come with all the fancy sharpening guides and whatnot.

-Daizee
 
Id rather not have the guides honestly.

What do you think of that kalamazoo ?

And i have heard people burning out the worksharp trying to sand wood on it. Would the kalamazoo also have an issue since it is 1/3 HP?

Bench grinder over belt sander? More useful ?

Thank you Daizee
 
I could use something like that WW. A friend gave me his Ontario M9 bayonet to even up the grind and sharpen.. I know it is a bayonet and all, but the grind lines and angles weren't even close to even..
 
Grinders are sort of like stereos... you can get one for $50 that will more or less work, or you can spend $6K on more than you'll probably ever need. It just depends on how much cash you have laying around, what you need to do with it and how often you'll use it.
 
worldwood said:
Id rather not have the guides honestly.

What do you think of that kalamazoo ?

And i have heard people burning out the worksharp trying to sand wood on it. Would the kalamazoo also have an issue since it is 1/3 HP?

Bench grinder over belt sander? More useful ?

Thank you Daizee
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Worksharp is great for sharpening, but for knife grinding I would go with the belt grinder.... for wood, you want something else entirely, like a belt sander. Gotta have the right tool for the job....
 
worldwood said:
Id rather not have the guides honestly.

What do you think of that kalamazoo ?

And i have heard people burning out the worksharp trying to sand wood on it. Would the kalamazoo also have an issue since it is 1/3 HP?

Bench grinder over belt sander? More useful ?

Thank you Daizee
Click to expand...

Note, when he says grinder, he means belt grinder (like a good 2x72, for instance, or maybe the Craftsman 2x42), not bench grinder. Bench grinders probably aren't worth it. Although, if you want to pick up a motor and a set of paper wheels, you might enjoy that system.
 
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