Question about slow speed wet sharpener

The water will greatly increase the life of your stone. It also acts as a carrier to get rid of the removed metal from the sharpening process. Removal of the metal will keep the stone clean and therfore it will sharpen faster. Fine metal dust will collect in the porus stone and slow down over time. I think the heat build up for a short sharpening session is the smallest problem the water aids in.

Doc
Rule is Never sharpen a knife on a grinder. The wet grinder you are talking about is made for sharpen tools like chisel, axes and tooling like that. Not made for small knives. If you are only sharpen a few pocket knives. I would just get a good whetstone or a DMT sharpen stone. Guys that sharpen knives for living don't use stones. They use sanding belts. I use my professional knife belt sander to sharpen my custom knives, then finish with ceramic sticks the cheap hand held one that is less than 5.00 it has the ceramics stick on one end and steel burr on the other.
But this is to put the initial edge on them. I use ceramic sticks every chance I can just to touch up the blades.
A knife edge looks like a saw blade under a microscope. When you use it the teeth roll out this makes the knife dull. You can hit it on steel and the teeth are rolled back to the center. This makes it sharp again.

As a rookie, novice, amateur, Still learning, knife maker wannabe, (just starting # 2) Listen to Black Toe.

Now as for sharpening small pocket knives. and fixe blades, That I am good at. Ceramic sticks are good, but I was brought up using stones. Your choice.
Learn and have fun. It is addicting, and very satisfying.

If you use the stone, use the water!
To not use water will ruin the stone quickly due to loading it with grit & steel cuttings

I disagree that you shouldn't use a water wheel to sharpen a small knife.

They do a heck of a fine job if you learn how to use them properly.

We used one at work for many years for putting a razor edge on counter knives and X-acto knife blades used to cut out heavy cardboard backing used with emboss dies.

Done properly, you can put a better edge on a small blade then it came from the factory with. When you are talking X-acto knife blades, thats pretty small and pretty sharp!

rc

There used to be guys who made a living, of sorts, travellling about with water wheels sharpening knives and scissors. I heard my grandparents talk about such fellows being around in their childhoods in the early part of the 20th century. Don't recall either of my parents mentioning them.
Perhaps there is an unexploited career path open here.

Grinders

Knifemakers take their grinders and put buffing wheels on them. LOL I do keep one grinding wheel for doing drill .

Joe Demko said:

There used to be guys who made a living, of sorts, travelling about with water wheels sharpening knives and scissors.

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I grew up overseas in the 1950's, and travelling street sharpeners were fairly common. The wheels were often mounted in something like a wheelbarrow, when they set it down it was a stable platform on which to work.

Never saw, or even heard of any, in the US.

Hey, Dr. Tad.

I can't comment on the Jet, but I have a Makita 9820-2 horizontal wet grinder that I have used extensively for sharpening chisels, handplane and spokeshave blades, planer and jointer knives, and other woodworking tools (and sometimes knives). I wish I had a belt sander like Jim's, but not being able to afford them both, I chose the Makita instead for it's ability to sharpen planer and jointer knives, which I was spending a bundle on.

The 1000 grit wheel is the one I use the most, although I also have 120 and 6000 grit wheels. Ordinarily I remove the wheel and store it in a tupperware container filled with water, and this keeps it saturated so it doesn't immediately soak up the first quart of water you feed it. But occasionally I walk away without doing that, and come back to a dry wheel. If I have just a little touchup to do, I sometimes run it dry. Sure, it loads up a little, but when you put the water to it, the swarf floats out in about 20 spins and the wheel is clean again. It works fine for small knives.

I also have a 22" foot-powered grinding wheel of the kind that Joe and Geezer describe. It's about 200 grit, and it's part of my ongoing exercise program. It's over 100 years old, and I use it when the power goes out.

Parker

catspa you could always look into smaller, more inexpensive tabletop belt sanders that use 1"x30" belts. They're still quite functional and cheap to boot.

Highlander, that's true, and I once borrowed a Delta one that my buddy had. He could only find belts up to about 220 grit for it. I would want finer belts I think, maybe up to 800 or so. If I could find them, that'd be a good idea.

Parker

I've seen 320 and 600 grit 1x30 belts, you just need to do some digging. (I'll try and pull up some links.) Beyond those I've seen 800 grit cork belts, and you could always use a leather belt with some stropping compounds or a rouge.

edit: Thanks for getting me started on the 1x30 belt hunt; I just found a new site for myself with a ton of high grit 1x30 belts! Check it out:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48040&cat=1,43072

Oh yeah. Lee Valley (and Veritas, their sister company) is a major supplier of woodworking tools, and they stand behind their products. I've ordered plenty from them and never been disappointed.

I didn't realize they had such a selection of those small belts - that makes the small sander a much more attractive option. Thanks for posting that.

Parker

Not sure which Jet model you have but there is one that is a chinese copy of the Tormek machine. I know 5 other professional knife sharpeners who use the Tormek with great results. They are always trying to get me to switch from stones to wheels. ( Can't do it though as the mniche market I have created for myself is the Farmer's Market that doesn't have electricity. I am working on converting a treadle sewing machine into a pedestal grinder to hold a Tormek wheel.)

How slow does the wheel on the Jet turn? The Tormek musters up 80 rpm and is run in a water bath. It does a great job if you know how to use it.

I know makers who use the Tormek with amazing results - some of the sharpest knives I've seen.

Can't do it though as the mniche market I have created for myself is the Farmer's Market that doesn't have electricity. I am working on converting a treadle sewing machine into a pedestal grinder to hold a Tormek wheel.

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I find this to be very interesting and kind of clever. If I was walking around a farmers market and could get my knife sharpened sans electricity, I would do so.

Timbokhan,

That is what I am counting on! Also, that people remember to bring in their kitchen knives, shovels, lawn mower blades, plane irons, chisel, anything with an edge. I have even sharpened a vegetable peeler for a lady.